Frame Report

In some sentences both participants are expressed by the Subject, and there is no 'with'-phrase (cf example 1). In sentences like this, the Subject is assigned the FE role Exchangers. In such sentences, the Subject always denotes more than one person, and it is understood that the reciprocal communication takes place between these two (or more) people. The Subject may denote two or more people either through conjunction, as in example 1, or through plurality, as in example 2, or by denoting a group, as in example 3. In each of these cases the FE Exchangers is assigned. Notice that for nouns in the Exchange frame, it is possible for the Exchangers role to be expressed by a prepositional phrase as in example 4.


Smithers and Kornfeldt|exs traded Pez dispensers.
My neighbors|exs swappedlawn mowers .
The group|exs exchanged phone numbers.
The prisoner exchange between North and South Dakota|exs went bad somehow.

In cases where the Exchangers involved in a conversation are
construed as two separate groups with different levels of
volitionality or control, this FE identifies the conversational
participant with greater semantic and syntactic prominence, as
compared with Exchanger_2. That is, Exchanger_1 is generally
encoded as Subject, and peripheral FEs that do not make reference
to the event itself generally make reference to Exchanger_1. Thus
a Purpose (or Means, Depictive, or Manner) is construed to be that
of Exchanger_1, not necessarily that of Exchanger_2 or the group
of Exchangers as a whole.

In cases where the Exchangers involved in a conversation are
construed as two separate groups with different levels of
volitionality or control, Exchanger_2 refers to the semantically
and grammatically less prominent group. It is generally encoded
within a prepositional phrase (e.g. headed by with). Note that it
is possible for a single role to correspond to multiple referents.
For example, if the prepositional object in the example below were
plural, we would still assign it the single role Exchanger_2.


The trade with Cuba|ex2 went exactly as planned.

The items which change possession between the Exchangers.

They swapped guitars|thms.

The item that begins in the possession of Exchanger_1.


I tucked the pistol between my belt and tunic top (how I wish I had kept it, but I later swapped it|thm1 with a Canadian for some cigarettes.

The item that begins in the possession of Exchanger_2.

The organization bought the property in 1999, then swapped it with the BLM for about 100 parcels in 10 counties ranging in size from one to 920 acres|thm2.

Any description of the exchange act which is not covered by more specific FEs, including secondary effects (quietly, loudly), and general descriptions comparing events (the same way). In addition, it may indicate salient characteristics of Exchanger_1 or Exchangers that also affect the action (presumptuously, coldly, deliberately, eagerly, carefully).

Theodosia and Felix carefully|man exchanged their bunches of flowers.

This FE identifies the Means by which Exchanger_1 or the Exchangers effect the trade.

This FE identifies the place where the exchange occurs.

This FE identifies the purpose for which Exchanger_1 or the Exchangers make the trade.

This FE identifies the time when the exchange takes place.

The state of Exchanger_1 or Exchangers during the exchange.

Howell traded brooms with Susanne, uncertain of whether she would prefer his|dep.

This frame element denotes how often the Exchangers trade Themes.

The length of time from when the event denoted by the target began to be repeated to when it stopped.