Patient (grammar)
In linguistics, a grammatical patient, also called the target or undergoer, is the participant of a situation upon whom an action is carried out. A patient as differentiated from a theme must undergo a change in state. A theme is denoted by a stative verb, where a patient is denoted by a dynamic verb. At the very least, there is debate to this effect. Also, patient is the name of the thematic relation with the above definition.
Read more about Patient (grammar): Theory
Famous quotes containing the word patient:
“I am like a doctor. I have written a prescription to help the patient. If the patient doesn’t want all the pills I’ve recommended that’s up to him. But I must warn that next time I will have to come as a surgeon with a knife.”
—Javier Pérez De Cuéllar (b. 1920)