Transitive or not?

Pash   Thu Dec 21, 2006 7:27 pm GMT
Is the verb transitive here?

"He washed his hair."
Guest   Thu Dec 21, 2006 7:38 pm GMT
Yes.
Calliope   Thu Dec 21, 2006 8:07 pm GMT
He = subject
his hair = object
Therefore,
washed = transitive verb
M56   Thu Dec 21, 2006 10:15 pm GMT
It's actually a pseudo-transitive.
greg   Fri Dec 22, 2006 12:13 am GMT
Pseudo-transitif ? C'est-à-dire ?
12HR   Fri Dec 22, 2006 12:59 am GMT
Why? It is just transitive. There is no pseudo-transitive.
12IR   Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:05 am GMT
12HR is an imposter (his identification is false).

BUT

He does have a point there, M56.

"Pseudo-transitive"?

I'm surprised you're not calling it "notional intransitive"!
Calliope   Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:11 am GMT
I suppose the "pseudo" part is because his hair is part of himself..? In grammar/syntax you don't care about that. You just care about structure. If you have an object, the verb is transitive.
12IH   Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:14 am GMT
"In grammar/syntax you don't care about that. You just care about structure. If you have an object, the verb is transitive."

Which is why in "this shirt irons well," "irons" is active voice and "shirt" is the subject.
Lazar   Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:15 am GMT
It is notional reflexive, because he performs the action on himself.
Would you like a grammar lesson from me?
12IE   Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:18 am GMT
Why stop there?

Actually, it's notional fifth declension semi-irregular reflexive-deponent.
Calliope   Fri Dec 22, 2006 1:32 am GMT
"It is notional reflexive, because he performs the action on himself.
Would you like a grammar lesson from me?"

If that was addressed to me, I actually would not. I'd settle for your references, because google turned up empty handed.
Calliope   Fri Dec 22, 2006 2:11 am GMT
"Which is why in "this shirt irons well," "irons" is active voice and "shirt" is the subject."

Middle voice or maybe mediopassive, actually, according to this:

http://itre.cis.upenn.edu/~myl/languagelog/archives/003300.html

and this: http://www.princeton.edu/~adele/papers/2000.Patient-Args.DOC
Jim   Fri Dec 22, 2006 2:44 am GMT
I'm afraid I'll have to differ with you on this, Lazar. What I'd say is not that he performs the action on himself but on his hair which of course is still part of himself.

I agree with Calliope. In grammar/syntax it doesn't matter whether the object is part of the subject or vice versa.

For example, "Mankind dislikes Hitler." Nothing special here: "mankind" is the subject, "Hitler" the object, Hitler was a member of the human race but this doesn't matter.
12IA   Fri Dec 22, 2006 12:09 pm GMT
You know what?

Taking a leaf out of the World War One history books, I'm calling a truce on this one for now.

Regardless of our differences, I wish everyone a very Merry Christmas, a Happy Hannukah and all the best in the New Year.

12WHATEVER