M. Iriskulov, A. Kuldashev a course in Theoretical English Grammar Tashkent 2008

II. The semantic interpretation of the sentence.
It’s important to point out that all verb predicates are not identical, as there are 
different types of verbs, denoting them. We can distinguish between transitive (to 
raise) and intransitive ( to rise) verbs, between verbs, denoting action (to make), 
state (to be), or relation (to have, to belong), between causative (to cause, to force, 
to order) and noncausative (to look) verbs. Different types of verbs open different 

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positions for actants or, in other words, different types of verbs have different 
valency. The semantic meaning of the verb determines its ability (or inability) to 
combine with different types of actants. This can be described from the point of 
view of semantic interpretation of the sentence. 
The semantic interpretation of the sentence and its structure is now commonly 
given in terms of semantic cases or semantic functions of actants. This type of 
semantic description, called “case grammar”, “role grammar” has been first 
employed by Ch. Fillmore in his book “The case for case”. According to his 
viewpoint the semantic case is the type of semantic relations, occurring between 
the verb predicate and its actants: Agentive, Dative, Instrumental, Factitive, 
Locative, Objective, etc.
Agentive is the case of the typically animate instigator of the action identified 
by the verb, e.g.: He broke the window. The window was broken by him.
Instrumental is the case of the inanimate force or object causally involved in 
the action or state identified by the verb, e.g.: The hammer broke the widow. He 
broke the window with the hammer.
Dative is the case of the animate being affected by the state or action 
identified by the verb or nominative part of the predicative, e.g.: He believed that 
he was right. We encouraged him to go there. The failure was obvious to him. 
Factitive is the case of the object or result from the action or state identified 
by the verb, or understood as a part of the meaning of the verb, e.g.: I waved a 
salute. I thought up a plan. I Xeroxed up three copies of his letter.
Locative is the case which identifies the location or spatial orientation of the 
state or action identified by the verb or nominative part of the predicative, e.g.: 
Here is noisy. It is noisy here. 
Objective, the semantically most neutral case, the case of anything 
representable by a noun. It represents a thing which is affected by the action or 
state identified by the verb, e.g.: I Xeroxed his letter. His letter was Xeroxed by 
me. 
Thus, the semantic interpretation of the sentence is given in terms of 
semantic cases or semantic functions of actants and is conditioned by the semantic 
meaning of the verb.