Jonathan Robie wrote:English tends to go the other direction. Ergative verbs require the logical subject to be absent in sentences like these:
The book sold 100 copies
* The book sold 100 copies by the book store
The boat sank
* The boat sank by the man who submerged it
The window broke
* The window broke by the burglar
Also consider:
The school graduated him (less common usage today)
He graduated from the school
I think that the agent-phrases, "by the book store", "by the man who submerged it", and "by the burglar" are not normal English usage (not normal American English usage, at least). I think too that what we
call "active voice' in English is pretty much like what we call "active voice" in Greek: a default form for verbs that may be transitive, intransitive, impersonal. Usages of "sell", "sink", and "break" in the English sentences cited by Jonathan might be conveyed by Active or by Middle-Passive forms, depending on the individual verb. Voice usage in the English verb is not very clearly described in conventional (traditional school) English grammar. I think that "ergative" is the right term for several of these verbs which are clearly semi-reflexive -- like many Greek middle-voice verbs.