Annotation guidelines
corpora annotated for multiword expressions

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Verb-particle constructions (VPC)

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

n.a.
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.
buttare giùn throw down to swallow
voor|bereiden before|prepare to prepare
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.

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 fully or partly non-compositional.
   • In fully non-compositional VPC (VPC.full) the change in the meaning of v goes significantly beyond adding the meaning of p:
     n.a.
     die Fische sind eingegangen the fish went in the fish died
     to do in to kill, destroy, cheat or harm severely
     n.a.
     rondkomen round-come to make ends meet
     n.a.
     n.a.
   • In semi-non-compositional VPCs (VPC.semi), p adds a partly predictable but non-spatial meaning to v
   n.a.
   to eat up to eat completely
   n.a.
   opeten to eat completely
   n.a.
   n.a.

VPCs are pervasive in English, German, Swedish, Hungarian and possibly some other languages but irrelevant to or infrequent 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:

n.a.
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.
Ongelukken komen voor Accidents happen
Ongelukken kunnen voorkomen Accidents can happen
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.:

n.a.
to look up the number vs to look up the chimney
n.a.
n.a.
???
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.

or a verbal prefix:

n.a.
um- in um|fahren vs umfahren
n.a.
n.a.
voor- in voor|komen to occur vs voorkomen to prevent
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.

Namely, a particle, contrary to a preposition, cannot govern a complement. This can be tested depending on the verb's subcategorization frame:

• For intransitive verbs, the particle can occur without an NP. The fact that there is no NP that could be governed by the particle to form a PP shows that it is a particle rather than a preposition.
• For transitive verbs, the particle can occur either before or after the direct object. The fact that it is mobile and can go before or after the NP shows that it is a particle rather than a preposition

n.a.
intransitive: The airplane took off
transitive The fire did in the whole block or The fire did it in
n.a.
n.a.
???intransitive: Ongelukken komen voor
???transitive Hans is zijn moeder aan het opbellen or Hans is zijn moeder op aan het bellen
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.

Prefixes, contrary to particles, can never be spelled separately from the verb, nor can the past tense of prefixed verbs be formed with the infix -ge-

n.a.
*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.
aanbidden to worship *aangebeden
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:

n.a.
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, You may go in now
n.a.
n.a.
hij legt het boek neer he puts down the book, hij komt het huis binnen he comes into the house he enters the house
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.

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

n.a.
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.
apparatuur opstellen to put up equipment vs. een rooster opstellen to draw up a roster
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.

the following decision tree should be applied to decide whether a candidate should be annotated as a VPC or not.

VPC-specific decision tree:

• Apply test VPC.1 - [PART-REDUC: Can the verb without the particle refer to the same event?]
• It is a VPC.full.
• Apply test VPC.2 - [PART-SPATIAL: Is the particle spatial?]
• It is not a VPC, exit
• Apply test VPC.3 - [PART-SPATIAL-LIT: Is the particle spatial in a literal reading?]
• It is a VPC.semi
• It is not a VPC, exit

Test VPC.1 - [PART-REDUC] - Verb without the particle refers to the same event/state

Can a sentence without the particle 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.full.
n.a.
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.
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
De leerling legt een examen af the pupil lays the exam off the pupil takes the exam does not imply #de leerling legt een examen the pupil lays an exam
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
• Go to the next test.
n.a.
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.
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
de koekjes opeten to eat up the cookies implies de koekjes eten
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.

Test VPC.2 - [PART-SPATIAL] - Spatial particle

Is the particle spatial in the context of the verb, i.e. does it express direction or position?

• It is not a VPC, exit.
n.a.
to stand up
to give something back
to stay up tonight
You may go in now
to mix ingredients together
n.a.
opstaan to stand up
aankijken look at
iets optillen to lift something up
slijm ophoesten cough up phlegm
n.a.
n.a.
• Go to the next test
n.a.
to eat the cookies up
to mix ideas together
n.a.
de koekjes opeten to eat up the cookies
n.a.
n.a.

Test VPC.3 - [PART-SPATIAL-LIT] - Spatial particle in a literal reading

Does the VPC candidate have a literal counterpart in which the particle is spatial, i.e. expresses direction or position?

• It is not a VPC, exit.
n.a.
to mix ideas together
n.a.
n.a.
n.a.
• It is a VPC.semi.
n.a.
to eat the cookies up
n.a.
de koekjes opeten to eat up the cookies
n.a.
n.a.

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