Ergative language

Ergative–absolutive languages, or simply ergative languages, are languages sharing a certain distinctive pattern relating to the subjects (or technically, arguments) of verbs. Among ergative languages are Basque, Georgian and Mayan, though not English or other Indo-European languages.

In an ergative language, the single argument ("subject") of an intransitive verb behaves like the object of a transitive verb, and differently from the agent of a transitive verb. This is in contrast to nominative–accusative languages, such as English and most other European languages, where the single argument of an intransitive verb (e.g. "She" in the sentence "She walks.") behaves grammatically like the agent of a transitive verb (e.g. "She" in the sentence "She finds it.") but differently from the object of a transitive verb (e.g. "her" in the sentence "She likes her.")

In ergative–absolutive languages with grammatical case, the case used for the single argument of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb is the absolutive, while the case used for the agent of a transitive verb is the ergative. In nominative–accusative languages, the case for the single argument of an intransitive verb and the agent of a transitive verb is the nominative while the case for the direct object of a transitive verb is the accusative.

There is a variant group, the ergative accusative languages (such as Dyirbal), which function ergatively with respect to nouns, but are nominative-accusative with pronouns.

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