Which utterance demonstrates an agent + action construction?

• A. No kitty
• B. My doggie
• C. Doggie ball
• D. Kitty house

Answer: (C)

In two-word speech, an agent + action construction shows who is doing something and what that action or involved object is. The pair “Doggie ball” communicates that the dog is interacting with the ball—the dog is the agent, and the ball is the thing involved in the action, so the utterance implies an action by the dog on the ball. The other options don’t express that agent-acting relationship: “No kitty” is negation with a determiner; “My doggie” shows possession; and “Kitty house” is a simple noun-noun compound without an agent performing an action. So this pair best demonstrates the agent performing an action in a two-word format.