Skip to main content
Glite Dictionary
locative role

locative role

9.7
The part of a sentence that shows where something happens
  • noun
  • /ˈloʊkətɪv roʊl/
  • Specialized
translation icon : rol locativo
  • In the sentence 'She sat on the bench,' the phrase 'on the bench' has a locative role.

Examples

  • Prepositional phrases often serve a locative role in English sentences.

  • Linguists study how different languages express the locative role in grammar.

  • The noun phrase serves a locative role in the sentence.

  • In the sentence, the phrase has a clear locative role.

  • In the sentence 'The cat is under the table,' the phrase 'under the table' provides a locative role.

  • In the context of language, the locative role indicates where an action takes place.

  • The phrase 'in Paris' in 'She lives in Paris' demonstrates a locative role.

Synonyms

locative
vslocative role
  • Specialized
9.9

A word form in a language that shows where something is or happens

refers to the semantic role marking where an action or state occurs

Surface Forms

locative role singular
locative roles plural

Morphology

locative + role

The meaning is directly compositional: 'locative' (pertaining to location) + 'role' (function) yields a function related to location. This follows a common academic noun-noun construction and parallels equivalents in many languages, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents can infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

Locative role comes from the idea of locative meaning 'location' and role meaning a 'job' on a stage; imagine a short phrase like on the bench that points to the place where the action happens. So, the locative role is the 'job' of words that tell us 'where' something happens.