Participant Role (Noun)

Meaning

(linguistics) the underlying relation that a constituent has with the main verb in a clause.

Classification

Nouns denoting communicative processes and contents.

Examples

• The subject of the sentence plays the participant role of agent, performing the action described by the verb.
• In the sentence "The dog was bitten by the man", the dog plays the participant role of patient, receiving the action of the verb.
• The participant role of experiencer is typically associated with verbs of perception or emotion, such as "see" or "love".
• The verb "give" requires three participant roles: the agent, the theme, and the recipient.
• In the sentence "The teacher gave the student an A", the teacher plays the participant role of agent, the student plays the role of recipient, and the A plays the role of theme.

Synonyms

• Semantic Role

Hypernyms

• Grammatical Category

Hyponyms

• Agentive Role
• Locative Role
• Instrumental Role
• Resultant Role
• Affected Role
• Temporal Role
• Recipient Role
• Patient
• Benefactive Role