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obl:agent: oblique agent in passive construction

The relation obl:agent is used for agents of passive verbs. It is a subtype of obl, which covers all oblique nominals. obl:agent is a semi-mandatory subtype, i.e. it should be used if the language has passives with oblique agents.

In English, the agent is marked by the preposition by:

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input
    
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The cat was chased by the dog
nsubj:pass(chased, cat)
obl:agent(chased, dog)
case(dog, by)
{
    "text": "The cat was chased by the dog ",
    "entities": [
        [ "embedded-1-T1", "token", [ [ 0, 3 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-1-T2", "token", [ [ 4, 7 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-1-T3", "token", [ [ 8, 11 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-1-T4", "token", [ [ 12, 18 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-1-T5", "token", [ [ 19, 21 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-1-T6", "token", [ [ 22, 25 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-1-T7", "token", [ [ 26, 29 ] ] ]
    ],
    "relations": [
        [ "embedded-1-R1", "nsubj:pass", [ [ "arg1", "embedded-1-T4" ], [ "arg2", "embedded-1-T2" ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-1-R2", "obl:agent", [ [ "arg1", "embedded-1-T4" ], [ "arg2", "embedded-1-T7" ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-1-R3", "case", [ [ "arg1", "embedded-1-T7" ], [ "arg2", "embedded-1-T5" ] ] ]
    ],
    "attributes": [],
    "error": false,
    "sentlabels": [ "1" ]
}

In Czech, the agent is a nominal in the instrumental Case:

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Cena byla udělena děkanem fakulty . \n Prize was awarded by-dean of-faculty .
obl:agent(udělena, děkanem)
obl:agent(awarded, by-dean)
{
    "text": "Cena byla udělena děkanem fakulty . \n Prize was awarded by-dean of-faculty . ",
    "entities": [
        [ "embedded-2-T1", "token", [ [ 0, 4 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-2-T2", "token", [ [ 5, 9 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-2-T3", "token", [ [ 10, 17 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-2-T4", "token", [ [ 18, 25 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-2-T5", "token", [ [ 26, 33 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-2-T6", "token", [ [ 34, 35 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-2-T8", "token", [ [ 38, 43 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-2-T9", "token", [ [ 44, 47 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-2-T10", "token", [ [ 48, 55 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-2-T11", "token", [ [ 56, 63 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-2-T12", "token", [ [ 64, 74 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-2-T13", "token", [ [ 75, 76 ] ] ]
    ],
    "relations": [
        [ "embedded-2-R1", "obl:agent", [ [ "arg1", "embedded-2-T3" ], [ "arg2", "embedded-2-T4" ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-2-R2", "obl:agent", [ [ "arg1", "embedded-2-T10" ], [ "arg2", "embedded-2-T11" ] ] ]
    ],
    "attributes": [],
    "error": false,
    "sentlabels": [ "2" ]
}

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.

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Praštil psa klackem . \n He-hit dog with-a-stick .
obl(Praštil, klackem)
obl(He-hit, with-a-stick)
{
    "text": "Praštil psa klackem . \n He-hit dog with-a-stick . ",
    "entities": [
        [ "embedded-3-T1", "token", [ [ 0, 7 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-3-T2", "token", [ [ 8, 11 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-3-T3", "token", [ [ 12, 19 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-3-T4", "token", [ [ 20, 21 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-3-T6", "token", [ [ 24, 30 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-3-T7", "token", [ [ 31, 34 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-3-T8", "token", [ [ 35, 47 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-3-T9", "token", [ [ 48, 49 ] ] ]
    ],
    "relations": [
        [ "embedded-3-R1", "obl", [ [ "arg1", "embedded-3-T1" ], [ "arg2", "embedded-3-T3" ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-3-R2", "obl", [ [ "arg1", "embedded-3-T6" ], [ "arg2", "embedded-3-T8" ] ] ]
    ],
    "attributes": [],
    "error": false,
    "sentlabels": [ "3" ]
}

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input
    
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info
  
Pes byl praštěn klackem . \n Dog was hit with-a-stick .
obl(praštěn, klackem)
obl(hit, with-a-stick)
{
    "text": "Pes byl praštěn klackem . \n Dog was hit with-a-stick . ",
    "entities": [
        [ "embedded-4-T1", "token", [ [ 0, 3 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-4-T2", "token", [ [ 4, 7 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-4-T3", "token", [ [ 8, 15 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-4-T4", "token", [ [ 16, 23 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-4-T5", "token", [ [ 24, 25 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-4-T7", "token", [ [ 28, 31 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-4-T8", "token", [ [ 32, 35 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-4-T9", "token", [ [ 36, 39 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-4-T10", "token", [ [ 40, 52 ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-4-T11", "token", [ [ 53, 54 ] ] ]
    ],
    "relations": [
        [ "embedded-4-R1", "obl", [ [ "arg1", "embedded-4-T3" ], [ "arg2", "embedded-4-T4" ] ] ],
        [ "embedded-4-R2", "obl", [ [ "arg1", "embedded-4-T9" ], [ "arg2", "embedded-4-T10" ] ] ]
    ],
    "attributes": [],
    "error": false,
    "sentlabels": [ "4" ]
}

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.”

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obl:agent in other languages: [cs] [cy] [de] [el] [fr] [hy] [id] [it] [kpv] [pa] [qpm] [ru] [sv] [tn] [tr] [u] [vi] [xcl] [yue] [zh]

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