Definition

1. Adjective:
   • Not causative; not causing an effect or result: Describes a verb, grammatical construction, or situation that does not express an action where the subject causes a change in state or action in an object. It indicates a state or an action that occurs without an external agent causing it.

Usage and Examples

• Adjective:
  • The verb "fall" is a noncausative verb; it describes a change of state that happens to the subject, not one the subject causes.
  • In the sentence "The window broke," the verb "broke" is used in a noncausative sense, focusing on the event itself rather than who caused it.
  • Linguists contrast causative verbs like "melt" (as in "The sun melted the ice") with their noncausative counterparts (as in "The ice melted").

Advanced Usage

• Noncausative Alternation (Inchoative): A grammatical pattern where a verb can be used both causatively and noncausatively. The noncausative form, often called the inchoative or anticausative, describes a spontaneous change of state.
  • The noncausative alternant of the verb "open" is seen in "The door opened," as opposed to the causative "She opened the door."
• Noncausative Analysis: In linguistic theory, this refers to analyzing a clause or verb phrase as lacking an external causer in its underlying semantic structure.

Variants and Related Words

• Causative (adj): Expressing an action where the subject causes an event or change in another entity. This is the direct antonym.
  • The causative form of the verb requires an agent, as in "He rolled the ball."
• Inchoative (adj): Often used synonymously with "noncausative" for verbs indicating the beginning of a state or process.
  • "Germinate" is an inchoative verb describing the start of growth.
• Unaccusative Verb (n): A specific type of intransitive, noncausative verb where the subject is semantically more like an object that undergoes the action (e.g., ).

Synonyms

• Non-causal
• Inchoative (in specific linguistic contexts)
• Anticausative (in specific linguistic contexts)

Antonyms

• Causative
• Transitive (in many, but not all, contexts, as some transitive verbs are also noncausative)

Adjective

1. not causative