Prototypical Themes undergo (nonagentive¹) motion, are transferred, or undergo an internal change of state (sometimes called patients). Adpositional Themes are usually, but not always, construed as something else:

• Quit with the whining! 001

• She helped me with my taxes. 002

• Don’t bother/waste time with an extra trip. 003

• I managed to cope with the heavy load/my fear of heights. 004

• There’s nothing wrong with the engine. 005

• Fill the bowl with water. (Theme↝Instrument) 006

• The food was covered with grease. (Theme↝Instrument) 007

• The food was covered in grease. (Theme↝Locus) 008

• You shouldn’t confuse/associate Mozart with Rossini. (Theme↝Ancillary) 053

• My hovercraft is full of eels. 009

• a copy of the key 035

• Sheldukher looked/searched/fumbled for his laser pistol. [contrast with transitive verb plus Characteristic in Characteristic#013] 010

• Sheldukher asked/made a request for his laser pistol. 011

• There is a significant demand for new housing. 012

• Let’s wait for Steve/more information/the end of the party. 013

• What happened to you? 036

• This species is specific/native to North America. 037

• Balancing of risk and reward is inherent to the game. 038

• The mechanic made a repair to the engine. (Theme↝Goal) 014

• Due to my injury, I am limited/constrained/restricted to working from home. (Theme↝Goal) 039

• It is important to adhere/keep/stick to your convictions. (Theme↝Goal) 040

• Someone in relation to a time period of their life:

  • my time in grad school (Theme↝Gestalt) 033

  • I've never seen that in my life (Theme↝Gestalt) 034

• The mechanic worked on the engine. 019

• We noshed on snacks. 020

• They spent $500 on the bicycle. (Possession↝Theme) (Possession#009) 021

• There was an increase in oil prices. 022

• Bad weather may result in a delay. 041

• I’m covered in bees! (Theme↝Locus) 023

• I put a hole in the box. (= punctured the box) (Theme↝Locus) 042

• The training saved us from almost certain death. (Theme↝Source) 024

• They prevented us from boarding the plane. (Theme↝Source) 025

Transfer, goods, and services#

In a commercial scene, goods, services, and money are distinguished. Possession is used as the scene role for goods for sale. Possession also applies to a piece of property transferred between parties, lost, acquired, or carried, even if no money changes hands. Theme is the scene role for commercial services. Cost applies to the money asked, paid, or owed.

The construal Theme↝Purpose is used for services marked by to, for, or similar:

• Services:

  • They spent $500 on the repairs. (Theme) 026

  • They charged/asked/paid/owed $500 for/to make the repairs. (Theme↝Purpose) 028

  • $500 for/to make the repairs was excessive. (Theme↝Purpose) 030

See Purpose for additional discussion. Contrast goods at Possession#009, Possession#010, Possession#011.

Between and among#

When two symmetric undergoers are collected in a single NP functioning as a set, it is marked as a Whole construal:

• There was a collision in mid-air between two light aircraft. (Theme↝Whole) 031

• Links between science and industry are important. (Locus↝Whole) 032

Secondary themes#

Often, multiple similarly situated entities meet the criteria for Theme, in which case both are labeled Theme for the scene role. For example, this can occur in concrete scenes of contact, separation, attachment, combination, and substitution of two similar entities.

• They replaced my old tires with new ones. [replacement] 003

• They substituted new tires for my old ones. [replacee] 015

• His bicycle collided with hers. (Theme↝Ancillary) 043

• Combine butter with vanilla. (Theme↝Ancillary) 044

• The boys were separated from the girls. (Theme↝Source) 045

• Keep the dogs from the cats. (Theme↝Source) 046

• The shin bone is connected to the knee bone. (Theme↝Goal) 047

More abstract examples where a secondary Theme PP cooccurs with a Theme direct object include #053, #024, and #025.

By contrast, for similar scenes where the oblique argument is a ground-like entity (larger, less dynamic, more locational, etc. than the Theme), that entity is typically a Locus, Source, or Goal:

• Dynamic:

  • Add vanilla to the mixture. (Goal) 048

  • Stir vanilla into the mixture. (Goal) 049

  • Detach the cable from the wall. (Source) 050

• Static:

  • The cable is attached/connects to the wall. (Locus↝Goal) 051

  • Protesters were kept/missing from the area. (Locus↝Source) [repeated: Locus#026] 052

For creation or transformation of a whole entity (or a group of entities, such as ingredients) into another entity, Source applies to the initial entity and Goal to the result.

Multiple Themes can also be licensed by 2-argument adjectives:

• We are ready/eligible/responsible/due for an upgrade. (Theme) 054

See also: ComparisonRef, Agent, Beneficiary