Re: "do" captures agent+subject

Henrik Theiling wrote:

>Hi!
>
>John Cowan <cowan@...> writes:
>
>
>>Henrik Theiling scripsit:
>>
>>
>>
>>>  Peter dries.
>>>  Peter falls.
>>>  Peter sneezes.
>>>  Peter speaks.
>>>  Peter runs.
>>>
>>>In English, you could argue that for each of these sentences, the
>>>answer to the question 'What does Peter *do*?' is the verb.  But this
>>>is simply because Peter is the subject of each of these sentences and
>>>by asking for the doer, you ask for the subject.
>>>
>>>
>>I don't agree.  "The Wicked Witch of the West melts" is a sentence whose
>>subject is the WWotW, but as an answer to "What does the WWotW do?" it
>>is not felicitous.  "What does X do?" marks X as both subject and agent,
>>and if either is not true, it doesn't work.
>>
>>
>
>Really?  Interesting!  Then there is a difference between German
>and English:
>  Die Hexe schmilzt.
>  Was tut die Hexe?
>  Schmelzen.
>
>
>
No, that's the same in English:

The witch is melting
What's the witch doing?
Melting.

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