For motion events, the initial location is where the thing in motion (the figure) starts out.
[ss Source] also applies to abstract or metaphoric initial locations, including initial states in a dynamic event.
In English, a prototypical [ss Source] preposition is [p en/from]:
- [ex 001 "The cat jumped <u>[p en/from Source]</u>/<u>[p en/out_of Source]</u> the box."]
- [ex 002 "The cat jumped <u>[p en/from Source]</u>/<u>[p en/off_of Source]</u>/<u>[p en/off Source]</u> the ledge."]
- [ex 003 "I got it <u>[p en/from Source]</u>/<u>[p en/off Source]</u> the internet."]
- [ex 004 "people [p en/from Source] France"]
- [ex 005 "The temperature is rising [p en/from Source] a low of 30 degrees."]
- [ex 006 "I have arrived [p en/from Source] work."]
- [ex 007 "We discovered he was French [p en/from Source] his attire. [indication]"]
- [ex 008 "I made it [p en/out_of Source] clay. [material]"]
- [ex 009 "She <u>awoke [p en/from Source]</u>/<u>came [p en/out_of Source]</u> a coma."]
- [ex 010 "We are moving [p en/off_of Source] that strategy."]
The [ss Source] use of [p en/from] can combine with a specific locative PP:
- [ex 011 "I took the cat [p en/from Source] behind<sub>[ss Locus]</sub> the couch."]
Note that [p en/away_from] is ambiguous between marking a starting point ([ss Source]) and a separate orientational reference point ([ss Direction]):
- [ex 012 "At the sound of the gun, the sprinters ran <u>[p en/away_from Source]</u>/<u>[p en/from Source]</u> the starting line. ([ss Source])"]
- [ex 013 "The bikers ride parallel to the river for several miles, then head east, <u>[p en/away_from Direction]</u>/<u>#from</u> the river. ([ss Direction]: bikers are never at the river)"]
Note, too, that [p en/off]/[p en/off_of] and [p en/out]/[p en/out_of] can also mark simple states:
- [ex 014 "I am [p en/off Characteristic--Locus] <u>medications</u>/<u>work</u>. ([ss Characteristic--Locus])"]
- [ex 015 "The lights are <u>[p en/off Characteristic--Locus]</u>/<u>[p en/out Characteristic--Locus]</u>. ([ss Characteristic--Locus])"]
- [ex 016 "Stay [p en/out_of Characteristic--Locus] trouble. ([ss Characteristic--Locus])"]
States are discussed at length under [ss Characteristic].
There is also a (negated) possession sense of [p en/out]/[p en/out_of]:
- [ex 017 "We are [p en/out_of Possession] toilet paper. ([ss Possession])"]
Sometimes a specific [ss Source] is implicit, and the preposition is intransitive.
But if no specific referent is implied, another label may be more appropriate:
- [ex 018 "The cat was sitting on the ledge, then jumped [p en/off Source]. ([ss Source]: implicit ‘(of) it’)"]
- [ex 019 "He was offered the deal, but walked [p en/away Source]. ([ss Source]: implicit ‘from it’)"]
- [ex 020 "The bird flew <u>[p en/away Direction]</u>/<u>[p en/off Direction]</u>. ([ss Direction]: vaguely away from the viewpoint)"]
[ss Source] is prototypically inanimate, though it can be used to construe animate [ss Participant]s (especially [ss Originator] and [ss Force]).
Contrasts with [ss Goal].
## Agency as giving
When an [ss Agent]’s action to help somebody is conceptualized as giving, and the nominalized action as the thing given, then [p en/from] can mark the [ss Agent] (metaphorical giver).
If the [p en/from]-PP is adnominal, [ss Agent--Source] is used [exref 021 Source].
However, if the [p en/from]-PP is adverbial, and the verb relates to the metaphoric transfer rather than the event described by the action nominal, then the argument linking becomes too complicated for this scheme to express; simple [ss Source] is used by default [exref 022 Source]:
- [ex 021 "The attention [p en/from Agent--Source] the staff made us feel welcome. ([ss Agent--Source])"]
- [ss Source]:
- [ex 022 "I received great care [p en/from Source] this doctor."]
- [ex 023 "I got a second chance [p en/from Source] her."]
- [ex 024 "I need a favor [p en/from Source] you."]