Prototypical [ss Theme]s undergo (nonagentive[^1]) motion, are transferred, or undergo an internal change of state (sometimes called <i>patients</i>).
Adpositional [ss Theme]s are usually, but not always, construed as something else:
- [ex 001 "Quit [p en/with Theme] the whining!"]
- [ex 002 "She helped me [p en/with Theme] my taxes."]
- [ex 003 "Don’t <u>bother</u>/<u>waste time</u> [p en/with Theme] an extra trip."]
- [ex 004 "I managed to cope [p en/with Theme] <u>the heavy load</u>/<u>my fear of heights</u>."]
- [ex 005 "There’s nothing wrong [p en/with Theme] the engine."]
- [ex 006 "Fill the bowl [p en/with Theme--Instrument] water. ([ss Theme--Instrument])"]
- [ex 007 "The food was covered [p en/with Theme--Instrument] grease. ([ss Theme--Instrument])"]
- [ex 008 "The food was covered [p en/in Theme--Locus] grease. ([ss Theme--Locus])"]
- [ex 053 "You shouldn’t <u>confuse</u>/<u>associate</u> Mozart [p en/with Theme--Ancillary] Rossini. ([ss Theme--Ancillary])"]
- [ex 009 "My hovercraft is full [p en/of Theme] eels."]
- [ex 035 "a copy [p en/of Theme] the key"]
- [ex 010 "Sheldukher <u>looked</u>/<u>searched</u>/<u>fumbled</u> [p en/for Theme] his laser pistol. [contrast with transitive verb plus [ss Characteristic] in [exref 013 Characteristic]]"]
- [ex 011 "Sheldukher <u>asked</u>/<u>made a request</u> [p en/for Theme] his laser pistol."]
- [ex 012 "There is a significant demand [p en/for Theme] new housing."]
- [ex 013 "Let’s wait [p en/for Theme] <u>Steve</u>/<u>more information</u>/<u>the end of the party</u>."]
- [ex 036 "What happened [p en/to Theme] you?"]
- [ex 037 "This species is <u>specific</u>/<u>native</u> [p en/to Theme] North America."]
- [ex 038 "Balancing of risk and reward is inherent [p en/to Theme] the game."]
- [ex 014 "The mechanic made a repair [p en/to Theme--Goal] the engine. ([ss Theme--Goal])"]
- [ex 039 "Due to my injury, I am <u>limited</u>/<u>constrained</u>/<u>restricted</u> [p en/to Theme--Goal] working from home. ([ss Theme--Goal])"]
- [ex 040 "It is important to <u>adhere</u>/<u>keep</u>/<u>stick</u> [p en/to Theme--Goal] your convictions. ([ss Theme--Goal])"]
[ss Theme]|[ss Theme--Gestalt]
------------|------------
[ex 015 "the approach [p en/of Theme] the waves"]|[ex 016 "the wave[p en/s' Theme--Gestalt] approach"]
[ex 017 "the <u>death</u>/<u>murder</u> [p en/of Theme] a salesman"]|[ex 018 "the salesman[p en/'s Theme--Gestalt] <u>death</u>/<u>murder</u>"]
- Someone in relation to a time period of their life:
* [ex 033 "[p en/my Theme--Gestalt] time in grad school ([ss Theme--Gestalt])"]
* [ex 034 "I've never seen that in [p en/my Theme--Gestalt] life ([ss Theme--Gestalt])"]
- [ex 019 "The mechanic worked [p en/on Theme] the engine."]
- [ex 020 "We noshed [p en/on Theme] snacks."]
- [ex 021 "They spent $500 [p en/on Possession--Theme] the bicycle. ([ss Possession--Theme]) ([exref 009 Possession])"]
- [ex 022 "There was an increase [p en/in Theme] oil prices."]
- [ex 041 "Bad weather may result [p en/in Theme] a delay."]
- [ex 023 "I’m covered [p en/in Theme--Locus] bees! ([ss Theme--Locus])"]
- [ex 042 "I put a hole [p en/in Theme--Locus] the box. (= punctured the box) ([ss Theme--Locus])"]
- [ex 024 "The training saved us [p en/from Theme--Source] almost certain death. ([ss Theme--Source])"]
- [ex 025 "They prevented us [p en/from Theme--Source] boarding the plane. ([ss Theme--Source])"]
## Transfer, goods, and services
In a commercial scene, goods, services, and money are distinguished.
[ss Possession] is used as the scene role for goods for sale.
