nearpassive

Nearpassive is a term used in linguistics to describe a voice construction that lies between active and passive. It foregrounds the patient-like participant while diminishing the salience or explicit encoding of the agent. The term is not universally standardized and is used mainly in typological discussions and experimental grammars to describe alternating or intermediate voice phenomena.

Morphology and syntax: In nearpassive clauses, the patient typically serves as the clause’s subject and may be accompanied by verb forms that resemble passive morphology, while the agent is optional, suppressed, or marked differently from a full passive. Nearpassives often convey a resulting state, affectedness, or a change of possession rather than a straightforward action performed by a clear agent. They can interact with aspect, evidentiality, and mood, sometimes signaling reduced agency or intentionality.

Cross-linguistic patterns: Nearpassive-like configurations have been reported in a limited number of languages and language corpora. They can arise in isolating and fusional systems through valency-changing processes, derivational morphology, or syntactic reanalysis that shifts focality toward the patient. Distinctions from full passive typically include the absence of a dedicated passive marker or the continued salience of the patient without a fully demoted agent.

Research and status: The concept remains debated. Some researchers treat nearpassive as a distinct diathesis, while others view it as a pragmatic or grammatical variant within existing active-passive systems. Ongoing work includes cross-linguistic documentation, psycholinguistic processing studies, and typological surveys to clarify its distribution and constraints. See also: passive voice, middle voice, valency, and causative-inchoative alternations.