Basic Clause PatternsAttribute: a status, property, or characteristic ascribed to some entity.
(43) a. Bullwinkle is the game warden.
b. The people elected Barack Obama President of the US.
The game warden is a status ascribed to Bullwinkle by virtue of the state of
being denoted by is in (43a), and President of the US is attributed to Barack
Obama by virtue of elected in (43b).
Empty/Expletive: a phrase that does not refer to anything.
(44) a. It is snowing.
b. It is six p.m.
c. I would appreciate it if you turned down the music.
d. There are a number of issues to be considered.
Typically, NPs with Empty semantic roles are either it or there. Because
they are semantically vacuous, these NPs cannot sensibly be questioned:
(45) a. What is snowing?
b. What is six p.m.?
c. What would you appreciate if I turned down the music?
d. Where/what are a number of issues to be considered?
Let’s look now at the kinds of semantic roles that subjects can play. Sub-
jects can play most, if not all, of the roles we have mentioned.
(46) a. The horse bucked the rider. (AGENT)
b. The storm knocked out the phone lines. (FORCE)
c. The rider felt the pain. (EXPERIENCER)
d. Spiders freak me out. (STIMULUS)
e. He underwent a heart transplant. (PATIENT)
f. Fred is the strongest candidate. (THEME)
g. This key opens the strongbox. (INSTRUMENT)
h. Fred got a birthday kiss from his mom. (RECIPIENT)
i. Oscar had his own cake made for him. (BENEFACTIVE)
j. Man evolved from apes. (FACTITIVE)
k. Texas is where the best hotsauce comes from. (SOURCE)
l. Colorado is where we’re going. (GOAL)
m. Spain is where the rain falls. (LOCATION)