Agentive

施事（格）

       A term used in grammatical description to refer to a form or construction whose typical function in a sentence is to specify the means whereby a particular action came about (the agent). In some languages, the term is used as one of the cases for nouns, along with accusative, etc. In English, the term has especial relevance with reference to the passive construction, where the agent may be expressed or unexpressed (agentless).

       语法描写中用来指一类形式或构式，它在句子中的典型功能是指定某一行动得以产生的“施动者”或手段。在有些语言里，这个术语用作名词的一个格，与宾格等并行。英语里这个术语特别跟被动式相关，被动式里施事可以出现也可以不出现（无施事）。