Sentential Semantic Relations (Thematic Roles)

The volitional causer of an event
Usually subject in active sentence
The waiter spilled the soup.

The experiencer of and event
as animate subject in active sentences with no agent
John has a headache.

The non-volitional causer of the event
The wind blows debris from the mall into our yards.

The participant most directly affected by an event
as object of transitive verbs
as subject of non-action verbs
The ice melted

The end product of an event
The French government has built a regular-size baseball diamond…

The proposition or content of a propositional event
Mona asked “You met Mary Ann at a super market?”

An instrument used in an event
usually direct object after the verbs: use, with, etc
I used some flour to make a cake.

The beneficiary of an event
as indirect object with transitive verbs
Ann made reservations for her.

prepositions at, in, on, beyond, etc
I’m at Portland.

The origin of the object of a transfer event
prepositions from, out, of, etc
I drove from Portland.

The destination of an object of a transfer event
prepositions to, into, etc
I drove to Portland.