The English Language english language

Basic Clause Patterns

topic.
effected (also called factitive): the semantic role that indicates the entity
that comes into existence by virtue of an event.
empty/expletive: the semantic role assigned to a phrase that neither refers to
an entity nor denotes an attribute.
experiencer: the semantic role that indicates the animate entity inwardly or
psychologically affected by an event or state.
factitive: See effected.
force: the semantic role that indicates the inanimate cause of an event. Has
its own potency.
goal: the semantic role that indicates the place or state to which something
moves.
instrument: the semantic role that indicates the object (usually inanimate)
with which an act is accomplished. Lacks power of its own.
linking verb: a verb, such as be or become, that serves as the main verb in
basic clause pattern 3; grammatically links subject and subject complement.
location: the semantic role that indicates the place or state at or in which
something is at a particular time.
patient: the semantic role that indicates the animate entity physically af-
fected by the state or event.
predicate adjective: the syntactic function of an adjective phrase that fol-
lows a linking verb.
predicate nominal (also called predicate nominative): the syntactic func-
tion of a noun phrase that follows a linking verb.
recipient: the semantic role that indicates the animate being who is the
(intended) receiver of the Theme.
semantic role: a semantic relation between a noun phrase and a verb or
other role assignor in a clause.
source: the semantic role that indicates the location from which something
moves.
stimulus: the semantic role that indicates the trigger of an experiencer’s
psychological state.
theme: the semantic role that indicates the entity whose movement, exis-
tence, location, or state is predicated by a verb.
time: the semantic role that denotes the time at which an event occurred.
topic: the part of a sentence about which the remainder of the sentence says
something. See comment.

appendix: time and tense

We briefly discussed tense and aspect earlier in this chapter. Here we elabo-