agentive (adj./n.) (AGT)

A term used in GRAMMATICAL description to refer to a FORM or CONSTRUCTION whose typical FUNCTION in a SENTENCE is to specify the means whereby a particular action came about (the agent). In some languages, the term is used as one of the CASES for NOUNS, along with ACCUSATIVE, etc. In English, the term has especial relevance with reference to the PASSIVE construction, where the agent may be expressed or unexpressed (agentless) (e.g. the man was bitten [by a snake]). In active constructions in English, the agent is usually the grammatical SUBJECT, but in some sentences (and often in some other languages) a more complex statement of agentive function is required (as in such sentences as The window broke (see ERGATIVE) and We ran the car out of petrol). ‘Agentive’ (later, ‘agent’) has a special status in several linguistic theories, such as CASE grammar and GOVERNMENT-BINDING THEORY, where it is defined similarly to the above, but is seen as one of a fixed set of SEMANTIC cases or roles (THETA ROLES), along with OBJECTIVE, DATIVE, etc. The term COUNTER-AGENT is also used in the context of case grammar.