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Transitive and Intransitive Verbs
Volition is prominent in active–stative languages with fluid-S. In a study by Matthew Rispoli, expert in psycholinguistics, there are at least three dimensions along which transitive and intransitive verbs may be grouped and differentiated. The three dimensions are 1) case marking, 2) locus of change animacy (theme animacy), and 3) planning, as indicated by the appropriate use of verb suffixes denoting request, desire, and prohibition.

Case marking
Transitive and intransitive action verb groups share common conceptual ground. The transitive and intransitive action verb groups can be contrasted on a formal dimension of case marking because the two verb groups have different syntactic relations to the theme.

Sinhala actively uses case marking to distinguish between volitional and non-volitional agents.

An example comparing a volitional event and a non-volitional event is shown below with the gloss and its English translation.

Sinhala


 * a.||Ma-mə||kawi||kiənə-wa
 * I. volition ||poetry|| tell.A.TNS
 * 'I recite poetry.'
 * b.||Ma-ʈə||kawi||kiəwenə-wa
 * I. non-volition ||poetry|| tell.B.TNS
 * 'I started reading poetry (despite myself).'
 * }
 * I. non-volition ||poetry|| tell.B.TNS
 * 'I started reading poetry (despite myself).'
 * }
 * 'I started reading poetry (despite myself).'
 * }

In Hindi, volition can be expressed with certain verbs, when the subject did something on purpose the subject noun gets the ergative case suffix, if the subject did not intend to do something, the subject noun is in the nominative case instead.

Hindi


 * a.||Rām||khãs-a
 * Ram. MASC . NOM ||cough- PRF . MASC . SG
 * 'Ram coughed.'
 * b.||Rām-ne||khãs-a
 * Ram- MASC . ERG ||cough- PRF . MASC . SG
 * 'Ram coughed (purposefully).'
 * }
 * Ram- MASC . ERG ||cough- PRF . MASC . SG
 * 'Ram coughed (purposefully).'
 * }
 * 'Ram coughed (purposefully).'
 * }

Theme animacy
According to Rispoli, semantic information concerning the locus of change, and therefore theme, may further serve to distinguish the two groups. Some verbs typically refer to animate loci of change, for example, ’sit’ (intransitive) and ’play’ (intransitive), while other verbs seem very odd with animate themes, for  example ’take’ (transitive) and  ’drink’ (transitive). Still other action verbs seem to apply to vehicles and animate loci of change, for example, ’run’ (intransitive). The theme animacy dimension is conceptualized as being based on a combination of features: biological animacy and movement. It is posited that a number of cues may give rise to the impression of animacy. The first is the biological fact of being animal. The second is initiation of self-movement. At one pole of the dimension are true animates. They are animal and are capable of initiating self-movement. At the opposite pole are inert inanimates, which are neither animal nor capable of self-initiated movement. Between the two poles are animate surrogates and vehicles. Animate surrogates are dolls and pictures of animates. Vehicles are mobile machines like airplanes and cars.

Planned action
Also shown in Rispoli’s study was that certain non-syntactic dimensions are common to all action verbs. Actions may be either planned or unplanned. The planning dimension is partially reflected in syntax by the agent or actor roles. An animate agent is a planner who instigates an action, and the agent may be separate from the locus of change. However, some actions have agents that are identical with the locus of change, and these are typically referred to by intransitive actions. The actors of intransitive verbs such as ’walk’ (intransitive), or ’sit’ (intransitive) are also planners. Nevertheless, there are some intransitive verbs, such as ’break’ (intransitive) and ’open’ (intransitive) which do not typically take animate themes, and in which the locus of change is not considered an actor or agent. It is possible that these intransitive verbs are not distinguished from transitive verbs on the basis of theme animacy, in which case their theme referents typically will be inanimate. However, these verbs are more likely to refer to unplanned actions, in which case they will not occur in requests, imperatives, desideratives or prohibitions. Thus, an interaction of locus of change animacy and the planned nature of an action provides the basis for discriminating transitive from intransitive action verbs. An observable indicator that correlates with planning is the expression of request, desire and prohibition of action. Some languages, such as Japanese, do this with verb suffixes and auxiliaries.

Use of Auxiliaries
Some languages use auxiliary verbs to specify that an action was done with volition. Auxiliary verbs may also be used to mark the opposite condition, a lack of volition or control.

Japanese is one language that exhibits both auxiliaries indicating volition and auxiliaries indicating lack of volition. The verb aru has a basic meaning of 'be' or 'stay' and is used with inanimate subjects. As an auxiliary verb, in the form -te-aru, it can be used in conjunction with verbs of volition to express that something is in a certain state as the result of some purposeful human intervention.

volition:

ki ga taoshite-aru tree-NOM fell:TE-ASP: NONPAST

'the tree has been felled'

In contrast, the verb iru can be used as an auxiliary with non-volitional intransitive verbs to simply indicate a state of being, without the element of volition. Iru also has a basic meaning of 'be' or 'stay', but is used with animate subjects. In this use as an auxiliary verb, iru appears in the form -te-iru.

volition neutral:

ki ga taorete-iru

tree-NOM fell:TE-ASP: NONPAST

'the tree has fallen (and, is lying on the ground)'

In contrast with the previous volition indicating and volition neutral auxiliaries, an auxiliary form of the verb shimau ('finish, put away') can be used to mark a lack of volition. Used in the form -te-shimau (or -te-shimat-ta in the past), this auxiliary marks an action as completed, overlaid with sense of regret, embarrassment, surprise, or lack of control. . In casual speech, shimau may be shortened to -chau (or -chat-ta in the past) as seen in the first example.

lack of volition

neji hazure-chat-ta

screw come.off-COMPL-PST

'the screw came off (to my surprise)'

pasupooto o nakushite-shimat-ta

passport lose-COMPL-PST

'I lost my passport'