thematic+relations

In linguistics, **thematic relations** express the meaning that a [|noun phrase] plays with respect to the action or state described by a sentence's verb. For example, in the sentence "Susan ate an apple", Susan is the doer of the eating, so she is an agent ; the apple is the item that is eaten, so it is a patient.

Major thematic relations
Here is a list of the major thematic relations. There are no clear boundaries between these relations. For example, in "the hammer broke the window", some linguists treat hammer as an agent, some others as instrument, while some others treat it as a special role different from these.
 * **Agent**: deliberately performs the action (e.g., **Bill** ate his soup quietly).
 * **Experiencer**: the entity that receives sensory or emotional input (e.g. The smell of lilies filled **Jennifer's** nostrils. **Susan** heard the song.).
 * **Theme**: undergoes the action but does not change its state (e.g., I like **Kim**) (Sometimes used interchangeably with patient).
 * **Patient**: undergoes the action and has its state changed (e.g., The falling rocks crushed **the car**) (Sometimes used interchangeably with theme).
 * **Instrument**: used to carry out the action (e.g., Jamie cut the ribbon **with a pair of scissors**).
 * **Force** or **(Natural) Cause**: mindlessly performs the action (e.g., **An avalanche** destroyed the ancient temple).
 * **Location**: where the action occurs (e.g., Johnny and Linda played carelessly **in the park**).
 * **Direction** or **Goal**: where the action is directed towards (e.g., The caravan continued on **toward the distant oasis**).
 * **Recipient**: a special kind of goal associated with verbs expressing a change in ownership, possession. (e.g., I sent **John** the letter).
 * **Source**: where the action originated (e.g., The rocket was launched **from Central Command**).
 * **Time**: the time at which the action occurs (e.g., The rocket was launched **yesterday**).
 * **Beneficiary**: the entity for whose benefit the action occurs (e.g.. I baked **Reggie** a cake).
 * **Manner**: the way in which an action is carried out (e.g., **With great urgency**, Tabatha phoned 911).
 * **Purpose**: the reason for which an action is performed (e.g., Tabatha phoned 911 right away **in order to get some help**).
 * **Cause**: what caused the action to occur in the first place; not //for what//, rather //because of what// (e.g., **Since Clyde was hungry**, he ate the cake).

from Wikipedia