摘要：The paper focuses on the category of semantic subject and its syntactical representation.The concept of subject is shaped by extra-linguistic knowledge and personal experiences as well as by people’s linguistic knowledge.The concept of subject,among other components,includes accumulated knowledge of the semantic roles which the grammatical subject may have in a sentence.The variety of roles accounts for the radially structured category of subject,with some members more central than others.The prototypical grammatical subject – an agent subject − is expressed by the nominative case of a noun which precedes the verb and is typically represented by an animate initiator or do-er of an action.Other types of subject are scattered within the syntactical category of subject being more central or peripheral.Translation-wise,the most “treacherous” types are the peripheral ones.
关键词：the concept of subject;an agent;a patient;a causee.
