ergativoabsolutivo

Ergativoabsolutivo, or ergative-absolutive alignment, is a typological pattern in which the subject of an intransitive verb and the object of a transitive verb are treated the same syntactically and morphologically (the absolutive), while the agent of a transitive verb is marked separately (the ergative). In such systems, transitive clauses typically mark the agent with an ergative case or agreement, and the patient and the intransitive subject share the absolutive form.

This alignment contrasts with nominative-accusative systems, in which the subjects of both transitive and intransitive verbs are treated alike, and the object of a transitive verb receives a distinct accusative marking. In ergative-absolutive languages, the distinction may appear in noun phrase case marking, verb agreement, or both. Some languages rely on case prefixes or suffixes on nouns to indicate ergativity, while others use verbal morphology to encode the alignment.

Ergative-absolutive systems show considerable cross-linguistic variation. Many languages exhibit split ergativity, where ergative alignment appears in certain tenses, aspects, or moods but not others. Notable examples often cited in linguistic literature include Basque and various Caucasian languages, as well as some Mayan languages. The study of ergativity touches on issues of historical change, syntax– morphology interface, and how different languages package participant roles.

In scholarly practice, ergativoabsolutivo is discussed alongside terminology such as ergativity, absolutive and ergative cases, and alignment type. It remains a central concept for understanding how languages encode agents, patients, and intransitive subjects across diverse linguistic traditions.