Difference between revisions of "Impersonal (definition)"
From Scottish Gaelic Grammar Wiki
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| − | + | 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 (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). | |
| − | An 'impersonal' is a | ||
==See Also== | ==See Also== | ||
| − | [[Thematic Relation (definition)]] | + | *[[Thematic Relation (definition)]] |
| + | *[[Voice (definition)]] | ||
| + | *[[Active (definition)]] | ||
| + | *[[Passive (definition)]] | ||
==External Links== | ==External Links== | ||
| − | [http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsAnImpersonalVerb.htm SIL entry on impersonal verb]<br> | + | *[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] | + | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impersonal_verb Wikipedia entry on impersonal verb] |
==References== | ==References== | ||
| − | [http://www.sil.org/linguistics/GlossaryOfLinguisticTerms/WhatIsAnImpersonalVerb.htm SIL entry on impersonal verb]<br> | + | *[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] | + | *[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Impersonal_verb Wikipedia entry on impersonal verb] |
| + | |||
| + | [[Category: Syntax]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Technical Definitions]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Morphology]] | ||
| + | [[Category: Voice]] | ||
Revision as of 23:07, 13 November 2009
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).
