Linda,
  I find it easier to think of acting and behaving as the categories, with
acting being somewhat willful and behaving much less so.  You can have
verbs that seem pretty much just one (wandering seems on the acting end,
dying on the behaving), but so many can go one way or the other
depending on context. (Jumping and coughing can be either, I think. We
cough involuntarily most of the time and certainly jump when startled.)
I think it has something to do with being a biological entity, often
having a fuzzy line between what is under our control and what is not. I
don't think it carries over to the inanimate except metaphorically. (A
spring can jump out of our hands.  Our car batteries die.)

Craig >


 There is a semantic distinction (with syntactic correlates) among some of
> the verbs that we see as intransitive (in that they have only a surface
> subject), and I wonder if it is useful here.  Linguists call it the
> unergative/unaccusative distinction.  And really, 'was born' seems to have
>  more in common
> with unaccusative verbs, even though it looks like a passive  form.
>
> Simply put (and intuitively described), some intransitive verbs
> (unergative)
> have subject participants which are actively involved in  controlling or
> initiating the event denoted by the verb.  Other  intransitive verbs
> (unaccusative) have subjects which really seem to  have the
> characteristics of objects in
> that they cannot control or initiate the  event denoted by the verb.
>
> Unergative:
> I coughed.
> She jumped.
>
> These subjects are actively involved in the coughing or jumping events
> (and
> they do passivize in some languages).
>
> Unaccusative:
> I fell.
> I died.
>
> These subjects are not in any sort of control over the events of falling
> or
> dying.
>
> So even though it looks like a passive, our puzzling 'was born' (Bear  2)
> seems to  have more in common with the unaccusative verbs than the
> unergative
> verbs by virtue of the fact that the subject cannot control any part  of
> the
> event of being born.
>
> Linda Di
>
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