Some of the fruit here sells very well.

[dido4]

Some of the fruit here sells very well.

Q: Can fruit sell itself? Doesn't only human sell things?

Thank you.

 

[probus]

The fruit can sell itself, as can any highly attractive object .

 

[teechar]

Some of the fruit here sells very well.

Q: Can fruit sell itself? [STRIKE]Doesn't[/STRIKE] Don't only humans sell things?

Thank you.

The verb "sell" is intransitive here.
"Sells very well" means the fruit is popular with customers, and it gets sold easily.

 

[tedmc]

Some of the fruits here sell very well.
Of course there are people there to sell the fruits. It is not as if there is nobody to man the shop/stall when you say that.
Still you say the "fruits sell well" or the "products sell well" or "an idea sells".

 

[Matthew Wai]

I think the OP should refer to definition#4 below, but I am not a teacher.
http://www.ldoceonline.com/dictionary/sell

 

[Tarheel]

Of course, fruit is both a count noun and a noncount noun. Either usage (fruit, fruits) is acceptable.

 

[Raymott]

The verb "sell" is intransitive here.
"Sells very well" means the fruit is popular with customers, and it gets sold easily.

That's right. In "The fruit sells very well", the verb is intransitive. In "The fruit sells itself", as some have expressed the meaning, it's reflexive.

In many languages, reflexive constructions are rendered by transitive verbs followed by a reflexive pronoun, as in English -self (e.g., "She threw herself to the floor.")
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reflexive_verb

 

[Matthew Wai]

In "The fruit sells very well", the verb is intransitive.

I think the verb below is also intransitive, but I am not a teacher.
'The fruit is going very cheap.'

 

[Tdol]

Do[strike]es[/strike]n't only human sell things?

In terms of exchanging money for goods, yes, but the fruit's qualities will also attract the buyers, so you could see it as part of the process.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Dido:

I have found some information that I wish to share with you.

A world-famous grammarian makes these points:

1. You cannot say, "This house sold yesterday" if you are referring to "a single act of selling."'

2. You may, however, say, "His books sell very well."

a. "We think to some extent of the books as active themselves, rather than the activity of the bookseller."
b. "We indicate in such a sentence something that is felt as characteristic of the subject." [my emphasis]

i. "Therefore the verb generally requires some further descriptive term."

[Only my note: He seems be saying that "Some of the fruit here sells" needs "well" to make the sentence acceptable.]


3. Here are two more of his examples: "The meat cuts tender" and "His scientific papers read like novels." [my emphases]

Credit: Otto Jespersen, Essentials of English Grammar (1933), page 118.

*****

A book that is very popular with students and teachers says this:

4. In some sentences, "the intransitive use has a meaning rather like a passive." [my emphasis]

a. Transitive: "We are selling a lot of copies of your book."
b. Intransitive: "Your book is selling well."

Credit: Michael Swan, Practical English Usage (1995 edition), entry (NOT page) 579.3.


*****

If you are interested in a complete grammatical explanation regarding such sentences, you may wish to google: Middle voice in English.

 

[MikeNewYork]

"A world-famous grammarian makes these points:

1. You cannot say, "This house sold yesterday" if you are referring to "a single act of selling."'

Your world-famous grammarian is wrong.

 

[Skrej]

I can't even figure out the point the "world-famous grammarian" is trying to make there, but yeah, that's as wrong as twice two equaling five.

 

[Tdol]

That grammarian should read up on auctions, where reports routinely say that a painting sold for xx million dollars. I don't think it is about whether it is a single event or not.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****

Hello, Tdol:

I agree that in 2015 many native speakers would have no trouble with "That house sold for $25,000,000 yesterday."

I am guessing that when Professor Jespersen wrote that in the early 1930s, it was still considered correct to use the formal passive: "was sold."

I used to get quite annoyed when I started getting emails that read: "Good news! The item that you ordered from us shipped yesterday." Of course, they meant "was shipped."

I understand, of course, that one must change with the times. So now I'm used to "We will send you an email when your item ships.," instead of "is shipped." In fact, I rather like the sound now!

Nevertheless. should elementary and intermediate students of English go around speaking such sentences?

It is not my place to say.

 

[Matthew Wai]

... in the early 1930s, it was still considered correct to use the formal passive: "was sold."

Does it mean 'was sold' is no longer considered correct now?

 

[MikeNewYork]

The problem with using out-of-date books is that they don't change with the times. It is perfectly fine for students to say "That house sold for $25,000,000 yesterday."

 

[MikeNewYork]

Matthew, "was sold" is also correct.

 

[TheParser]

***** NOT A TEACHER *****


Hello, Mr. Wai:

I meant that in the 1930s, only "was sold" may have been considered correct.

Perhaps only "sold" would have been considered a serious mistake.

In 2015, I think that both are correct: the formal passive and the so-called middle voice.

I can understand that people in the real estate business today would brag, "My house on Maple Avenue sold for $50,000,000. Can you guys beat that?"

Which form should students of English use?

I shall, of course, defer to the teachers on this forum and keep my opinion to myself.

 

[tzfujimino]

'The house sold yesterday' is an interesting sentence, but I'd avoid using it.

 

[MikeNewYork]

Why?