Deponent verb
Encyclopedia
In linguistics
, a deponent verb is a verb
that is active
in meaning but takes its form
from a different voice, most commonly the middle or passive
. A deponent verb doesn't have active forms; it can be said to have deposited them (into oblivion).
has middle-voice deponents (some of which are very common) and some passive-voice deponents. An example in Greek is ἔρχομαι (erchomai, I come or I go), middle/passive in form but active in translation.
has passive-voice deponents, such as hortārī ('to exhort'), vĕrērī ('to fear'), lŏquī ('to speak'), and blandīrī ('to flatter'). (Deponent verbs are passive in form and active in meaning). The forms regularly follow those of the passive of normal verbs:
Deponents have all the participles normal verbs do, although those of the perfect carry an active meaning, rather than a passive meaning as in the case of normal verbs. Some deponent verbs, such as sequī (to follow) use the corresponding forms of other verbs to express a genuine passive meaning. They do not have their own passive forms, nor is it possible to resurrect the "active" forms of the deponent verbs to use for the passive voice (like attempting to use *hortō for "I am exhorted").
Additionally, four Latin verbs (audēre, to dare; gaudēre, to rejoice; sŏlēre, to be accustomed; and fīdĕre, to trust) are called semi-deponent, because though they look passive in their perfect forms, they are semantically active in all forms.
Conversely, Latin also has some verbs that are active in form but passive in meaning. fit (it is made, done) was used as the passive of facit. In the perfect forms (perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect), this was a compound verb just like regular verbs (factus est it has been done).
has a few passive-voice deponents, although interestingly, its closely related neighbour languages Danish
and Norwegian
mostly use active corresponding forms. Indeed, Norwegian shows the opposite trend: like in English, active verbs are sometimes used with a passive sense, such as in "boka solgte 1000 eksemplarer" ("the book sold 1000 copies"). -s is the normal passive ending in the Scandinavian languages.
has several common deponents which use the '-s' passive ending in the active voice, instead of the usual '-r' active ending:
The past tense is indicated by 'd or 't', e.g. kjentes, lyktes, syntes, trivdes.
active, but in the future
active it shows the middle form ἀναβήσομαι (anabesomai). The future active form might be predicted to be *ἀναβήσω (anabeso), but this form does not occur, because the verb is deponent in the future tense. The future forms that do occur have the same meaning and translation value that the active forms would have if they occurred.
Latin has a few semi-deponent verbs, which behave normally in the imperfect system, but are deponent in the perfect.
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, a deponent verb is a verb
Verb
A verb, from the Latin verbum meaning word, is a word that in syntax conveys an action , or a state of being . In the usual description of English, the basic form, with or without the particle to, is the infinitive...
that is active
Active voice
Active voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. It is the unmarked voice for clauses featuring a transitive verb in nominative–accusative languages, including English and most other Indo-European languages....
in meaning but takes its form
Morphology (linguistics)
In linguistics, morphology is the identification, analysis and description, in a language, of the structure of morphemes and other linguistic units, such as words, affixes, parts of speech, intonation/stress, or implied context...
from a different voice, most commonly the middle or passive
Passive voice
Passive voice is a grammatical voice common in many of the world's languages. Passive is used in a clause whose subject expresses the theme or patient of the main verb. That is, the subject undergoes an action or has its state changed. A sentence whose theme is marked as grammatical subject is...
. A deponent verb doesn't have active forms; it can be said to have deposited them (into oblivion).
Greek
GreekGreek language
Greek is an independent branch of the Indo-European family of languages. Native to the southern Balkans, it has the longest documented history of any Indo-European language, spanning 34 centuries of written records. Its writing system has been the Greek alphabet for the majority of its history;...
has middle-voice deponents (some of which are very common) and some passive-voice deponents. An example in Greek is ἔρχομαι (erchomai, I come or I go), middle/passive in form but active in translation.
