obl:agent: agent modifier
The relation obl:agent is used for agents of passive verbs.
In Czech, the agent is a nominal in the instrumental Case.
Cena byla udělena děkanem fakulty . \n Prize was awarded by-dean of-faculty .
obl:agent(udělena, děkanem)
obl:agent(awarded, by-dean)
Typical agents are animate but it is not a rule.
Inanimate agents may be sometimes difficult to distinguish from instruments,
which are also coded by the instrumental case.
Instruments are attached using the simple relation obl.
Consider the following two examples, the first one is active and the second is passive.
Praštil psa klackem . \n He-hit dog with-a-stick .
obl(Praštil, klackem)
obl(He-hit, with-a-stick)
Pes byl praštěn klackem . \n Dog was hit with-a-stick .
obl(praštěn, klackem)
obl(hit, with-a-stick)
However, in passive sentences like Byl přejet autem “He was run over by a car,” the car could be analyzed as an inanimate agent, but also as an instrument, which is supported by the plausibility of the active counterpart, Přejeli ho autem “They ran over him with a car.”
obl:agent in other languages: [cs] [cy] [de] [fr] [hy] [id] [it] [kpv] [pa] [qpm] [ru] [sv] [tr] [u] [vi] [yue] [zh]