Predicateargument

Predicateargument, more commonly called predicate-argument structure (PAS), is a concept in linguistics that describes the relationship between a predicate and the arguments it requires or licenses. It captures which participants are involved in the event or state described by a predicate, how many there are, and how they are expressed syntactically. PAS also encodes the semantic roles assigned to each participant, such as Agent, Patient, Theme, Experiencer, Beneficiary, and Recipient.

Predicates differ in valency, the number and type of arguments they can take. Transitive predicates typically involve a subject and a direct object; ditransitives add a recipient or goal; intransitives may require only a single argument. Arguments may be realized as noun phrases, prepositional phrases, or other syntactic forms, and their surface order or marking can vary across languages. PAS is affected by syntactic operations such as passivization, ditransitive shifting, or applicative morphology, which can alter surface realization while preserving core thematic roles.

Across languages, the way PAS is encoded varies: some rely on case marking, others on fixed word order, and still others on prepositions or morphological markers. Theoretical accounts differ in how they tie the predicate’s lexical properties to the syntactic realization of arguments, with frameworks ranging from theta-role theory in generative approaches to functional-analytic or typological perspectives.

In practice, PAS underpins analysis in syntax, semantic role labeling, and natural language processing. It helps explain cross-linguistic variation in argument realization and supports models that map predicate meaning to argument structure for interpretation and inference.