Advances in Role and Reference Grammar

A SYNOPSIS OF ROLE AND REFERENCE GRAMMAR 81

b. With respect to the LS, execute step (1) from (63) and

determine actor only.

 With respect to the sentence being analyzed, determine the

semantic roles of the non-macrorole core arguments from

their case marking/adposition; if the non-macrorole core

argument is marked by a locative adposition, link it with the

first argument position in the state predicate in the LS;

otherwise, link it to the second argument position.

3. Link actor with actor, undergoer with undergoer, remaining
   semantic role(s) with remaining semantic role(s).


4. If there is an element in the PCS,
   a. Link all of the non-PCS arguments first;
   b. Assign it the remaining unlinked argument position in the
   LS.

This procedure can be illustrated with the same sentences used above, (66)
and (67). With respect to (66a), Maria presented the spatula to Larry, the
first step is to determine the voice of the verb; it is active voice, which
means that the pivot is the actor. The first NP after the verb is non-oblique,
and so as a first hypothesis it will be tentatively tagged as the undergoer.
The next step is to call up the LS for present from the lexicon, [do'(x)]
CAUSE [BECOME have'(y,z)]. Step 1 from (63) is then carried out, with
the result that χ = effector,  = locative, and ζ = theme; by (25), the effec­
tor, x, is the actor. Because there is more than one possible undergoer
choice with this verb, undergoer cannot be assigned. Rather, by step 2c in
(70), the role of the oblique core argument Larry is deduced from its pre­
positional marker; since to is a locative preposition, Larry must be a loca­
tive-type argument, i.e. linked to the first argument position in a two-place
state predicate. At this point the following has been determined: (1) with
respect to the sentence itself, Maria is the actor, a spatula is tentatively
identified as the undergoer, and Larry bears a locative-type thematic rela­
tion; (2) with respect to the LS of respect, χ = effector = actor,  = loca­
tive, and ζ — theme. By step 3 the two actors may be linked, as may the two
locative roles; this leaves the undergoer in the clause and the theme argu­
ment in the LS unassigned, and since theme is the least marked choice for
undergoer, the two remaining arguments are linked. The result is Maria =
actor = χ = effector, a spatula = undergoer = ζ = theme, and Larry =
locative = y. This may be represented graphically as in Figure 19; the cir­
cled numbers refer to the steps in (70).