ATLAS OF LANGUAGE

AT-NAV-G05-018 · ATLAS 259

Subject (grammar)

Subject is a grammatical relation or function whose diagnosis depends on the language and theoretical framework.

Part of the subject path Syntax and Grammar

Why is this entry in the Atlas?

G · Foundational concept R2 · Necessary foundation

Subject is needed to separate grammatical functions from acting persons and semantic roles. Diagnosis requires language-specific criteria rather than agentivity alone.

Colours and admission grounds

The rectangular label identifies the entry function: F – linguistic figure or procedure; A – analytical concept; G – foundational concept; E – selected concrete case. The rounded badge indicates the admission ground: R1 – distinctive contribution; R2 – necessary foundation; R3 – justified illustrative case. This editorial rationale explains the current selection rather than claiming an undocumented original selection history.

Explanation

Subject is a grammatical relation or function whose diagnosis depends on the language and theoretical framework. Agreement, position, case and syntactic behaviour can provide evidence but do not coincide everywhere. A subject is not universally the person performing an action: passive clauses and state descriptions may assign it other semantic roles. In the context of ergativity, grammatical functions cannot simply be read off case labels. With switch-reference, the relation actually tracked by the particular system must also be established. One school-grammar diagnostic from German cannot settle these comparisons.

Movement of thought

1. Identify the construction. 2. Apply several grammatical tests. 3. Record semantic roles separately. 4. Check the language-specific distribution. 5. Compare competing analyses.

Scientific use case

Cross-linguistic research can examine which subject properties cluster together or separate.

Example

In “The letter is being read”, the letter is the subject although it is not the reader.

Counterexample

The first noun phrase in a sentence need not be its subject in every language.

Distinction

Distinguish subject from agent, topic, nominative case and initial sentence position.

Effect on thought and perception

The concept separates grammatical organisation from event roles.

Resonance

The grammatical starting point need not be the actor.

Provenance

Parallel corpus 98f0950771ae4662f291d2f15f5c51b6797f3c20ba458a68615cdb177002ea18; case-bounded source review accepted; human specialist review not claimed.

Cite this entry

Reich, Michael (Hrsg./ed.): „Subject (grammar)“. Atlas der Sprache, AT-NAV-G05-018. ATLAS 259, data model 1.6.0. https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-NAV-G05-018

https://atlasoflanguage.com/concept/AT-NAV-G05-018

The address remains stable; editorial content may evolve. Editorial reading state: 2026-10-15. Include your access date for precise references.