active vs passive (If you had sat the plant in a cooler location, the leaves...)

[Nessie]

Please have a look at this sentence:

1. If you had sat the plant in a cooler location, the leaves would not have burned

=> First, I find "you had sat the plant" here so strange...

Second, can the word "burn" here be used in active voice?
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... something we never have again, I know... I guess I really really know..

Sorry seems to be the hardest word...

[Ralf]

If you had put the plant in a shady place, the sun would not have burnt/singed/scorched the leaves.
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[Yankee]

Hi Nessie

The verb 'burn' is an ergative verb. You can say either 'the sun burned the leaves' or 'the leaves burned (in the sun)'. You can read a little bit about ergative verbs here.
And here is a list of some common ergative verbs in English.
.

[Molly]

The verb 'burn' is an ergative verb.

Indeed it can be.

[Molly]

[Nessie]

Thanks a lot, Ralf, but Molly is right because I surely know how to right a proper sentence, I just wonder if this usage is right, that's why I posted it here

To Amy:
Have you any idea about the phrase "you had sat the plant" here, Amy?
I have no idea of not believing Molly, but I found no structure like hers in my OALD. In fact I could only find "to sit someone on something"

Many thanks
Nessie
_________________
... something we never have again, I know... I guess I really really know..

Sorry seems to be the hardest word...

[Nessie]

Could anybody please tell me if the phrase "you had sat the plant" here is all right. I find it so strange... (+_+)

Many thanks
Nessie
_________________
... something we never have again, I know... I guess I really really know..

Sorry seems to be the hardest word...

[Lambie]

It's 'had set', folks, not 'had sat', unl;ess you're that someone had purposely sat down himself. 'To sit' is volitional--that is you sit down, he sits down, he has sat down. It's an act of will. If you set something down, the thing getting set down hasn't got a choice. So 'I set the plant down'. or-- I set myself down. It's the same thing for 'to lie' [volitional--I lie down on my bed] and 'to lay' [not volitional. 'I lay the baby down.]

Of course, there's a lot more to these verbs than the little bit I've discussed, as they are slightly irregular. But this does for present tense and simple past tense.

Here's an old mnemonic: People lie, hens lay; people sit, hens set. [Although I have a newly divorced friend who says, 'Men lie, hens lay...]

[Lambie]

I do beg your problem for all my typing mistakes. Let me reprise.
The first sentence should read:

t's 'had set', folks, not 'had sat', unless someone has purposely sat down, himself.