Latin
LatinLatin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
has passive-voice deponents, such as hortārī ('to exhort'), vĕrērī ('to fear'), lŏquī ('to speak'), and blandīrī ('to flatter'). (Deponent verbs are passive in form and active in meaning). The forms regularly follow those of the passive of normal verbs:
| ămārĕ | to love | ămāri | to be loved | hortāri | to exhort |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| ămō | I love | ămŏr | I am loved | hortŏr | I exhort |
| ămāvi | I have loved | ămātus sum | I have been loved | hortātus sum | I have exhorted |
Deponents have all the participles normal verbs do, although those of the perfect carry an active meaning, rather than a passive meaning as in the case of normal verbs. Some deponent verbs, such as sequī (to follow) use the corresponding forms of other verbs to express a genuine passive meaning. They do not have their own passive forms, nor is it possible to resurrect the "active" forms of the deponent verbs to use for the passive voice (like attempting to use *hortō for "I am exhorted").
Additionally, four Latin verbs (audēre, to dare; gaudēre, to rejoice; sŏlēre, to be accustomed; and fīdĕre, to trust) are called semi-deponent, because though they look passive in their perfect forms, they are semantically active in all forms.
Conversely, Latin also has some verbs that are active in form but passive in meaning. fit (it is made, done) was used as the passive of facit. In the perfect forms (perfect, pluperfect, and future perfect), this was a compound verb just like regular verbs (factus est it has been done).
Swedish
SwedishSwedish language
Swedish is a North Germanic language, spoken by approximately 10 million people, predominantly in Sweden and parts of Finland, especially along its coast and on the Åland islands. It is largely mutually intelligible with Norwegian and Danish...
has a few passive-voice deponents, although interestingly, its closely related neighbour languages Danish
Danish language
Danish is a North Germanic language spoken by around six million people, principally in the country of Denmark. It is also spoken by 50,000 Germans of Danish ethnicity in the northern parts of Schleswig-Holstein, Germany, where it holds the status of minority language...
and Norwegian
Norwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
mostly use active corresponding forms. Indeed, Norwegian shows the opposite trend: like in English, active verbs are sometimes used with a passive sense, such as in "boka solgte 1000 eksemplarer" ("the book sold 1000 copies"). -s is the normal passive ending in the Scandinavian languages.
- andas, "breathe" (cf. Danish and Norwegian Bokmål ånde (non-deponent))
- hoppas, "hope" (cf. Danish håbe, Norwegian Bokmål håpe (non-deponent))
- kräkas, "vomit"
- trivas, "enjoy oneself"
- minnas, "remember"
Norwegian
NorwegianNorwegian language
Norwegian is a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Norway, where it is the official language. Together with Swedish and Danish, Norwegian forms a continuum of more or less mutually intelligible local and regional variants .These Scandinavian languages together with the Faroese language...
has several common deponents which use the '-s' passive ending in the active voice, instead of the usual '-r' active ending:
- kjennes, "perceive",
- lykkes, "succeed",
- synes, "think",
- trives, "thrive".
The past tense is indicated by 'd or 't', e.g. kjentes, lyktes, syntes, trivdes.
Deponency and tense
Some verbs are deponent universally, but other verbs are deponent only in certain tenses, or use deponent forms from different voices in different tenses. For example, the Greek verb ἀναβαίνω (anabaino) uses active forms in the imperfect active and aoristAorist
Aorist is a philological term originally from Indo-European studies, referring to verb forms of various languages that are not necessarily related or similar in meaning...
active, but in the future
Future tense
In grammar, a future tense is a verb form that marks the event described by the verb as not having happened yet, but expected to happen in the future , or to happen subsequent to some other event, whether that is past, present, or future .-Expressions of future tense:The concept of the future,...
active it shows the middle form ἀναβήσομαι (anabesomai). The future active form might be predicted to be *ἀναβήσω (anabeso), but this form does not occur, because the verb is deponent in the future tense. The future forms that do occur have the same meaning and translation value that the active forms would have if they occurred.
Latin has a few semi-deponent verbs, which behave normally in the imperfect system, but are deponent in the perfect.
Peculiar issues in Greek
Koine Greek has a few verbs which have very different meanings in the active and middle/passive forms. For example, ('hapto') means "I set fire to," whereas its middle form ('haptomai') means "I touch." Because is much more common in usage, beginners often learn this form first and are tempted to assume that it is a deponent.External links
- See the Surrey Deponency website for a cross-linguistic survey of deponent phenomena
- Matthew Baerman, Greville G. Corbett, Dunstan Brown, and Andrew Hippisley (eds) 2007. Deponency and Morphological Mismatches. Oxford: Oxford University Press and the British Academy. (Proceedings of the British Academy 145) 340 pages