Thus gene and perde form with amplifiers intransitive equivalents of causative verbs based on date and tracte . . . apo. The intransitive equivalent may correspond to a single English verb form, or merely to a passive construction. Thus with rugo (rough, coarse) we have:
| date rugo X | = roughen X, coarsen X (tr.) |
| tracte rugo apo X | = smooth X |
| gene rugo | = get rough, coarsen (intr.) |
| perde rugo | = get smooth |
When we resolve the verbal system of an Aryan language into a system of operators and complementary abstractions, as in Basic English, the conventional distinction between transitive and intransitive wears thin. According to text-book definitions, the room is the object of the "transitive" verb leave in he leaves the room, but the object of the preposition outside when we substitute the "intransitive" verb go in the semantic identity he goes outside the room. Thus what we call transitive or intransitive merely depends on whether we have to insert a preposition between a verb and a substantive cluster which follows it. By this token we can speak of the construction make clean in make clean your hearts as transitive, and give trouble in give trouble to others as intransitive. In what follows we shall speak of: (a) a transitive verboid, if it does not require an amplifier equivalent to a preposition to link it to a substantive cluster which comes immediately after it; (b) a transitive operator when the combination of verboid and postposited amplifier does not require the insertion of a preposition-equivalent in the same position. In this sense perde and gene are transitive verboids but intransitive operators. They cannot take an object without intervention of a preposition-equivalent; but the triple combination may do the work of a simple English verb form. Thus from credito (loan) we have;
| date credito Y de Z | = lend Y (some) Z |
| habe credito ex Y | = owe Y (= have a loan from Y) |
| gene credito ex Y | = borrow (= get a loan from Y) |
To state that date is a transitive operator is therefore another way of saying that we do not translate on in the construction: the subject (X) confers the abstract property denoted by the amplifier on the object (Y), i.e. we interpret date thermo X as confer heat on X. The territory of date as an operator is reserved for verb-equivalents which signify conferring a state or passive attribute. When an amplifier implies execution of a process, including performance of a human action, acte (do,