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Quizzes > English & Grammar

Semantics Test: Check Your Knowledge of Semantic Roles

Quick, free semantic roles quiz. Instant results and tips.

Editorial: Review CompletedCreated By: Noah ZimmermannUpdated Aug 28, 2025
Difficulty: Moderate
2-5mins
Learning OutcomesCheat Sheet
Paper art illustration for semantic roles quiz on teal background with layered paper shapes and text bubbles

This semantics test helps you spot who did what to whom and label semantic roles in real sentences. You will get instant results and short tips after each question. After you finish, practice more with our linguistic structure quiz, try a content vs function words quiz, or review with a quick grammar knowledge quiz.

In the sentence 'John kicked the ball,' what semantic role does 'John' fulfill?
Patient
Theme
Agent
Experiencer
An agent is the initiator or doer of an action. In this sentence, John is performing the action of kicking. The ball is the entity being acted upon, making it the patient or theme. See for more information.
In 'Mary gave John a book,' what semantic role does 'John' have?
Recipient
Beneficiary
Theme
Instrument
'John' is the recipient because he is the one receiving the book. The theme is the item being transferred, in this case 'a book.' Instruments are tools used to perform an action and beneficiaries are those who benefit from an action. For more detail, see .
In 'She read the letter,' what semantic role is 'the letter'?
Agent
Beneficiary
Experiencer
Theme
A theme is the entity undergoing the action or being referred to by the verb. In this example, 'the letter' is what is read. Agents perform actions while experiencers receive sensations or perceptions. More at .
In 'He cut the bread with a knife,' what semantic role does 'a knife' represent?
Location
Instrument
Agent
Patient
An instrument is a tool used to carry out an action. Here, the knife is the tool used to cut the bread. The agent is the one performing the action and the patient is the entity affected. See for more.
In 'They lived in Paris,' what role does 'Paris' serve?
Path
Source
Goal
Location
A location is where an action or state takes place. In this sentence, Paris is the place where 'they' lived. Source and goal refer to movement origins and destinations, not static residence. More at .
In 'He baked a cake for his friend,' what semantic role does 'his friend' play?
Agent
Beneficiary
Patient
Instrument
A beneficiary is the entity for whom an action is performed. Here, 'his friend' is the recipient of the cake. The agent performs the action and the patient is what is baked. For more, see .
In 'She walked from home to school,' what role does 'school' have?
Source
Goal
Location
Theme
A goal is the endpoint of a movement. In this sentence, school is the destination of her walk. The source would be the starting point, which here is home. See .
In 'We'll start class at 9 AM,' what semantic role does '9 AM' represent?
Agent
Instrument
Time
Result
A time expression indicates when an event occurs. '9 AM' specifies the start time of the class. Instruments are tools and results are states achieved by actions. More detail at .
How many theta-roles can a single noun phrase receive in a well-formed sentence under the Theta Criterion?
Three
Two
One
Zero
The Theta Criterion states that each argument bears exactly one theta-role and each theta-role is assigned to exactly one argument. Thus, a noun phrase can only receive one theta-role. See .
In 'The ice melted because of the sun,' what semantic role does 'the sun' play?
Instrument
Causer
Experiencer
Agent
A causer is an inanimate force that brings about a change of state. Here the sun causes the ice to melt. Agents are sentient doers and instruments are tools. More at .
In 'I believe him to be honest,' what semantic role does 'him' have?
Experiencer
Patient
Theme
Agent
In raising constructions, the embedded subject functions as the theme of the main verb's proposition. 'Him' is the proposition's theme whose honesty is believed. Experiencers perceive states while agents act. See .
In 'John painted the fence red,' what semantic role does 'red' represent?
Patient
Result state
Instrument
Beneficiary
A result state indicates the new condition after an action. 'Red' describes the fence's state following the painting. Patients are affected entities, but the result state is specifically the property achieved. More at .
In the dative alternation pair, 'Mary threw the ball to John' vs. 'Mary threw John the ball,' what semantic function does the preposition 'to' mark?
Beneficiary
Source
Instrument
Goal
In this alternation, 'to' marks the goal or endpoint of the throwing action, which is John receiving the ball. Instruments are tools and sources are origins of motion. For more details see .
In the sentence 'This book reads easily,' which semantic voice is illustrated?
Passive voice
Causative voice
Middle voice
Active voice
The middle voice indicates that the subject undergoes or permits an action without an explicit agent. 'This book reads easily' shows the book as subject without an expressed doer. Passives mention an agent optionally with 'by'. More at .
In 'The cat has blue eyes,' what semantic role does 'the cat' play?
Theme
Experiencer
Agent
Possessor
Possessor indicates ownership or property relations. Here, the cat possesses the quality of having blue eyes. Themes are entities involved in actions, not ownership. See .
Which of the following is a proto-agent property?
Undergoing change
Affectedness
Volition
Stationary
Proto-agents typically exhibit volition and intentionality. Undergoing change and affectedness are proto-patient properties. Being stationary is unrelated to agentivity. For a detailed discussion see .
Which property characterizes proto-patients in Dowty's proto-role theory?
Volition
Causation
Intentionality
Affectedness
Proto-patients are entities that are affected by or undergo a change of state. Affectedness is a core proto-patient feature. Volition and intentionality are proto-agent features. More at .
In FrameNet theory, what constitutes a 'Frame'?
A lexical unit
An abstract schematic representation of a situation
A syntactic tree
A specific sentence
A Frame is an abstract schema capturing the participants and properties of a scenario. Lexical units evoke frames but are not frames themselves. For more, see .
Which theoretical concept ranks semantic roles to determine their mapping to syntactic positions?
Thematic Hierarchy
Case assignment
DP theory
Theta grid
Thematic Hierarchy orders roles like Agent > Beneficiary > Patient to predict subject and object placement in syntax. Theta grids list roles but do not rank them. See .
In lexical semantics, which device encodes a predicate's argument structure and participant roles?
Case frame
Selectional restriction
Anaphoric index
Theta grid
A theta grid in the lexicon specifies a predicate's argument structure and roles. Selectional restrictions constrain the semantic types of arguments but don't list roles. More at .
In semantic decomposition, which primitive represents a change of state?
HAVE
BECOME
DO
BE
In neo-Davidsonian and related decompositional semantics, 'BECOME' encodes a change of state. 'BE' indicates stative conditions and 'DO' actions without change. See .
Which concept refers to the constraints a predicate places on the semantic type of its arguments?
Co-reference
Anaphora resolution
Case marking
Selectional restrictions
Selectional restrictions are semantic constraints dictating which types of arguments a predicate can take. Case marking relates to morphology and syntax, not semantics. For more, see .
Within Minimal Recursion Semantics (MRS), what does the 'LTOP' attribute represent?
Logical template
List of terms
Lexical topic
Local top handle
In MRS, LTOP identifies the local top handle of the top-level semantic structure, anchoring scope relations. It is not a lexical item but a handle indicating the root. For technical details, see .
According to Vendler's classification, what event type does the verb 'recognize' typically denote?
Accomplishment
State
Activity
Achievement
Achievements are instantaneous changes of state that occur at a specific instant. Recognize denotes a sudden realization, fitting the achievement class. Accomplishments have duration, and states are static. See .
In semantic typology, a 'dotted type' noun most directly accounts for which phenomenon?
Modality expression
Gender agreement mismatch
Count - mass alternation
Dual number marking
Dotted types explain how nouns can have both count and mass readings simultaneously (e.g., 'chicken' as meat or animal). They capture dual semantic types in one lexical entry. For more, see .
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Study Outcomes