[ss Possession] also applies to a piece of property transferred between parties, lost, acquired, or carried, even if no money changes hands.
[ss Theme] is the scene role for commercial services.
[ss Cost] applies to the money asked, paid, or owed.
The construal [ss Theme--Purpose] is used for services marked by [p en/to], [p en/for], or similar:
- Services:
* [ex 026 "They spent $500 [p en/on Theme] the repairs. ([ss Theme])"]
* [ex 028 "They <u>charged</u>/<u>asked</u>/<u>paid</u>/<u>owed</u> $500 <u>[p en/for Theme--Purpose]</u>/<u>[p en/to Theme--Purpose] make</u> the repairs. ([ss Theme--Purpose])"]
* [ex 030 "$500 <u>[p en/for Theme--Purpose]</u>/<u>[p en/to Theme--Purpose] make</u> the repairs was excessive. ([ss Theme--Purpose])"]
See [ss Purpose] for additional discussion.
Contrast goods at [exref 009 Possession], [exref 010 Possession], [exref 011 Possession].
## *Between* and *among*
When two symmetric undergoers are collected in a single NP functioning as a set, it is marked as a [ss Whole] construal:
- [ex 031 "There was a collision in mid-air [p en/between Theme--Whole] two light aircraft. ([ss Theme--Whole])"]
- [ex 032 "Links [p en/between Locus--Whole] science and industry are important. ([ss Locus--Whole])"]
## Secondary themes
Often, multiple similarly situated entities meet the criteria for [ss Theme], in which case both are labeled [ss Theme] for the scene role. For example, this can occur in concrete scenes of contact, separation, attachment, combination, and substitution of two similar entities.
- [ex 003 "They replaced my old tires [p en/with Theme] new ones. [replacement]"]
- [ex 015 "They substituted new tires [p en/for Theme] my old ones. [replacee]"]
- [ex 043 "His bicycle collided [p en/with Theme--Ancillary] hers. ([ss Theme--Ancillary])"]
- [ex 044 "Combine butter [p en/with Theme--Ancillary] vanilla. ([ss Theme--Ancillary])"]
- [ex 045 "The boys were separated [p en/from Theme--Source] the girls. ([ss Theme--Source])"]
- [ex 046 "Keep the dogs [p en/from Theme--Source] the cats. ([ss Theme--Source])"]
- [ex 047 "The shin bone is connected [p en/to Theme--Goal] the knee bone. ([ss Theme--Goal])"]
More abstract examples where a secondary [ss Theme] PP cooccurs with a [ss Theme] direct object include [exref 053 Theme], [exref 024 Theme], and [exref 025 Theme].
By contrast, for similar scenes where the oblique argument is a ground-like entity (larger, less dynamic, more locational, etc. than the [ss Theme]), that entity is typically a [ss Locus], [ss Source], or [ss Goal]:
- Dynamic:
- [ex 048 "Add vanilla [p en/to Goal] the mixture. ([ss Goal])"]
- [ex 049 "Stir vanilla [p en/into Goal] the mixture. ([ss Goal])"]
- [ex 050 "Detach the cable [p en/from Source] the wall. ([ss Source])"]
- Static:
- [ex 051 "The cable <u>is attached</u>/<u>connects</u> [p en/to Locus--Goal] the wall. ([ss Locus--Goal])"]
- [ex 052 "Protesters were <u>kept</u>/<u>missing</u> [p en/from Locus--Source] the area. ([ss Locus--Source]) [repeated: [exref 026 Locus]]"]
For creation or transformation of a whole entity (or a group of entities, such as ingredients) into another entity, [ss Source] applies to the initial entity and [ss Goal] to the result.
Multiple [ss Theme]s can also be licensed by 2-argument adjectives:
- [ex 054 "We are <u>ready</u>/<u>eligible</u>/<u>responsible</u>/<u>due</u> [p en/for Theme] an upgrade. ([ss Theme])"]
See also: [ss ComparisonRef], [ss Agent], [ss Beneficiary]
<!--
In v1, following many thematic role inventories, <i>Patient</i> was a distinct label for undergoers that were affected (undergoing an internal change of state).
It was merged into [ss Theme] for v2 because the affectedness criterion can be subtle and difficult to apply.
-->
[^1]: We distinguish agentivity at the token level, unlike VerbNet, where the subject of motion verbs like <i>arrive</i> is [ss Theme] because it need not be agentive.
[^2]: As with [ss Agent], the scene role does not distinguish syntactically more prominent vs. more oblique positions.