FACULTAD DE FILOSOFIA Y LETRAS - UNT

DEPARTAMENTO DE INGLES
INTRODUCCIÓN A LA LINGÜÍSTICA - 2021

Unit 8: Syntax: Semantic Roles - Practice

A) Indicate the Semantic Roles of the S, O, and C in the following sentences according to
Quirk’s classification.

1. The alpinist reached the summit.

2. The rescue team used a rope to save the drowning dog.
3. The Dean appointed Maria head of the department
4. Hurricane Matthew hammered the Bahamas Oct. 5-6.
5. A swing lock will secure your apartment door.
6. Napoleon died on May 5, 1821, at the age of 51. swing lock
7. I loved English Literature when I was a student.
8. It isn’t 8.30 yet.
9. The embassy will send you your documents to your private address.
10. Peter’s aunt is the school principal.
11. A police detective paid us a visit.
12. The members of the committee had dinner after the meeting.
13. Queen Elizabeth II technically owns all of the unclaimed swans in open water in England and
Wales.
14. Passengers should carry proof of vaccination.
15. Their claims were outrageous.
16. Tomorrow is Halloween.
17. She sat by herself throughout the evening.
18. Michelangelo sculpted ‘David’ between 1501 and 1504.
19. He dreamed the same disturbing dream every night.

B) Indicate the Semantic Roles of the participants in the following sentences according to
Halliday’s and Quirk’s classifications where possible.

1. “There is always some madness in love.” (Friedrich Nietzsche)

2. The little girl gave the stray dog all her biscuits.
3. It’s dry and windy outside.
4. "The outside is a real production," Jesuit priest Kevin Gillespie told NPR news.
5. Much of extant medieval poetry is religious.
6. Trump’s secretary coughed in the middle of an interview.
7. She finally understood what the problem was.

C) Write sentences to illustrate the following thematic roles

1. external causer – affected object

2. behaver – behavioural process

3. Prop-It (distance)

4. agent – affected IO – eventive DO

5. carrier – relational process – attribute