locativepassive

Locative passive is a term used in linguistics to describe a type of passive voice in which the locative argument of a verb—the place where an event occurs or the location associated with the action—assumes the syntactic status of the subject. In such constructions, the usual patient or theme of the event is either demoted or expressed as a non-core argument, while the locative phrase occupies the grammatical subject position. The result is a clause that foregrounds location rather than the participant undergoing the action.

In languages that demonstrate locative passive, the locative NP may be marked with a case or be accompanied by spatial markers, and the verb often takes passive morphology. The agent of the action is typically suppressed or realized as an oblique phrase (for example, with by- or with- phrases) or left implicit. The precise realization of the locative argument and the conditions under which locative passives are licensed vary across languages.

Functions and use include emphasizing the site of a change or event, describing events in a venue or location, and highlighting spatial information as the primary focus. Locative passives are discussed in relation to other voice phenomena such as locative inversion (where a locative phrase precedes the verb as a canonical subject) and various applicative or pseudo-passive constructions. They are not uniformly attested across languages and are typically described in detailed grammars of languages with rich case systems or flexible argument structures.