How a language groups the subject of an intransitive verb with either the subject or the object of a transitive one.
In precise terms
The pattern by which the sole argument of an intransitive clause (S) is treated relative to the agent (A) and patient (P) of a transitive clause. Nominative-accusative alignment groups S with A; ergative-absolutive groups S with P.
An example
Gizona etorri da. / Gizonak haurra ikusi du.
The man came. / The man saw the child.
What is going on here
Basque 'gizona' is unmarked when it is the sole argument of 'came', but takes the ergative '-k' when it is the agent of 'saw'. English marks both the same way. Basque groups the intransitive subject with the transitive object; English groups it with the transitive subject.
Why this matters when you are learning a language
Alignment is the clearest demonstration that 'subject' is not a universal given. A learner of an ergative language who assumes the English pattern will mark the wrong argument in half of all clauses.
Across languages
Basque, Georgian, many Australian and Mayan languages show ergative patterns; most of Europe is accusative. Many ergative languages are split — ergative in some tenses or with some persons and accusative elsewhere.
Related terms
- ErgativityAdvanced — A case system where the doer of a transitive action gets a special marking that intransitive subjects do not.
- SubjectBeginner — The part of a clause that the verb agrees with — usually who or what performs the action.
- ObjectBeginner — The part of a clause that the action is done to.
- Grammatical caseIntermediate — Endings on nouns showing their role in the sentence — who did it, who it was done to, whose it is.
- Linguistic typologyAdvanced — Classifying languages by their structural features rather than their family history.
Where to go next
- Language guides — See grammatical and lexical categories used in context.
- Terminology quiz — Test the terms on this page.