Ergative Verb - in Dutch

In Dutch

In Dutch, ergative verbs are used in a way similar to English, but they stand out as more distinct particularly in the perfect tenses.

In the present, the usage in both languages is similar, for example:

• "Jan breekt zijn glas." ("John breaks his glass.")
• "Het glas breekt." ("The glass breaks.")

However, there are cases where the two languages deviate. For example, the verb zinken (to sink) cannot be used transitively, nor the verb openen (to open) intransitively:

• "Het schip zonk." ("The ship sank.")
• Not *"De marine zonk het schip." (Unlike "The navy sank the ship.")

and

• "Jan opent de deur." ("John opens the door.")
• Not *"De deur opent." (Unlike "The door opens.")

In this last case, one could say: "De deur gaat open." (lit. The door goes open").

A difference between Dutch and English is that typically the perfect tenses of infinitives take zijn (to be) as their auxiliary rather than hebben (to have), and this extends to these verbs as well.

• present: "Het glas breekt." ("The glass breaks.")
• perfect: "Het glas is gebroken." ("The glass has broken.")