Pseudopassive

Quick meaning: Pseudopassive is a noun meaning (grammar) A construction where the object of a preposition has been promoted to the role of subject, as in The problem was talked about.

Meaning

(grammar) A construction where the object of a preposition has been promoted to the role of subject, as in The problem was talked about.

More Meanings

1. (grammar) Of or related to the pseudopassive.
2. Nearly passive; relatively passive.
3. Resembling (something) passive.
4. (grammar) A construction that removes the subject from an intransitive verb, as in the Dutch sentence Er wordt gefloten ("[Someone] whistled").

Example Sentences

Consider the English pseudo-passive in (4). (4) This bed has not been slept in for many years

A kind of ‘pseudo-passive’ construction is possible, though, with intransitive verbs having a prepositional phrase complement.

Consider now the pseudo-passive, Er werd gefloten "There was whistling." Here, just as in the true passive, the morphology asserts high participant not focussed.

The magnitude of the current density within the region is, of course, too high to be regarded as passive in the conventional sense, and we coin the term "pseudopassive" to describe it.

Word Forms

• pseudopassives
• pseudo-passive

Related Words

Related dictionary entries include pseudo-passive, endopassive, pseudo-participial, pseudoverb, mediopassive, pseud.

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