Re: Two different opposites (again)

Hi!

Carsten Becker <post@...> writes:
>  > There is also the "inverse" relation:
>  >
>  > to buy <--> to sell
>  >
>  > to teach <--> to learn (the same word, "apprendre",
>  > can be used in French, although there is also
>  > "enseigner" fo "to teach")
>  > etc.
>
> Cool, that adds another dimension ...
The two pairs are still different: 'teach' is the causative of
'learn'.  But 'sell' is not the causative of 'buy', but more a pair
like 'give' - 'take'.  It's more balanced in who causes what.

> one can really use "apprendre" for to teach?! I didn't know that.
Me either.  Interesting indeed.

My book about classical Chinese tells me that it is very common to use
intransitive verbs transitively to add causative meaning.  This is
similar: although 'learn' *is* transitive, you'd add another agent and
get 'teach':

'I learn you Latin.' :-)

Very understandable.

This does not work for 'buy' - 'sell', though, because the pair is of
a different kind.

**Henrik

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