Middle verbs

Long time not write ! 

I've been busy after the Christmas season but now I intend  to resume my habitual writing. This time I'm going to speak about another English quirk, middle verbs. Middle verbs are dual verbs in the sense that they can have an active and passive meaning at the same time, depending on the use. In other words, they are a bit like auto-antonyms : they can refer to two opposite actions. Let see how this works with functioning examples : 

1. Open     I usually open my shop at 10.00
                  My shop usually opens at 10.00   (my shop is opened at 10.00)

2. Close    Can you close the door ?
                   This door closes as soon as some air comes through that window (=is closed).

3. Read      I read your email yesterday.
                  This essay reads very well (=is readable)

4.  Hurt      I hurt my knee while I was climbing that tree.
                   My knee hurts because I climbed a tree yesterday. (=aches)

5. Look      I'm looking at you. 
                   You look horrible today.  (= appearance)

6. Sell         I am a book seller. I sell books.
                   This book is a best-seller. It sells very well. It is a best-selling book. (=is sold)

7. Start        I start my English classes at 10.00.
                     My English classes start at 10.00. (=are started)

8. Finish      Paul finishes his job at 20.00.
                    Paul's job finishes at 20.00.  (=is finished)

9. Break      I broke a glass while I was doing the washing-up.
                     That glass broke while I was doing the washing-up (=was broken).

10. Take       I take at least two hours to study. 
                     Studying takes time. 

11. Feel        I feel really good today because I don't have to work.
                     It feels great not to work today. 

12. Taste      I tasted a delicious chocolate cake.
                     This chocolate cake tastes delicious. 

13. Ring       I always ring my mother when I get back home. (=phone)
                    The phone is ringing. Answer it ! (=make a sound)

14. Sit          I like sitting at that table.
                    That table only sits four people. (=can only be sat by) 

15. Dress     I dress my son every morning.
                    My son dresses casually (=get dressed)

16. Cook      I'm cooking rice.
                     The rice is cooking. 

17. Get (dirty)   I got the floor really dirty when I accidentally dropped a glass of red wine. 
                      The floor got really dirty when I accidentally dropped a glass of red wine                                 (=became). 

18. Make      I made a lot of friends at the party.
                     Joanne and Paul made friends at the party. 

19. Fly          I like flying my kite. 
                     Look ! My kite is flying. 

20. Drive      I like driving a Ferrari.
                     This Ferrari drives very well (=is driven)

Well, isn't English really interesting and illogical at the same time? Verbs that combine both active and passive meaning. Awesome ! What do you think about this English quirk? Personally, I find it amazing. 

See you around.