Teacher Discussion Forums

What is middle verb ?
What are conditons for being an middle verb?

It's when something is done to the subject as a result of its qualities, but the action is not volitional.

To make it clear, I will compare it to the active voice.

A Greengrocer sells vegetables. (Active voice)
The green grocer might say,
"These vegetables sell very well." (Middle voice.)

Clearly the vegetables do not "sell" in the same way as the greengrocer, in fact they are being sold. So I guess you could say that the action is syntactically active but semantically passive.

That said, I have never used the concept in my classes and no intention of doing so as I don't think it would be useful. It belongs to pure linguistics.

What about this?

John knows the answer.
The answer knows easily.

Kelly adores French fabrics.
French fabrics adore easily.
Mary loves easily.
The girl fears easily.
The mountain sees easily.

This book reads easily.
This book reads easily by them.
The book was read by them.

The teacher gives the chileren books.
The children give easily.

They hit the wall.
The wall hit easily.


Which are incorrect?
All verb can not be a middle verb? Why is that?
What makes some of them allow to become a middle verb?

Michelle, none of your examples works in middle voice.

I'll look into this. Off hand, "sell" can be a middle verb and verbs describing ways of cooking can also be middle verbs:

"The casserole cooked in the oven," (Middle)
Compare: "Fanny Craddock cooked the casserole in the oven.(Active)
Compare The casserole was cooked in the oven. (Passive)
"The chips fried in the oil until they were brown."(Middle)
Compare:" Jamie Oliver fried the chips."
Compare: "The chips were fried in oil." (Passive.)

I've also just thought of:
This butter spreads easily (middle)
John spread the butter on his bread.(Active)

Read also fits in this category, doesn't it?

This book reads easily.

No, Bo, "read" can't be used with middle voice.

Actually, very few verbs seem to.

Really? This book reads easily is totally incorrect? I'm sure I heard it several times. What sort of anomaly is that?

Bogdan

Yes, something about the book example caught my eye, as containing a grain of plausability.

I might say"This book is a good read"
I might also say "it's a quick read."

I feel pretty confident that the sentence as listed is incorrect, but there may be some other, very similar expression used in some other part of the world.

For the record, I'm American.

What about 'works' and 'runs' as in cars.

Surely there's something here other than just the inanimateness of the subject?

The car is running again. The car works well.

There is - verbs that can be active or middle must be transitive in the active voice but intransitive in the middle voice.

All verbs are intransitive in the passive of course, although it is the agent that disapears not the recipient of the action.

This book reads easily.
is perfectly correct. So is,
This piece plays easily.
This speech scans easily.
This argument deconstructs easliy.

Maybe, a middle verb is one that can be transitive as well as intransitive?

I don't think this is going to solve our problem, but the Oxford Dictionary of English Grammar gives a slightly different definition of a middle verb, namely "one of a group of apparently transitive verbs that do not normally occur in the passive. The term is not in very general use, but is a way of classifying verbs such as have (in its possessive meaning: We have a house does not have a passive *A house is had by us), consist of, lack, possess, resemble, and some other verbs in certain of their meanings, e.g.
*You are suited by blue
*I am not fitted by this jumper
*Twenty is equalled by 4 times 5.
The term is adapted from Greek grammar, which has a middle voice distinct from both active and passive."

[For surfers who use a different protocol, the asterisk * in this dictionary signifies an illegitimate sentence.]

Andrew and Stephen, you both grapple with these conundrums much better than I; and maybe you can put this definition to some use.

Good luck.
Norm.

I'm embarrassed to admit my ignorance, but this is my first encounter with "middle verb". I'm duly impressed, Andy, with your apparent knowledge of the subject, but I also think Stephen is onto something right. I agree with him that "This book reads easily" sounds like a perfectly good sentence.

Larry Latham

I don't think that is a minor difference, Norm. That's a big difference. Now I'm confused.

Larry, I've a feeling that this may be a difference in British and American English.

This book reads easily, isn't acceptable in British English.