Difference between revisions of "Impersonal (definition)"

From Scottish Gaelic Grammar Wiki
Jump to: navigation, search
 
(7 intermediate revisions by 2 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
[[Category:Syntax]]
+
An 'impersonal' is a [[Voice (definition)|voice]] that expresses a situation where there is no specified agent semantic/thematic role. They are roughly equivalent to the [[Passive Voice (definition)|passives]] of [[Intransitive (definition)|Intransitive]] verbs, although passives have the additional property that they highlight the theme/object. This latter property is not true of impersonals. Impersonals are not typically found in English, but a similar meaning can be expressed with sentences such as "There was dancing".  In Gaelic there is a special verb form used for expressing the impersonal (sometimes inaccurately called the passive).
[[Category:Technical Definitions]]
+
 
 +
==See Also==
 +
*[[Thematic Relation (definition)]]
 +
*[[Voice (definition)]]
 +
*[[Active Voice (definition)]]
 +
*[[Passive Voice (definition)]]
 +
*[[Impersonals]]
 +
 
 +
==External Links==
 +
*[http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsAnImpersonalVerb.htm SIL entry on impersonal verb]<br>
 +
The link below takes you away from the Gaelic Wiki to Wikipedia. Since wikipedia pages can be edited by anyone, they often contain inaccurate information. So be careful!
 +
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impersonal_verb Wikipedia entry on impersonal verb]
 +
 
 +
==References==
 +
*[http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsAnImpersonalVerb.htm SIL entry on impersonal verb]<br>
 +
*[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impersonal_verb Wikipedia entry on impersonal verb]
 +
 
 +
[[Category: Syntax]]
 +
[[Category: Technical Definitions]]
 
[[Category: Morphology]]
 
[[Category: Morphology]]
 
[[Category: Voice]]
 
[[Category: Voice]]

Latest revision as of 23:10, 8 June 2012

An 'impersonal' is a voice that expresses a situation where there is no specified agent semantic/thematic role. They are roughly equivalent to the passives of Intransitive verbs, although passives have the additional property that they highlight the theme/object. This latter property is not true of impersonals. Impersonals are not typically found in English, but a similar meaning can be expressed with sentences such as "There was dancing". In Gaelic there is a special verb form used for expressing the impersonal (sometimes inaccurately called the passive).

See Also

External Links

The link below takes you away from the Gaelic Wiki to Wikipedia. Since wikipedia pages can be edited by anyone, they often contain inaccurate information. So be careful!

References