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<p>This article investigates the set of English intransitive resultatives exemplified by <i>The door pushed open</i> or <i>The cork pulled free</i>. They might seem analogous to intransitive resultatives such as <i>The lake froze solid</i> since in both the surface subject is understood as the object of the corresponding transitive use of the verb (e.g., <i>Pat pushed the door</i>; <i>The cold snap froze the lake</i>). Nevertheless, they require explanation as they involve apparently unaccusative uses of verbs that typically disallow them (e.g., *<i>The door pushed</i> vs.&#xa0;<i>The lake froze</i>). I propose that such resultatives qualify as the anticausative variant of the causative alternation; their transitive counterparts with the same verb–result phrase qualify as the causative variant (e.g., <i>Pat pushed the door open</i>). I argue that the semantic and discourse factors that license the non-expression of a cause which is a hallmark of the anticausative variant license these resultatives. I show that the verb and the adjective heading the result phrase each come from semantically restricted sets that give rise to verb–result phrase combinations that make this possible. Independent support comes from the availability of intransitive directed motion event descriptions with many of the same verbs, which I show must satisfy the same semantic licensing conditions.</p>

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The door pushed open: an English intransitive resultative construction with transitive-only verbs

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  • 发表日期：

    2026年2月21日

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  • Beth Levin

摘要

This article investigates the set of English intransitive resultatives exemplified by The door pushed open or The cork pulled free. They might seem analogous to intransitive resultatives such as The lake froze solid since in both the surface subject is understood as the object of the corresponding transitive use of the verb (e.g., Pat pushed the door; The cold snap froze the lake). Nevertheless, they require explanation as they involve apparently unaccusative uses of verbs that typically disallow them (e.g., *The door pushed vs. The lake froze). I propose that such resultatives qualify as the anticausative variant of the causative alternation; their transitive counterparts with the same verb–result phrase qualify as the causative variant (e.g., Pat pushed the door open). I argue that the semantic and discourse factors that license the non-expression of a cause which is a hallmark of the anticausative variant license these resultatives. I show that the verb and the adjective heading the result phrase each come from semantically restricted sets that give rise to verb–result phrase combinations that make this possible. Independent support comes from the availability of intransitive directed motion event descriptions with many of the same verbs, which I show must satisfy the same semantic licensing conditions.