Criterion

This frame element expresses a property of the Parts or components of the Whole which is used as the basis for separation. Criterion is typically expressed as a PP headed by by, or as a complex PP of the form on the basis of.... The researcher divided subjects into groups on the basis of eye color. As with the frame General.Joining (above), words in this frame can be used statively, as in The rooms are separated by a partition, inchoatively, as in The group separated or causatively, as in I separated the laundry.