Middle Voice

What is the middle voice?

The middle voice, also known as the “medial voice,” is an approximate type of grammatical voice that combines aspects of both active and passive voices. In this voice, the subject both performs and receives the action expressed by the verb. For example, in the sentence “He injured himself playing rugby,” the subject “he” is both the agent of the action and the receiver of the injury. Similarly, in the sentence “The cat is scratching itself,” the cat is both the agent of the scratching and the receiver of the action.

It’s important to note that middle-voice verbs follow the same syntactic structure as active-voice verbs (subject + verb), but function semantically as passive-voice verbs. Because of this, it can be described as a combination of active and passive voices.

Due to the fact that there is no exclusive verb form for the middle voice, it is often categorized as the active voice since it uses the same verb structure in a sentence. For example, the sentence “Some snakes have tried to eat inedible things” is in the active voice, while the sentence “Some snakes have tried to eat themselves” is in the middle voice. Similarly, the sentence “The man accidentally hit his face” is in the active voice, while the sentence “The man accidentally hit himself in the face” is in the middle voice.

How to identify the middle voice

One way to differentiate the middle voice from the active voice is to check if a reflexive pronoun is present after the verb, indicating that the subject is both performing and receiving the action. Additionally, an intransitive verb acting upon the subject is also a sign of the middle voice.

When the direct object is a reflexive pronoun

The middle voice can be distinguished by the presence of a reflexive pronoun after the verb, indicating that the subject is both performing and receiving the action. For example, in the sentence “The child warmed herself by blowing into her hands,” the reflexive pronoun “herself” refers to the child and indicates that the child is acting upon itself. Similarly, in the sentence “Small dogs tend to hurt themselves when playing with bigger dogs,” the reflexive pronoun “themselves” refers to small dogs and indicates that they are receiving the action of being hurt.

Many middle-voice verbs are transitive verbs and require a direct object in the form of a reflexive pronoun to make the sentence coherent. Without a reflexive pronoun, the receiver of the action becomes unclear, as in the examples “The child warmed by blowing into her hands” and “Small dogs tend to hurt when playing with bigger dogs.” Reusing the agent instead of adding a reflexive pronoun can also change the meaning of the sentence, as in “The child warmed the child by blowing into her hands” and “Small dogs tend to hurt small dogs when playing with bigger dogs.” Using a personal pronoun instead of a reflexive pronoun can also change or confuse the meaning of the verb’s action, as in “The child warmed her by blowing into her hands” and “Small dogs tend to hurt them when playing with bigger dogs.”

However, there are certain verbs for which the reflexive pronouns are implied and may therefore be eliminated. For example, in the sentences “My father is shaving himself in the bathroom” and “She always stretches herself before doing yoga,” the reflexive pronoun can be removed without affecting the coherence of the sentence, as in “My father is shaving in the bathroom” and “She always stretches before doing yoga.”

When the verb is intransitive and acting upon the agent

Certain intransitive verbs can be used to modify an agent (usually an inanimate object) that is also the receiver of the action. In the middle voice, this type of verb does not take a reflexive pronoun (or any direct object). For example:

• “My sister’s lunch is cooking on the stove.” (Cook is an intransitive verb indicating what is being cooked.)
• “This car doesn’t drive smoothly anymore.” (Drive is an intransitive verb indicating what is being driven.)
• “Her engagement ring broke in half.” (Break is an intransitive verb indicating what is being broken.)

However, active-voice verbs can also be intransitive and are expressed identically to middle-voice verbs. For example:

• “The boy laughed when he heard the joke.” (Laugh is an intransitive verb indicating who is laughing.)
• “Someone is crying in the hallway.” (Cry is an intransitive verb indicating who is crying.)

You can determine whether an intransitive verb is in the active voice or the middle voice by changing the verb into the passive voice. Doing so will convert the intransitive verb into a transitive verb and the agent into the receiver of the action. If the meaning of the sentence stays roughly the same, it is in the middle voice. If the meaning changes dramatically or lacks coherence, it is in the active voice. For example:

• “My sister’s lunch is cooking on the stove.” (original)
• “My sister’s lunch is being cooked on the stove.” (passive voice)

Because cook can be converted into a transitive verb in the passive voice without altering the meaning of the original sentence, we know that the original sentence must be in the middle voice.

Here is another example:

• “The boy laughed when he heard the joke.” (original)
• “The boy was laughed when he heard the joke.” (passive voice)

When converted into the passive voice, the original sentence loses coherence; therefore, we know it must be in the active voice.