Annotation guidelines
PARSEME shared task on automatic identification of verbal MWEs - edition 1.0 (2017)

Verb-particle constructions (VPC)

Verb-­particle constructions (VPCs), sometimes called phrasal verbs or phrasal-prepositional verbs, like

  • um|fahren over|drive to run over,mit|kommen with|come to join,vor|bereiten before|prepare to prepare
  • to put off,to blow up,to do in
  • n.a.
  • n.a.
  • biti za to be for to agree,šteti za to count for to consider as

constitute another quasi-universal category. They have the following general characteristics:

  1. They are formed by a lexicalized head verb v and a lexicalized particle p dependent on v.
  2. The meaning of the VPC is non-compositional. Notably, the change in the meaning of v goes significantly beyond adding the meaning of p:
    • die Fische sind eingegangen the fish went in the fish died
    • to do in to die
    • n.a.
    • n.a.
    • n.a.
    • gre za it goes for it is about,biti ob to be at to lose

VPCs are pervasive in English, German, Swedish, Hungarian and possibly some other languages but irrelevant to or very rare in Romance and Slavic languages or in Farsi and Greek for instance.

In some Germanic languages and also in Hungarian, verb-particle constructions can be spelled either as one (multiword) token or separated. Both types of occurrences are to be annotated:

  • Die Kinder sollen in der Schule aufpassen The children must pay attention at school
    Herr Müller, passen Sie auf! Mr. Müller, be careful
  • n.a.
  • n.a.
  • n.a.
  • n.a.

The first challenge in identifying a VPC is to properly distinguish the particle from a possibly homographic preposition, e.g.:

  • to get up a petition vs to get up a hill
  • n.a.
  • n.a.
  • n.a.
  • biti za njeno idejo He agrees with her idea vs biti za zaveso He is behind the curtain

or a verbal prefix:

  • um- in um|fahren vs umfahren
  • n.a.
  • n.a.
  • n.a.

Namely, a particle, contrary to a preposition, cannot introduce a complement

  • to do sb in, *to do in sb
  • n.a.
  • n.a.
  • n.a.

and prefixes can never be spelled separately from the verb, nor can the past tense of prefixed verbs be formed with the infix -ge-

  • *er fuhr den See um
    *er hat den See umgefahren, instead: er hat den See umfahren he drove around the lake but: er hat das Schild umgefahren he run over the sign
  • n.a.
  • n.a.
  • n.a.

See the language-specific tests for more details on distinguishing particles from prepositions and verbal prefixes.

Note that in this shared task we do not account for compositional verb-particle combinations, i.e. those whose meaning can be deduced from the meaning of the preposition and of the verb:

  • er legt das Buch ab he puts down the book, er kommt ins Haus rein he comes into the house he enters the house
  • to lie down, to come in
  • n.a.
  • n.a.
  • n.a.
  • prišel je do hriba He came to the hill

Some combinations may have both compositional and non-compositional meanings depending on the context and only the latter should be annotated:

  • ein Schild aufstellen to put up a sign vs. einen Plan aufstellen to draw up a plan
  • to put up a flag vs. to put up a friend for the night
  • n.a.
  • n.a.
  • n.a.
  • gre za vodičem he follows the guide vs. gre za naše temeljno načelo it is about our fundamental principle

The essential compositionality test is to see if a sentence without the particle can refer to the same event/state as the sentence with the particle.

Test 22 - [V+PART-DIFF-SENSE] - Sense shift due to the particle

Does the particle provoke an unexpected change in meaning of the verb? I.e., does a sentence without the particle fail to refer to the same event/state as the sentence with the particle (special care must be taken when the same construction might or might not be a valid VPC depending on its context)?

  • it is a VPC
    • Der Lehrling fängt ein Praktikum an the apprentice catches an internship on the apprentice begins an internship does not imply #Der Lehrling fängt ein Praktikum the apprentice catches an internship
      Die Bäuerin hat sich wieder eingefangen the farmer’s wife has herself again catched the farmer’s wife has calmed down again does not imply #Die Bäuerin hat sich wieder gefangen the farmer’s wife has catched herself again
      Der Schüler legt die Prüfung ab the pupil lays the exam off the pupil takes the exam does not imply #der Schüler legt die Prüfung the pupil lays the exam
      Das Schiff legt vom Hafen ab the boat lays from the harbor off the ship leaves the harbor does not imply #das Schiff legt vom Hafen the boat lays from the harbor
    • to do somebody in to kill sb does not imply #to do somebody
      to check in upon arrival does not imply #to check upon arrival
    • n.a.
    • A meccs után csak az edző nem rúgott be Only the coach did not get drunk after the match → A meccs után az edző berúgottThe coach got drunk after the match does not imply #Az edző rúgott the coach kicked
      Nem jött be ez a koktél nekem I didn’t like this cocktail → Bejött ez a koktél nekem I liked this cocktail does not imply #Jött ez a koktél nekem this cocktail bumped into me
    • n.a.
    • n.a.
    • Ona je za enakopravnost she is for equality does not imply #Ona je enakopravnost she is equality
      postavili so ga za sodnika they set him for a judge they appointed him a judge does not imply *Postavili so ga sodnika they set him judge – no sense
  • it is not a VPC
    • Der Bauer fängt die Hühner ein the farmer catches the chickens in the farmer catches the chickens implies der Bauer fängt die Hühner the farmer catches the chickens
      Der Lehrer legt das Buch auf dem Tisch ab the teacher lays the book on the table apart the teacher puts the book away on the table implies Der Lehrer legt das Buch auf den Tisch the teacher puts the book on the table
      Der Lehrer legt den Mantel ab the teacher lays the coat off the teacher takes off his coat implies Der Lehrer legt den Mantel the teacher puts the coat
    • to look up into the sky implies to look into the sky
      to eat up the cookies implies to eat the cookies
    • n.a.
    • A csatár nem rúgta be a helyzetét The forward missed its chance to score a goal → A csatár berúgta a helyzetét implies A csatár rúgott The forward kicked
      Nem jött be a szobába He did not come into the room → (Bejött a szobába he entered the room implies Jött a szobába he came into the room
    • n.a.
    • n.a.