Test of Unergative Verbs
In most languages that allow impersonal passives, only unergative verbs may undergo impersonal passivization. Unaccusative verbs may not. The ability to undergo this transformation is a frequently used test to distinguish unergative and unaccusative verbs. In Turkish, for example, the verb çalışmak "to work" is unergative and may therefore be passivized:
- Burada çalış-ıl-ır.
- here work-PASS-PRESENT
- "Here it is worked."
The verb ölmek "to die", however, is unaccusative and may not be passivized:
- *Burada öl-ün-ür.
- here die-PASS-PRESENT
- "Here it is died."
Read more about this topic: Impersonal Passive Voice
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