[With answers]

6.8 Problems

6.8.1 Schemas and semantic roles

Identify the semantic role of each noun phrase in bold in the following sentences. Choose from the following set: AGENT, PATIENT, EXPERIENCER, THEME, RECIPIENT, SOURCE, GOAL, PATH, INSTRUMENT, LOCATION, TIME, CAUSER, BENEFICIARY. If you're not sure, you can say that the role is a blend of two roles.

Example:
The calendar fell off the wall.
the calendar: PATIENT, the wall: SOURCE.

1. She wants the job.
2. He got fired.
3. She tickled him with a feather.
4. The rock was rolling down the mountain.
5. I have forgotten your name.
6. You put chile in this dish? I don't taste it.
7. That cheese stinks.
8. A cache of weapons was seized by the FBI on Thursday.
9. He was awarded one thousand dollars.
10. She always amazes me.
11. He loaded hay on the truck.
12. Bill borrowed a book from Sarah, and he returned it to her right away.
13. He caught a cold.
14. She said only three words.
15. She hung the painting on the wall for him.
16. She got her hair cut at Mabel's.
17. Yikes! I feel something crawling up my back.

6.8.2 Syntax-semantics mappings

For each sentence or group of sentences for a given verb (shown in bold), write the mapping(s) of syntactic and semantic roles.

Example:

1. Clark lent a book to Lois.
2. Clark lent Lois a book.

1. subject: AGENT/SOURCE, direct object: PATIENT, object of to: RECIPIENT
2. subject: AGENT/SOURCE, direct object: PATIENT, indirect object: RECIPIENT

1. Clark disgusts Lois.
   
2. Clark admires Lois.
   
3. Clark emailed Lois.
   
4. 1. The wood burned.
   2. Jimmy burned the wood.
5. 1. This shirt smells.
   2. I smell something weird. (I wonder what it is.)
   3. Would you please smell this milk? (I think it might be bad.)
6. Japanese.
   Recall from the book (1) that in Japanese the verb comes last in the sentence, (2) that the NOMINATIVE case marker ga marks the subject in a Japanese sentence, and (3) that Japanese has postpositions instead of prepositions.
   

   Clark	ni	sono	hon	ga	wakaru
   Clark	to	that	book	NOMINATIVE	understand:PRESENT
   'Clark understands that book.'