Anticausative Verb - Romance Languages

Romance Languages

In the Romance languages, many anticausative verbs are formed through a pseudo-reflexive construction, using a clitic pronoun (which is identical to the non-emphatic reflexive pronoun) applied on a transitive verb. For example (in Spanish, using the clitic se):

  • El vidrio se quebró. "The glass shattered."
  • Se está hundiendo el barco. "The boat is sinking."

Another example in French:

  • Les poissons se pêchaient et se vendaient. "Fish were being fished and sold."

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