What are some examples of “The ticket is being printed” when printed?
If you stand in front of a ticket vending machine and the ticket says “The ticket is printing”. Invoice is not generated. Should I say “ticket is being printed”?
Should
a female get one if both are correct?
I am not a layperson, I am a journalist. I want to read something.
The Middle construction
“The ticket is printing” is something known as a middle construction. In English, there are many passive sentences (“The ticket is being printed”) and an active sentence (“the ticket is not actually an agent of the action”).
What are some examples of middle of English from “An Introduction
- to Syntax”
- These cars sold very quickly last week.
This type of construction are extremely common. Sometimes, it conveys basically the same information as a passive, like in your examples about tickets printing. In that situation, either construction is completely valid in any context. It seems the Boeing flight is out of date since there was only one return flight scheduled for March.
What are some interesting things
about the middle sometimes, the middle construction conveys something additional information that neither the active nor passive conveys completely.
How can
- I shut a window? Why
- the “window” is not close? When
- i open window it won’t shut, because it’s passive. (Middle)
All these sentences give the same fundamental information, i.e., a “name, color, a number” (or “id/title) e.g., “i.e., “word” or a “flag.” (middle) All of these sentences give the same information, i.e. that the action of shutting cannot occur with the window. Each one of you says something slightly different about why and what extent.
(1), the only claim is that the speaker cannot close the window. In (2), using the passive, the implication is that nobody is able to shut the window. In both cases, there is the possibility that perhaps the people trying to close the window are too weak or are doing it wrong. When it comes to a window in one window, it is the window that won’t shut. How can the window cause the inability to shut?
The middle construction is not a specific language to be used in English.
The Middle construction
“The ticket is printing” is something known as a middle construction. In English, there are many passive sentences (“The ticket is being printed”) and an active sentence (“the ticket is not actually an agent of the action”).
What are some examples of middle of English from “An Introduction
- to Syntax”
- These cars sold very quickly last week.
This type of construction are extremely common. Sometimes, it conveys basically the same information as a passive, like in your examples about tickets printing. In that situation, either construction is completely valid in any context. It seems the Boeing flight is out of date since there was only one return flight scheduled for March.
What are some interesting things
about the middle sometimes, the middle construction conveys something additional information that neither the active nor passive conveys completely.
How can
- I shut a window? Why
- the “window” is not close? When
- i open window it won’t shut, because it’s passive. (Middle)
All these sentences give the same fundamental information, i.e., a “name, color, a number” (or “id/title) e.g., “i.e., “word” or a “flag.” (middle) All of these sentences give the same information, i.e. that the action of shutting cannot occur with the window. Each one of you says something slightly different about why and what extent.
(1), the only claim is that the speaker cannot close the window. In (2), using the passive, the implication is that nobody is able to shut the window. In both cases, there is the possibility that perhaps the people trying to close the window are too weak or are doing it wrong. When it comes to a window in one window, it is the window that won’t shut. How can the window cause the inability to shut?
The middle construction is not a specific language to be used in English.
