Actor / Source
Subject
Agent
Causer
Who or what starts the event?
core
basic
Scene core
Betekenis
The participant that acts, causes, initiates, controls, or is presented as the source of an event.
Zo herken je het
Ask who is doing, causing, or starting the event.
Voorbeelden
Woorden
I|Peter|the dog|the machine|the wind
Zinnen
the teacher explains|the wind opens
Voorbeeldzin
The dog bit the postman.
Visual guide
Basic shape
ACTOR / SOURCE who starts the event? [the dog] -> bit -> postman [the wind] -> opens [the teacher] -> explains = doer/causer/source
Compare shape
Actor clues may differ order: [dog] bit postman case: [dog-NOM/ERG] agreement: dog -> verb pronoun form: I / me topic: [dog-TOP] voice: by [dog] role = event starter
Taaloverzicht
In je taal
Dutch (standard)
Aanwezigheid
strong
Belang
The actor is normally the grammatical subject before or near the finite verb.
Ik lees het boek.
I read the book.
In de taal die je leert
Arabic (Modern Standard)
Aanwezigheid
strong
Moeilijkheidsgraad
Actors are often nominative and reflected in verb agreement; explicit subjects can be omitted when the verb is enough.
كتب الطالب الدرس.
The student wrote the lesson.
Veelvoorkomend struikelpunt
Learners may rely only on word order and miss agreement or nominative marking.
Same block, different coding
Both languages use this block strongly, but they signal it differently. Focus on form changes, not only meaning.