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Questions and Answers
What thematic role does 'Mary' play in the sentence 'We persuaded Mary to apply for the job as bus driver'?
In the sentence 'He supplied the reporters with information', what thematic role does 'He' represent?
What role does 'his poetry' serve in the context of 'Earle has been earning money through his poetry'?
In 'We were playing a game of monopoly for relaxation', what is the thematic role of 'relaxation'?
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What thematic role does 'the accountant' play in 'The accountant made a mistake in the calculations'?
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In the sentence 'Jane envies my success', what is the thematic role of 'my success'?
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What role does 'the library' serve in the sentence 'I checked a book out of the library yesterday'?
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In 'We had to carry the couch up three flights of stairs to Jerry's apartment', what thematic role does 'to Jerry's apartment' play?
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Study Notes
Thematic Roles
- AGENT: the initiator of some action, capable of acting with volition.
- PATIENT: the entity undergoing the effect of some action, often undergoing some change of state.
- THEME: the entity which is moved by an action, or whose location is described.
- EXPERIENCER: the entity which is aware of the action or state described by the predicate but which is not in control of the action or state.
- BENEFICIARY: the entity for whose benefit the action was performed.
- INSTRUMENT: the means by which an action is performed or something comes about.
- LOCATION: the place in which something is situated or takes place.
- GOAL: the entity towards which something moves, either literally or metaphorically.
- SOURCE: the entity from which something moves, either literally or metaphorically.
- ACTOR: the entity which performs, effects, instigates, or controls the situation denoted by the predicate (supertype of AGENT).
- RECIPIENT: a subtype of GOAL involved in actions describing changes of possession.
- PERCEPT/STIMULUS: the entity which is perceived or experienced.
Thematic Roles (examples)
- Mary: PATIENT (persuaded by the "we")
- He: AGENT (supplied information)
- his poetry: INSTRUMENT (means by which Earle earns money)
- relaxation: GOAL (the purpose for playing Monopoly)
- Angela: AGENT (reading stories to the children)
- him: PATIENT (suspected by the police)
- the summit of the mountain: GOAL (the destination of the climber)
- The captain of the swim team: AGENT (performing the action of swimming)
- the library: SOURCE (location from which the book was removed)
- to Jerry's apartment: GOAL (destination of the couch)
- The accountant: AGENT (responsible for the mistake)
- my success: PATIENT (what Jane envies)
- at the party: LOCATION (place where Margaret's friend was seen)
- He: AGENT (performing the action of lending money)
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Description
Explore the various thematic roles that entities can play in sentence structures. This quiz will cover definitions and examples of roles such as Agent, Patient, and Experiencer, enhancing your understanding of linguistics and syntax. Test your knowledge on how these roles interact within sentences!
