Passive Voice

This occurs when intransitive subjects pattern together with transitive objects (“absolutive”), and differently from transitive subjects (“ergatives”). 

• I boil water: The water boils

In English, this is usual in two cases:

• Anticausative:

  • Change of state without total destruction (cooking terms and verbs like begin, improve, start, break, end, increase, change, finish, grow, etc.):

    • I cooked the cake: The cake cooked

    • John fries some chips: Some chips are frying

    • The heat melts the ice: The ice melts

    • I break the chalk: The chalk breaks

    • The meteorite was eroded: The meteorite eroded

    • BUT:

      • I destroyed the chalk: The chalk destroyed* (not possible)

  • Motion and posture verbs (bounce, drift, dangle, float, fly, rest, revolve, girate, twist, turn, etc. They are called the Rock&Roll verbs):

    • I moved the book: The book moved

    • The pilot flies the plane: The plane flies

• Middle voice (they require an adverb of easiness):

  • These cakes sell well

  • The book doesn't read very smoothly

  • This car drives beautifully

  • This butter spreads easily

  • The glass breaks easily