  1. Understand Core Semantic Roles -

    Grasp the functions of agents, patients, and instruments in sentence structures through this semantic exercise. Build a solid foundation for deeper study of semantics exercises.

  2. Identify Semantic Roles in Sentences -

    Use our semantic roles quiz to pinpoint thematic relationships in diverse sentence examples. Improve your ability to recognize roles like agent, experiencer, and instrument.

  3. Analyze Role Relationships -

    Examine how different semantics exercises reveal connections between verbs and their arguments. Develop a critical eye for mapping sentence components to their semantic functions.

  4. Differentiate Similar Semantic Roles -

    Distinguish between agents, patients, and experiencers using targeted semantic roles exercises. Enhance your precision in labeling and interpreting role distinctions.

  5. Apply Semantic Roles in Context -

    Use your knowledge from this semantic exercise to craft accurate, meaningful sentences in various contexts. Translate theory into practice for improved writing and analysis.

  6. Evaluate and Refine Your Skills -

    Assess your performance with instant feedback and strengthen your understanding in this language semantics quiz. Continuously refine your grammar skills through iterative practice.

Cheat Sheet

  1. Understanding Core Semantic Roles -

    Semantic exercise practice often begins with identifying Agents, Patients, and Experiencers to answer "who does what to whom." For example, in "The cat chased the mouse," the cat is the Agent and the mouse is the Patient. Use the APA mnemonic (Agent - Patient - Experiencer) to lock these three roles into memory.

  2. Mapping Syntax to Semantics -

    In semantics exercises, the subject of an active sentence typically maps to the Agent role, while the direct object maps to the Patient. Notice how passives like "The mouse was chased by the cat" flip roles: the subject now holds the Patient role. Remember the passive-flip rule: subject⇄Agent becomes subject⇄Patient in passive constructions.

  3. Spotting Instrument and Beneficiary Roles -

    Beyond Agents and Patients, semantic roles quizzes include Instruments ("She cut the bread with a knife") and Beneficiaries ("He baked a cake for his friend"). A quick BEI mnemonic (Beneficiary - Experiencer - Instrument) helps you flag these roles in complex sentences. Practice by underlining prepositional phrases to assign the right role.

  4. Applying Proto-Role Theory -

    Dowty's proto-roles refine Agent and Patient features: Agents usually have volition and sentience, while Patients often undergo change of state. In "The window broke," the window is a Patient even without an explicit Agent. Use proto-role quizzes to gauge how many features a noun phrase exhibits.

  5. Leveraging Frame Semantics and FrameNet -

    FrameNet provides real-world contexts (frames) like Commerce_buy with roles such as Buyer, Seller, and Goods. In semantic roles exercises, map sentence elements to frame elements - e.g., "Alice bought a book from Bob" tags Alice as Buyer. Online FrameNet quizzes help cement these mappings for deeper semantics exercises practice.

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