| (1) | a. | Agent: | The lions devoured the wildebeest. | |
| b. | The boys caught some fish. | |||
| c. | My mother wrote me a letter. | |||
| (2) | a. | Cause: | Hurricane-force winds demolished much of the town. | |
| b. | An epidemic killed off all of the tomatoes. | |||
| c. | An economic downturn put thousands of workers out of work. | |||
| (3) | a. | Instrument: | This key opens the door to the main office. | |
| b. | They must have used indelible ink. |
Experiencers are arguments that undergo a sensory, cognitive, or emotional experience.
| (4) | a. | Experiencer: | The rhesus monkey had never seen snow before. | |
| b. | Many people fear snakes. | |||
| c. | Their resourcefulness struck her as admirable. |
Recipients are arguments that receive something (whether good or bad) in a situation.
| (5) | a. | Recipient: | They gave the workers a raise. | |
| b. | I paid my landlord the rent. | |||
| c. | He spared me his usual sob story. |
Locations are simply places.
| (6) | a. | Location: | We always eat breakfast in the kitchen. | |
| b. | The cork has been bobbing under the bridge for an hour. |
Paths connect locations.
| (7) | a. | Path: | Lucky raced down the driveway. | |
| b. | The boat passed under the bridge so quickly I missed seeing it. | |||
| c. | We drove the scenic route. |
When locations serve as endpoints of paths, we generally refer to them as goals.
| (8) | a. | Goal: | We traveled to Paris quite a bit in those days. | |
| b. | Lucky raced to the edge of the woods. | |||
| c. | I'd like to send this package to France. |
Recipients can also serve as the endpoint of paths, and the distinction between goals and recipients can be difficult. (Chapter 7 addresses the issue in detail.)
| (9) | I'd like to send this package to my cousin. |
| (10) | a. | Point in time: | Let's start the meeting at two. | |
| b. | Goal in time: | The meeting will last until two. |
Measure or amount arguments express extensions along some dimension (length, duration, cost, and so on).
| (11) | a. | Measure: | They rowed for three days. | |
| b. | The book costs ten dollars. |
Finally, the thematic role of theme is something of a catch-all. According to one definition, 'theme' refers to an argument undergoing motion of some sort, including motion in a metaphorical sense, such as a change of state. As is usual in the syntactic literature, we will also use the term for arguments that are most 'affected' in a situation or for the content of an experience.
| (12) | a. | Theme: | The lions devoured the wildebeest. | |
| b. | This key opens the front door. | |||
| c. | Hurricane-force winds demolished much of the town. | |||
| d. | They gave the workers a raise. | |||
| e. | I'd like to send this package to France. | |||
| f. | Many people fear snakes. |