Examples (English) The paper is in the folder. What is locative as a semantic role? Definition Locative is a semantic role which identifies the location or spatial orientation of a state or action. A locative semantic role does not imply motion to, from, or across the location. Instrument words are usually nouns occurring in the noun phrase of a clause: Someone cut the bread with a knife. It is the stimulus or immediate physical cause of an event. What is instrument as a semantic role? Definition Instrument is the semantic role of an inanimate thing that an agent uses to implement an event. Examples (English) John swam to the raft. What is goal as a semantic role? Definition: Goal is the semantic role of the place to which something moves, or thing toward which an action is directed. Examples (English) Lucretia saw the bicycle. Normally an experiencer is an entity that receives a sensory impression, or in some other way is the locus of some event or activity that involves neither volition nor a change of state. What is experiencer as a semantic role? Definition Experiencer is the semantic role of an entity (or referent ) which receives accepts experiences, or undergoes the effect of an action. What is causer as a semantic role? Definition Causer is the semantic role of the referent which instigates an event rather than actually doing it. Ex: John helped Susan to buy her first car.
What is a beneficiary as a semantic role? A beneficiary is the semantic role of a referent which is advantaged or disadvantaged by an event. The person or thing that undergoes a process: The water evaporated. More examples… The thing that is affected by an event: The dog ate the meat. More examples… The entity which is possessed, acquired, or exchanged: John has a new book. The entity undergoing a change of state or location: He opened the door. Įxamples The entity predicated with a state or location: The door is open. Larson 1984 defines the affected role as the thing that is affected by an event person or thing that undergoes a process, or person who experiences an event. What is patient as a semantic role? Also known as: affected, undergoer Longacre 1983 defines a patient as the entity undergoing a change of state or location, or which is possessed, acquired or exchanged. The key = SUBJECT The key = INSTRUMENT The door opened. Bob = SUBJECT Bob = AGENT The key opened the door. Notice what varying semantic roles a subject can play: Sentence Grammatical relation Semantic role Bob opened the door with a key. Semantic roles do not correspond directly to grammatical relations. Grammatical relations ( subject, object, oblique …) are morphosyntactic, whereas semantic roles ( agent, patient, instrument …) are conceptual notions. In both of the above sentences, John has the semantic role of agent. Therefore, the semantic role of Bill is the same (patient) in both of the following sentences: John hit Bill. Also known as: Semantic case, thematic role.Įxample: If, in some real or imagined situation, someone named John purposely hits someone named Bill, then John is the agent and Bill is the patient of the hitting event. A semantic role is the underlying relationship that a participant has with the main verb in a clause.