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Path: utzoo!linus!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!cires!boulder!richard
From: richard@boulder.UUCP (Richard Byrd)
Newsgroups: net.nlang
Subject: Re: reposting of Bi-directional verbs
Message-ID: <143@boulder.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 17-Feb-84 12:33:45 EST
Article-I.D.: boulder.143
Posted: Fri Feb 17 12:33:45 1984
Date-Received: Sun, 19-Feb-84 03:00:40 EST
References: <703@linus.UUCP>
Organization: University of Colorado, Boulder
Lines: 15

What you call bidirectional verbs seem to verbs which are ambiguous as to
the relation between subject and object.  Here are a few more examples:
rent
"I rented a boat," could mean I paid money to use a boat or that I let
someone use my boat in return for money. "Lease" has the same ambiguity.
By contrast we have the pairs "buy-sell" and "borrow-lend" which avoid
the ambiguity as to who is doing what to whom.
marry
You have to go by the context. "Rev. Jones married John and Jane."  
differs from "Brigham Young married Jane and Joan."
Here again it would be useful to have two different words.
learn
"She learned me how to read" is not standard English but is common in
some areas.