The agentive particle has two case-related functions: the ergative and the instrumental. In traditional grammars, the first is referred to as the particle of “the main agent” (བྱེད་པ་པོ་གཙོ་བོ་), while the second is referred to as the particle of “the secondary agent” (བྱེད་པ་པོ་ཕལ་པ་).