Exercise 2Exercise 2
A given verb may subcategorise for more than one type of complement.
(1) a [Peter] left [his family].
b [Peter] left after dinner.
c [Peter and Mary] met in the park.
d [Mary] suddenly noticed [that her purse was missing].
e Before leaving [the house] [she] checked [her bag].
f [The purse] was [on the kitchen table].
g [Peter] considers [Mary beautiful].
h [John] knew [that [Peter and Mary] met in the park in the afternoon].
i [John] knows [Mary].
j [Peter] wanted [John out of the room].
k [They] treated [their guests] [kindly] during their stay.
l [Peter] wrote [a letter] to Mary the other day.
m [He] sent [her] [a box of chocolate], too.
n [Peter] called [Mary] yesterday.
o [John] called [Peter] [a liar].Exercise 3
As clauses can also realise grammatical functions, they can also receive theta-roles but
determining the exact label is not always straightforward, especially with clauses. It is
only participants which are obligatory to express the meaning of the predicates
(arguments) which receive theta-roles, even if they are unexpressed, i.e. left-implicit;
optional elements (adjuncts) which add information e.g. about the place or time or
manner of some action or event do not receive theta-roles but that is not surprising,
they do not need to be included in the sentence for it to be grammatical.
(1) a Peter loves Mary.
Peter: Experiencer
Mary: Theme
b Peter knows Mary well.
Peter: Experiencer
Mary: Theme
c The door opened.
the door: Theme/Patient
d The purse was stolen.
the purse: Theme/Patient
e Mary wrote a letter to John the following day.
Mary: Agent
a letter: Theme
to John Goal
f John received a letter from Mary.
John: Beneficiary
a letter: Theme
from Mary: Source