semantic configuration . The set of semantic roles preset by the lexico-semantic peculiarities
of the verb makes us
the role structure
of the verb. The semantic configuration is
the semantic minimum of the sentence. The role structure of an actual sentence
may include roles that are not part of the semantic minimum.
The theoretical status of semantic roles in linguistic theory is still a largely
unresolved issue. For example, there is considerable doubt about whether semantic
roles should be regarded as syntactic, lexical or semantic/conceptual entities.
However, the most common understanding is that semantic roles are
semantic/conceptual elements. It should be noticed that there is no agreement
about which and how many roles are needed. This is precisely one of the major
drawbacks of the semantic role list approach. Although most theories of thematic
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roles assume that there is only a small finite number of them, no consensus has
been reached on the number or nature of the roles. Proposals range from just a few
to hundreds of them. The most common semantic roles include:
