Part-of-Speech Tagging Guidelines for the Penn Treebank ... - IMS

Part-of-SpeechTaggingGuidelinesforthePennTreebankProject
BeatriceSantorini
March15,1991

11INTRODUCTION Introduction 1
(\tagging").Section2isanalphabeticallistofthepartsofspeechencodedintheannotationsystemofthe Thissectionaddressesthelinguisticissuesthatariseinconnectionwithannotatingtextsbypartofspeech PennTreebankProject,alongwiththeircorrespondingabbreviations(\tags")andsomeinformation concerningtheirdenition.Thissectionallowsyoutondanunfamiliartagbylookingupafamiliarpart
appropriateinaparticularcontext.Thetwosections4.1and4.2thereforeincludeexamplesandguidelines littledicultyinassimilatingthetagsthemselves.However,itisoftenquitediculttodecidewhichtagis means.SincethepartsofspeechareprobablyfamiliartoyoufromhighschoolEnglish,youshouldhave alphabeticallyorderedbytags.Thisisthesectiontoconsultinordertondoutwhatanunfamiliartag ofspeech.Section3recapitulatestheinformationinSection2,butthistimetheinformationis
conventions.Onegeneralrule,however,issoimportantthatwestateithere.Manytextsarenotmodelsof onhowtotagproblematiccases.Ifyouareuncertainaboutwhetheragiventagiscorrectornot,referto
goodprose,andsomecontainoutrighterrorsandslipsofthepen.Donotbetemptedtocorrectatagto thesesectionsinordertoensureaconsistentlyannotatedtext.Section4.1discussespartsofspeechthat listofspecicproblematicwordsandcollocations.Finally,Section5discussessomegeneraltagging whatitwouldbeifthetextwerecorrect;rather,itistheincorrectwordthatshouldbetaggedcorrectly. areeasilyconfusedandgivesguidelinesonhowtotagsuchcases,whileSection4.2containsanalphabetical
2 Listofpartsofspeechwithcorrespondingtag adiscussionofthemintoupdatesofthisguide. Ifyouhavequestionsthatyoudonotndcovered,besuretoletusknowsothatwecanincorporate
Hyphenatedcompoundsthatareusedasmodiersaretaggedasadjectives(JJ). Adjective|JJ EXAMPLES:happy-go-lucky/JJ
Ordinalnumbersaretaggedasadjectives(JJ),asarecompoundsoftheformn-thX-est,likefourth-largest. one-of-a-kind/JJ run-of-the-mill/JJ
Adjective,comparative|JJR Adjectiveswiththecomparativeending-erandacomparativemeaningaretaggedJJR.Moreandless whenusedasadjectives,asinmoreorlessmail,arealsotaggedasJJR.Moreandlesscanalsobetagged asJJRwhentheyoccurbythemselves;seetheentriesforthesewordsinSection4.2.Adjectiveswitha comparativemeaningbutwithoutthecomparativeending-er,likesuperior,shouldsimplybetaggedasJJ. furtherdetails,shouldalsosimplybetaggedasJJ. Adjectiveswiththeending-erbutwithoutastrictlycomparativemeaning(\moreX"),likefurtherin
JJSwhentheyoccurbythemselves;seetheentriesforthesewordsinSection4.2.Adjectiveswitha asadjectives,asinthemostortheleastmail,arealsotaggedasJJS.Mostandleastcanalsobetaggedas Adjectiveswiththesuperlativeending-est(aswellasworst)aretaggedasJJS.Mostandleastwhenused Adjective,superlative|JJS
superlativemeaningbutwithoutthesuperlativeending-est,likerst,lastorunsurpassed,shouldsimply betaggedasJJ.

2LISTOFPARTSOFSPEECHWITHCORRESPONDINGTAG Adverb|RB 2
Thiscategoryincludesmostwordsthatendin-lyaswellasdegreewordslikequite,tooandvery,posthead modierslikeenoughandindeed(asingoodenough,verywellindeed),andnegativemarkerslikenot,n't
Adverbswiththecomparativeending-erbutwithoutastrictlycomparativemeaning,likelaterinWecan andnever.
alwayscomebylater,shouldsimplybetaggedasRB. Adverb,comparative|RBR
Article|DT(see\Determiner") Adverb,superlative|RBS
Commonnoun,plural|NNS(see\Noun,plural") Cardinalnumber|CD
Comparativeadjective|JJR(see\Adjective,comparative") Commonnoun,singularormass|NN(see\Noun,singularormass")
Conjunction,coordinating|CC(see\Coordinatingconjunction") Comparativeadverb|RBR(see\Adverb,comparative")
Thiscategoryincludesand,but,nor,or,yet(asinYetit'scheap,cheapyetgood),aswellasthe Coordinatingconjunction|CC Conjunction,subordinating|IN(see\Prepositionorsubordinatingconjunction")
mathematicaloperatorsplus,minus,less,times(inthesenseof\multipliedby")andover(inthesenseof \dividedby"),whentheyarespelledout. Forinthesenseof\because"isacoordinatingconjunction(CC)ratherthanasubordinatingconjunction (IN).
Sointhesenseof\sothat,"ontheotherhand,isasubordinatingconjunction(IN). EXAMPLE: Heaskedtobetransferred,for/CChewasunhappy.
Determiner|DT
bothtimes).(Instancesofallorboththatdoprecedeadeterminerorpossessivepronounaretaggedas instancesofallandbothwhentheydonotprecedeadeterminerorpossessivepronoun(asinallroadsor predeterminers(PDT).)Sinceanynounphrasecancontainatmostonedeterminer,thefactthatsuchcan Thiscategoryincludesthearticlesa(n),every,noandthe,theindenitedeterminersanother,anyand
occurtogetherwithadeterminer(asintheonlysuchcase)meansthatitshouldbetaggedasanadjective some,each,either(asineitherway),neither(asinneitherdecision),that,these,thisandthose,and
(JJ),unlessitprecedesadeterminer,asinsuchagoodtime,inwhichcaseitisapredeterminer(PDT).

Exclamation|UH(see\Interjection") 2LISTOFPARTSOFSPEECHWITHCORRESPONDINGTAG 3
ofasentence. Existentialthere|EX Existentialthereistheunstressedtherethattriggersinversionoftheinectedverbandthelogicalsubject
Foreignword|FW EXAMPLES:There/EXwasapartyinprogress. There/EXensuedamelee.
gratashouldbetaggedb^ete/FWnoire/FWandpersona/FWnon/FWgrata/FW,respectively. Gerund|VBG(see\Verb,gerundorpresentparticiple") Useyourjudgmentastowhatisaforeignword.Forme,yogaisanNN,whileb^etenoireandpersonanon
Interjection|UH
Listitemmarker|LS andyes,amongothers. Thiscategoryincludesmy(asinMy,whatagorgeousday),oh,please,see(asinSee,it'slikethis),uh,well
Thiscategoryincludesallverbsthatdon'ttakean-sendinginthethirdpersonsingularpresent:can, Modalverb|MD Thiscategoryincludeslettersandnumeralswhentheyareusedtoidentifyitemsinalist.
could,(dare),may,might,must,ought,shall,should,will,would.
Noun,plural|NNS Negation|RB(see\Adverb")
Numeral,cardinal|CD(see\Cardinalnumber") Noun,singularormass|NN
Ordinalnumber|JJ(see\Adjective") Numeral,ordinal|JJ(see\Adjective")
Participle,present|VBG(see\Verb,gerundorpresentparticiple") Participle,past|VBN(see\Verb,pastparticiple")
Thiscategoryincludesanumberofmostlymonosyllabicwordsthatalsodoubleasdirectionaladverbsand Particle|RP prepositions.Consulttheheadings\INorRB,"\INorRP"and\RBorRP"inSection4.1forfurther

details. 2LISTOFPARTSOFSPEECHWITHCORRESPONDINGTAG 4
Pasttenseverb|VBD(see\Verb,pasttense") Pastparticiple|VBN(see\Verb,pastparticiple")
yours,his,hers,oursandtheirs.Theadjectivalpossessiveformsmy,your,his,her,its,ourandtheir,on him,etc.),thereexivepronounsendingin-selfor-selves,andthenominalpossessivepronounsmine, Thiscategoryincludesthepersonalpronounsproper,withoutregardforcasedistinctions(I,me,you,he, Personalpronoun|PP(seealso\Possessivepronoun")
theotherhand,aretaggedPP$. Possessiveending|POS Thepossessiveendingonnounsendingin'sor'issplitobythetaggingalgorithmandtaggedasifit wereaseparateword.
Possessivepronoun|PP$(seealso\Personalpronoun") EXAMPLES:John/NP's/POSidea theparents/NNS'/POSdistress
nominalpossessivepronounsmine,yours,his,hers,oursandtheirsaretaggedaspersonalpronouns(PP). Possessivewh-pronoun|WP$ Thiscategoryincludestheadjectivalpossessiveformsmy,your,his,her,its,one's,ourandtheir.The
Thiscategoryincludesthefollowingdeterminerlikeelementswhentheyprecedeanarticleorpossessive Predeterminer|PDT Thiscategoryincludesthewh-wordwhose.
pronoun.EXAMPLES:all/PDThismarblesnary/PDTasoul both/PDTthegirlsquite/PDTamess many/PDTamoonsuch/PDTagoodtime half/PDThistime rather/PDTanuisance
Prepositionorsubordinatingconjunction|IN Wemakenoexplicitdistinctionbetweenprepositionsandsubordinatingconjunctions.(Thedistinctionis notlost,however|aprepositionisanINthatprecedesanounphraseoraprepositionalphrase,anda subordinateconjunctionisanINthatprecedesaclause.) TheprepositiontohasitsownspecialtagTO. Presentparticiple|VBG(see\Verb,gerundorpresentparticiple") Presenttenseverb|VBPorVBZ(see\Verb,presenttense,otherthan3rdpersonsingular"and\Verb,

presenttense,3rdpersonsingular)" 2LISTOFPARTSOFSPEECHWITHCORRESPONDINGTAG 5
Pronoun,possessive|PP$(see\Possessivepronoun") Pronoun,personal|PP(see\Personalpronoun")
Propernoun,plural|NPS Propernoun,singular|NP
Superlativeadjective|JJS(see\Adjective,superlative") Subordinatingconjunction|IN(see\Prepositionorsubordinatingconjunction")
Symbol|SYM Thistagshouldbeusedformathematical,scienticandtechnicalsymbolsorexpressionsthataren'twords Superlativeadverb|RBS(see\Adverb,superlative")
ofEnglish.Itshouldnotusedforanyandalltechnicalexpressions.Forinstance,thenamesofchemicals, unitsofmeasurements(includingabbreviationsthereof)andthelikeshouldbetaggedasnouns.
to|TO ToistaggedTO,regardlessofwhetheritisaprepositionoraninnitivalmarker. There,existential|EX(see\Existentialthere")
Thistagsubsumesimperatives,innitivesandsubjunctives. Verb,baseform|VB EXAMPLES:Imperative: Innitive: Subjunctive:Wesuggestedthathedo/VBit. Wewantthemtodo/VBit. Do/VBit. Wemadethemdo/VBit. Youshoulddo/VBit.
Thiscategoryincludestheconditionalformoftheverbtobe. Verb,pasttense|VBD
Verb,gerundorpresentparticiple|VBG EXAMPLES:IfIwere/VBDrich,::: IfIwere/VBDtowinthelottery,:::
Verb,presenttense,otherthan3rdpersonsingular|VBP
Verb,pastparticiple|VBN

TakecaretocorrectVBtoVBPwhereappropriate. 3LISTOFTAGSWITHCORRESPONDINGPARTOFSPEECH 6
Verb,presenttense,3rdpersonsingular|VBZ Wh-determiner|WDT Thiscategoryincludeswhich,aswellasthatwhenitisusedasarelativepronoun.
Wh-pronoun,possessive|WP$(see\Possessivewh-pronoun") Wh-pronoun|WP Thiscategoryincludeswhat,whoandwhom.
conjunction(IN). WheninatemporalsenseistaggedWRB.Inthesenseof\if,"ontheotherhand,itisasubordinating Wh-adverb|WRB Thiscategoryincludeshow,where,why,etc.
EXAMPLES:When/WRBhenallyarrived,Iwasonmywayout.
3 Listoftagswithcorrespondingpartofspeech Ilikeitwhen/INyoumakedinnerforme.
Thissectioncontainsalistoftagsinalphabeticalorderandthepartsofspeechcorrespondingtothem.
5. 4. 3. 2. 1. FW EX DT CD CC Foreignword Existentialthere Determiner Cardinalnumber Coordinatingconjunction
8. 10. 7. 9. 6. JJR LS JJ JJS IN Adjective,comparative Listitemmarker Adjective Adjective,superlative Prepositionorsubordinatingconjunction
15. 14. 13. 12. 11. NPS NP NNS NN MD Propernoun,plural Propernoun,singular Noun,plural Noun,singularormass Modal
20. 19. 18. 17. 16. RB PP$ PP POS PDT Adverb Possessivepronoun Personalpronoun Possessiveending Predeterminer
22. 21. 23. RBS RBR RP Adverb,superlative Adverb,comparative Particle

4PROBLEMATICCASES 25. 24. TO SYM to Symbol 7
29. 30. 28. 27. 26. VBG VBN VBD VB UH Verb,gerundorpresentparticiple Verb,pastparticiple Verb,pasttense Verb,baseform Interjection
31. 32. VBP VBZ Verb,non-3rdpersonsingularpresent
36. 35. 34. 33. WRB WP$ WP WDT Wh-adverb Possessivewh-pronoun Wh-pronoun Verb,3rdpersonsingularpresent Wh-determiner
Thissectiondiscussesdiculttaggingdecisions.Section4.1discussespartsofspeechthatareeasily 4confusedandguidelinesonhowtotagsuchcases.Section4.2containsanalphabeticallistofspecic problematicwordsandcollocations. Problematiccases
4.1Confusingpartsofspeech CCorDT Whentheyaretherstmembersofthedoubleconjunctionsboth:::and,either:::orandneither:::nor, Thissectiondiscussespartsofspeechthatareeasilyconfusedandgivesguidelinesonhowtotagsuchcases.
both,eitherandneitheraretaggedascoordinatingconjunctions(CC),notasdeterminers(DT). EXAMPLES:Either/DTchildcouldsing. But: Either/CCaboycouldsingor/CCagirlcoulddance. Either/CCaboyor/CCagirlcouldsing.
nor. Beawarethateitherorneithercansometimesfunctionasdeterminers(DT)eveninthepresenceoforor Either/CCaboyor/CCgirlcouldsing.
CDorJJ Number-numbercombinationsshouldbetaggedasadjectives(JJ)iftheyhavethesamedistributionas EXAMPLE: Either/DTboyor/CCgirlcouldsing.
adjectives.EXAMPLES:a50{3/JJvictory(cf.ahandy/JJvictory)

etaggedasadjectives(JJ)whentheyareprenominalmodiers,butasadverbs(RB)iftheycouldbe Hyphenatedfractionsone-half,three-fourths,seven-eighths,one-and-a-half,seven-and-three-eighthsshould 4PROBLEMATICCASES 8
replacedbydoubleortwice.
CDorNN EXAMPLES:one-half/JJcup; one-half/RBtheamount;cf.twice/RBtheamount;double/RBtheamount cf.afull/JJcup
Sometimes,itisunclearwhetheroneiscardinalnumberoranoun.Ingeneral,itshouldbetaggedasa cardinalnumber(CD)evenwhenitssenseisnotclearlythatofanumeral. Butifitcouldbepluralizedormodiedbyanadjectiveinaparticularcontext,itisacommonnoun(NN). EXAMPLE: EXAMPLE: one/CDofthebestreasons
Inthecollocationanotherone,oneshouldalsobetaggedasacommonnoun(NN). theonly(good)one/NNofitskind
Hyphenatedfractionsone-half,three-fourths,seven-eighths,one-and-a-half,seven-and-three-eighthsshould (cf.theonly(good)ones/NNSoftheirkind)
betaggedasadjectives(JJ)whentheyareprenominalmodiers,butasadverbs(RB)iftheycouldbe replacedbydoubleortwice.
CDorRB EXAMPLES:one-half/JJcup; one-half/RBtheamount;cf.twice/RBtheamount;double/RBtheamount cf.afull/JJcup
Number-numbercombinationsshouldbetaggedasadverbs(RB)iftheyhavethesamedistributionas
Hyphenatedfractionsone-half,three-fourths,seven-eighths,one-and-a-half,seven-and-three-eighthsshould adverbs.EXAMPLES:Theywon50{3/RB.(cf.Theywonhandily/RB.) betaggedasadjectives(JJ)whentheyareprenominalmodiers,butasadverbs(RB)iftheycouldbe replacedbydoubleortwice.
DTorCC|seeCCorDT EXAMPLES:one-half/JJcup; one-half/RBtheamount;cf.twice/RBtheamount;double/RBtheamount cf.afull/JJcup
DTorNN Whendeterminersareusedpronominally,i.e.withoutaheadnoun,theyshouldstillbetaggedas determiners(DT)|notascommonnouns(NN).

4PROBLEMATICCASES EXAMPLES:Ican'tstandthis/DT. 9
DTorPDT Either/DTwouldbene. I'lltakeboth/DT.
Whenpotentialpredeterminersprecedeanarticleorpossessivepronoun,theyarepredeterminers(PDT). Whentheydonot,theyaredeterminers(DT). EXAMPLES:all/DTgirls;all/DTyounggirls Thegirlsall/DTleft. both/DTboys;both/DTlittleboys Theboysboth/DTleft.
EXorRB both/PDTtheboys;both/PDTthelittleboys all/PDTthegirls;all/PDTtheyounggirls
sentence.EXAMPLES:There/EXwasapartyinprogress. Existentialthereisunstressedandtriggersinversionoftheinectedverbandthelogicalsubjectofa
Bycontrast,whenthereisusedadverbially,itreceivesatleastsomestressanddoesnottriggerinversion. EXAMPLES:There/RB,apartywasinprogress. There/EXensuedamelee.
Existentialandadverbialtherecanbothoccurtogetherinthesamesentence. EXAMPLE: There/RB,ameleeensued.
INorRB There/EXwasapartyinprogressthere/RB.
Itisoftendiculttodistinguishprepositionsandadverbs.Ingeneral,prepositionsareassociatedwithan immediatelyfollowingnounphrase.However,theymaybe\stranded,"i.e.theirobjectmayoccur strandedprepositionwithoutisassociatedwiththecreditcard. someplaceotherthanimmediatelyfollowingthepreposition.Forinstance,intheexamplebelow,the
precedeanother(tocountsasaregularprepositioninthiscontext),asinthefollowingexamples:
Prepositionsmayalsoimmediatelyprecedeprepositionalphrases.Thismeansthatoneprepositioncan EXAMPLE: thecreditcardyouwon'twanttodowithout/IN

4PROBLEMATICCASES EXAMPLES:blazeout/INinto/INspace 10
comeout/INof/INthewoodwork lookup/INto/TOsomeone because/INof/INherlatearrival
prepositions(IN). Aboutandaroundwhenusedtomean\approximately"shouldbetaggedasadverbs(RB),notas toplanton/INinto/INspring
Close(r)andnear(er)incollocationwithtoshouldbetaggedasadverbs(RB),notasprepositions(IN). shouldbetaggedasanadverb(RB)|orasaparticle(RP)(see\RBorRP"). Ifaputativeprepositionisnotassociatedwithanexplicitlyexpressedobjectanywhereintheclause,it
INorRPEXAMPLE:
We'lljusthavetodowithout/RB.
awordisaparticle.Afterbrieydiscussingthesyntacticpropertiesofprepositions,wegivesome diagnostictestsforthedistinctionbetweenprepositionsandparticles. Bothprepositionsandparticlesoccurincollocationwithverbsandareoftendiculttodistinguishfrom oneanother.Itisimportanttorealizethattheidiomaticityofacollocationisnotafoolproofcriterionthat Asnotedabove(\INorRB"),prepositionsaregenerallyassociatedwithanimmediatelyfollowingnoun phrase.However,theymaybe\stranded,"i.e.theirobjectmayoccuratthebeginningofaclauserather thanimmediatelyfollowingthepreposition.Forinstance,intheexamplesbelow,thestrandedprepositions atandagainstareassociatedwiththepictureandwhat,respectively. EXAMPLES:thepicture(which/that)wewilllookat/INnext
precedeanother(tocountsasaregularprepositioninthiscontext),asintheexamplesbelow.Tobe Prepositionsmayalsoimmediatelyprecedeprepositionalphrases.Thismeansthatoneprepositioncan Hedoesn'tknowwhatheisupagainst/IN.
taggedasINratherthanasRP,aputativeprepositionmustbemorecloselyassociatedwiththefollowing prepositionalphrasethanwiththeverb. EXAMPLES:blazeout/INinto/INspace comeout/INof/INthewoodwork lookup/INto/TOsomeone because/INof/INherlatearrival
Ifaputativeprepositionisnotassociatedwithanobjectanywhereintheclause,itshouldbetaggedeither takemillionsofdollarsout/INof/INcirculation
asaparticle(RP)|orasanadverb(RB)(see\RBorRP"). (cf.*takeoutmillionsofdollarsofcirculation)
Awordisaparticle(RP)ratherthanapreposition(IN): ifitcaneitherprecedeorfollowanounphraseobject. EXAMPLE: shetoldherfriendso/RP.
Shetoldo/RPherfriends;

4PROBLEMATICCASES ifwhenyoureplaceanounphraseobjectbyapronoun,thepronounmustprecedetheword. 11
Iftheresultsofthistestconictwiththeresultsofthersttest,gobytheresultsofthesecond. EXAMPLES:Shetoldthemo/RP;*shetoldo/RPthem. Hepeeledito/RP;*hepeeledo/RPit.
ifitcanbepartofanounthatisderivedfromaparticle-verbcollocation. EXAMPLE: torunitup/RP;*torunup/RPit ???torunabillup/RP;torunup/RPabill;
EXAMPLES:tobreakdown/RP; toputdown/RP; topushover/RP; tobeleftover/RP; tobreakthrough/RP;breakthrough putdown pushover breakdown leftovers
Theresultsofthistestareone-directionalonly;ifthereisnorelatednoun,thewordcanstillbea particle.EXAMPLES:topassout/RP;*passout ifitbearsstressinclause-nalposition(thiscriteriononlyappliestomonosyllabicwords). topullo/RP;*pullo
Whileparticlesusuallyoccurinconstructionwithverbs,theycanoccurtogetherwithpartsofspeechthat EXAMPLE: (vs.Realbargainsarehardtocomeby/IN) Whydon'tyoucomeby/RP?
arederivedfromverbsaswell. EXAMPLES:thecutting/NNo/RPofthetop
Awordisapreposition(IN)ratherthanaparticle(RP): Helooksworn/JJout/RP. thesetting/NNup/RPoftheproblem
ifitmustprecedeanounphraseobject.
ifwhenyoureplaceanounphraseobjectbyapronoun,thepronouncannotprecedetheword. EXAMPLE: *shesteppedthetraino/IN. Shesteppedo/INthetrain;
ifitcannotbearstressinclause-nalposition(thiscriteriononlyappliestomonosyllabicwords).
EXAMPLE: *shehasbeenitinto/INforayear. Shehasbeeninto/INitforayear;

4PROBLEMATICCASES EXAMPLE: Realbargainsarehardtocomeby/IN. (vs.Whydon'tyoucomeby/RP?) 12
INorVBG,VBN respectively,notasprepositions(IN). Putativeprepositionsendingin-edor-ingshouldbetaggedaspastparticiples(VBN)orgerunds(VBG), EXAMPLES:Granted/VBNthatheiscoming Concerning/VBGyourrequestoflastweek According/VBGtoreliablesources Provided/VBNthathecomes
INorWDT Whenthatintroducescomplementsofnouns,itisasubordinatingconjunction(IN).
Butwhenthatintroducesrelativeclauses,itisawh-pronoun(WDT),onaparwithwhich. EXAMPLES:thefactthat/INyou'rehere
EXAMPLE: amanthat/WDTIknow theclaimthat/INangelshavewings
JJorJJR Adjectiveswiththecomparativeending-erandacomparativemeaningaretaggedJJR.Moreandless JJorCD|seeCDorJJ
furtherinfurtherdetails,shouldalsosimplybetaggedasJJ. Conversely,adjectiveswiththeending-erbutwithoutastrictlycomparativemeaning(\moreX"),like whenusedasadjectives,asinmoreorlessmail,arealsotaggedasJJR.Moreandlesscanalsobetagged asJJRwhentheyoccurbythemselves;seetheentriesforthesewordsinSection4.2.Adjectiveswitha comparativemeaningbutwithoutthecomparativeending-er,likesuperior,shouldsimplybetaggedasJJ.
JJorJJS
superlativemeaningbutwithoutthesuperlativeending-est,likerst,lastorunsurpassed,shouldsimply JJSwhentheyoccurbythemselves;seetheentriesforthesewordsinSection4.2.Adjectiveswitha betaggedasJJ. asadjectives,asinthemostortheleastmail,arealsotaggedasJJS.Mostandleastcanalsobetaggedas Adjectiveswiththesuperlativeending-est(aswellasworst)aretaggedasJJS.Mostandleastwhenused
JJRorJJ|seeJJorJJR JJSorJJ|seeJJorJJS JJorNN Nounsthatareusedasmodiers,whetherinisolationorinsequences,shouldbetaggedasnouns(NN, NNS)ratherthanasadjectives(JJ).

4PROBLEMATICCASES EXAMPLES:wool/NNsweater(vs.woollen/JJsweater) 13
terminal/NNtype(vs.terminal/JJcancer)
dierentpart-of-speechassignmentsinexampleslikethefollowing|dependingontheorthographic Hyphenatedmodiers,ontheotherhand,shouldalwaysbetaggedasadjectives(JJ).Thus,wehave life/NNinsurance/NNcompany
conventionsused: EXAMPLES:income-tax/JJreturn;income/NNtax/NNreturn
comparativeorsuperlative)shouldbetaggedasadjectives(JJ),notasnouns(NN). Prenominalmodiersthataregradable(i.e.theycanbemodiedbyadegreeadverborforma value-added/JJtax; value/NNadded/VBNtax
Colorwordsshouldbetaggedasnouns(NN,NNS)whentheyareusedasnamessincetheyhavethe EXAMPLES:afun/JJparty
distributionofnouns|i.e.theycanbemodiedbyadjectivesandtheyhaveanovertplural. (cf.areallyfunparty,themostfunpartyIeverwentto)
Alsonotethefollowingcontrast: EXAMPLES:That'sanicered/NN.
EXAMPLES:Theseplantsaredarkgreen/JJ. Nottoomanyreds/NNSgowiththatpurple.
theytriggersubject-verbagreement,iftheycanbemodiedbyadverbs. Genericadjectivesshouldbetaggedasadjectives(JJ)andnotaspluralcommonnouns(NNS),evenwhen Theseplantsareadarkgreen/NN.
Butifaputativeadjectivecan'tbemodiedbyanadverb,itshouldbetaggedasacommonnoun(NN). EXAMPLES:The(very)rich/JJinthiscountrypayfartoofewtaxes.
EXAMPLES:Littlegood/NNwillcomeofit. The(multiply)handicapped/JJ
Whenusedasprenominalmodiers,top,side,bottom,frontandbackshouldbetaggedasadjectives(JJ). (cf.*Verygoodwillcomeofit.)
JJorNP Wordsthatrefertolanguagesornations,likeEnglishorFrench,canbeeitheradjectives(JJ)orproper nouns(NP,NPS).
Inprenominalposition,suchwordsarealmostalwaysadjectives(JJ).Donotbeledtotagsuchwordsas EXAMPLES:English/JJcuisinetendstobeuninspired.
propernounsjustbecausetheyoccurinidiomaticcollocations.
TheEnglish/NPStendtobeuninspiredcooks.

4PROBLEMATICCASES 14
However,note: EXAMPLES:Chinese/JJcabbage;Chinese/JJcooking
EXAMPLE: Welsh/JJrarebit;Welsh/JJpoetry
ThetwopartsofcompoundssuchasWestGermanorNorthKoreanshouldbetaggedidentically|either anEnglish/NPsentence
asJJorNP. (cf.asentenceofEnglish/NP)
EXAMPLE: theWest/JJGerman/JJmark
Act,aswellascompoundscontainingpropernounsastheirsecondconstituent,suchasmid-Marchor Hyphenatedcompoundpropernounsactingasmodiers,suchasGramm-RudmanintheGramm-Rudman He'saWest/NPGerman/NP.
JJorRB Whilemostadverbsformedfromadjectivesendin-ly,notalldo.Thecrucialcriterioniswhetheraword non-NATO,shouldbetaggedaspropernouns(NP)ratherthanasadjectives(JJ).
modiesanoun,inwhichcaseitisanadjective(JJ),oranon-noun,inwhichcaseitisanadverb(RB).
Vexingcasesariseinconnectionwithcompoundadjectivesthatarespelledastwowords,suchasmild EXAMPLES:rapid/JJgrowth/NN
avored.TagbothpartsofsuchsequencesasJJ|thus,mild/JJavored/JJ. rapid/RBgrowing/VBGplants
theunacceptabilityofmakelifesimply. JJorVBG Takecarenottotagpredicateadjectivesasadverbs.Thus,inmakelifesimple,simpleisanadjective;cf.
make.Thereareanumberofteststhatyoucanusetodecide.Besuretoapplytheseteststotheentire Thedistinctionbetweenadjectives(JJ)andgerunds/presentparticiples(VBG)isoftenverydicultto
Awordisanadjective(JJ): sentencecontainingthewordthatyouareunsureof,notjustthewordinisolation,sincethecontextis importantindeterminingthepartofspeechofaword. ifitisgradable|thatis,ifitcanbeprecededbyadegreeadverblikevery,orifitallowsthe formationofacomparative.
ifthereisacorrespondingun-formwiththeoppositemeaning. EXAMPLE: Hertalkwasmoreinteresting/JJthantheirs. Hertalkwasveryinteresting/JJ.
EXAMPLE: anuninteresting/JJconversation
aninteresting/JJconversation;

4PROBLEMATICCASES ifitoccursinconstructionwithbe,andbecouldbereplacedbybecome,feel,look,remain,seemor sound.EXAMPLES:Theconversationbecamedepressing/JJ.
15
Thatplaceremainsdepressing/JJ. Thatplaceseemsdepressing/JJ. Thatplacelooksdepressing/JJ. Thatplacesoundsdepressing/JJ. Thatplacefeelsdepressing/JJ.
ifitprecedesanoun,andthecorrespondingverbisintransitive,ordoesnothavethesamemeaning. EXAMPLES:anappealing/JJface; arevolving/JJfund; awinning/JJsmile; anappetizing/JJdish; *afundthatrevolves *adishthatappetizes *asmilethatwins *afacethatappeals
But: theexisting/VBGsafeguards;safeguardsthatexist aholding/VBGcompany; amanaging/VBGdirector; acompanythatholdsanotherone
Notethefollowingcontrast: theruling/VBGclass; adirectorwhomanages theclassthatrules
ifthereisnocorrespondingverb. thestriking/VBGteachers astriking/JJhat *thehatwillstrike theteacherswillstrike
Inconnectionwiththispoint,notethatstrikingmeaningdierencesneednotbereectedintermsof EXAMPLE: *thoroughgo athoroughgoing/JJinvestigation;
dierentpartsofspeech: EXAMPLES: *outgo theoutgoing/JJpresident;anoutgoing/JJtypeofguy;
JJorVBN *outstand anoutstanding/JJrecord;outstanding/JJdebts
areanumberofteststhatyoucanusetodecide.Besuretoapplytheseteststotheentiresentence determiningthepartofspeechofaword. containingthewordthatyouareunsureof,notjustthewordinisolation,sincethecontextisimportantin Thedistinctionbetweenadjectives(JJ)andpastparticiples(VBN)isoftenverydiculttomake.There
Awordisanadjective(JJ):

4PROBLEMATICCASES ifitisgradable|thatis,ifitcanbeprecededbyadegreeadverblikevery,orifitallowsthe formationofacomparative. 16
ifthereisacorrespondingun-formwiththeoppositemeaning. EXAMPLE: Hewasmoresurprised/JJthanshewas. Hewasverysurprised/JJ.
Besuretocheckwhetherthereisacorrespondingverbbeginningwithun-.Ifthereis,youcannot EXAMPLE: anunhurried/JJmeeting ahurried/JJmeeting;
relyonthistesttodeterminewhetherthewordinquestionisanadjectiveoraparticiple,andyou willhavetousetheothertests. EXAMPLE: Yourshoelacehasbeenuntied/JJeversincewestarted.
beeitheraJJoraVBN,dependingonitscontext. Whenapplyingtheun-test,besuretotaketheentirecontextintoaccount.Forinstance,armedcan Iknow|itgotuntied/VBNbyaccident.
EXAMPLE: (cf.*Unarmedwithonlyaknife,:::) (cf.Weneedanunarmedguard.) Armed/VBNwithonlyaknife,::: Weneedanarmed/JJguard.
seemorsound. ifthewordoccursinconstructionwithbe,andbecouldbereplacedbybecome,feel,look,remain, EXAMPLES:Hebecameinterested/JJ.
Hesoundedsurprised/JJ. Heremainedsurprised/JJ. Heseemedsurprised/JJ. Helookedsurprised/JJ. Hefeltinterested/JJ.
taggedasaparticiple(VBN)ratherthanasanadjective(JJ). However,ifthecomplementofanyoftheverbslistedaboveismodiedbyaby-phrase,itshouldbe
ifthewordoccursinconstructionwithkeep. EXAMPLE: Heremainsguided/VBNbytheseprinciples.
ifitreferstoa(resultant)stateratherthantoa(specic)event. EXAMPLES:Theyshouldbekeptwellwatered/JJ.
EXAMPLES:Atthetime,Iwasmarried/JJ. amistaken/JJdecision
Iwasmistaken/JJ(=wrong)theotherday.

4PROBLEMATICCASES ifacollocationoftheform\X-edN"cannotbeparaphrasedas\NthathasbeenX-ed." 17
EXAMPLES:adecided/JJadvantage;*anadvantagethathasbeendecided worried/JJfaces; married/JJlife; agrown/JJwoman; *facesthathavebeenworried *lifethathasbeenmarried *awomanthathasbeengrown
Awordisapastparticiple(VBN): ifitcanbefollowedbyabyphrase.Ifthiscriterionclasheswiththepossibilityofinsertingadegree adverb,tagthewordasanadjective(JJ),notasaparticiple(VBN).
ifitreferstoan(specic)eventratherthantoa(resultant)state. EXAMPLES:Hewasinvited/VBNbysomefriendsofhers. Hewasverysurprised/JJbyherremarks.
EXAMPLES:Iwasmarried/VBNonaSunday.
ifthewordoccursinconstructionwithbe,andbecouldbereplacedbyget,butnotbybecome. acaseofmistaken/VBNidentity Iwasmistaken/VBNforyoutheotherday.
JJRorNNEXAMPLE:
(cf.Igotmarried,*Ibecamemarried) Iwasmarried/VBNonaSunday.
JJRorRBR noun,asinmoreofthesame. Moreandlessshouldbetaggedascomparativeadjectives(JJR),evenwhentheyoccurwithoutahead
IncollocationssuchasSharesclosedhigher/lower,higherandlowershouldbetaggedascomparative
JJSorNN points. adverbs(RBR).Cf.Sharesclosedmorereasonably/*reasonabletoday;alsoSharesclosedup/RBbytwo
Mostshouldbetaggedasasuperlativeadjective(JJS)evenwhenitoccurswithoutaheadnoun,asin thefollowing: mostofthetime.Thereasonisthatitsdistributionisparalleltothatofothersuperlativeadjectives;cf. EXAMPLES:mostapples; theripestapples;theripestoftheapples mostoftheapples theripestofthebunch mostofthebunch
MDorVB

Formsoftheauxiliaryverbsbe,doandhavearetaggedonaparwiththoseofotherverbs. 4PROBLEMATICCASES 18
NNorDT|seeDTorNN NNorCD|seeCDorNN
NNorJJ|seeJJorNN NNorJJR|seeJJRorNN NNorNNS
Anynounthattriggerssingularagreementonaverbshouldbetaggedassingular,evenifitendsinnal-s. Whetheranounistaggedsingularorpluraldependsnotonitssemanticproperties,butonwhetherit criterionalsoappliestopropernouns. triggerssingularorpluralagreementonaverb.Weillustratethisbelowforcommonnouns,butthesame
singular.EXAMPLES:Thegroup/NNhas/*havedisbanded. Ifanounissemanticallypluralorcollective,buttriggerssingularagreement,itshouldbetaggedas EXAMPLE: Linguistics/NNis/*areadiculteld.
doesnotendin-s. Ontheotherhand,ifanountriggerspluralagreementonaverb,itshouldbetaggedasplural,evenifit Thejury/NNis/*aredeliberating.
EXAMPLES:Thefaculty/NNSareonstrike.
usageinaparticulartext.Iftheagreementpatterncannotbedetermined,tagsuchnounsasNNjNNS(see Somenouns,likedata,triggervariablenumberagreement.Suchnounsshouldbetaggedaccordingtotheir Thepolice/NNShavearrivedonthescene.
Section5.2fortheverticalslashconvention).Finally,notethefollowingcontrast: Mechanics/NNisanestablisheddiscipline.
agreementeventhoughformallyplural.Suchnounsshouldbetaggedaspluralnoun(NNS). Theonlyexceptiontotheagreementruleconcernsnounsdenotingamounts,whichtriggersingular Themechanics/NNSofthesystemarecomplex.
NNorNP EXAMPLES:Threeyears/NNSisalongtime. Twelveinches/NNSisafoot.
capitalizedaspartofareference.Abbreviationsandinitialsshouldbetaggedasiftheywerespelledout.
Chapter,Exhibit,Figure,Tableandthelikeshouldbetaggedascommonnouns(NN)evenwhen

noun(NP).Bycontrast,theU.S.shouldbetaggedastheU.S./NP. Thus,S&L(whichstandsforsavingsandloan)shouldbetaggedasacommonnoun(NN),notasaproper 4PROBLEMATICCASES 19
Compoundscontainingpropernounsastheirsecondconstituent,suchasmid-Marchornon-NATO,should betaggedaspropernouns(NP). NNorPP Theindenitepronounsnaught,noneandcompoundsofany-,every-,no-andsome-with-oneand-thing shouldbetaggedasnouns(NN),notaspronouns(PP).Thesequencenooneshouldbetaggedno/DT one/NN;initshyphenatedformno-one,itshouldbetaggedNN. NNorRB Nounsthatareusedadverbiallyshouldbetaggedasnouns(NN,NNS,NPorNPS),notasadverbs(RB).
theirsyntacticproperties.Forinstance,inThenearestshoppingcenteristwomilestothenorthofhere, Wordsdenotingpointsofthecompassaretaggedaseithernouns(NN)oradverbs(RB),dependingon EXAMPLE: HecomesbySundays/NPSandholidays/NNS.
shouldbetaggedasanadverb(RB). Thetemporalexpressionsyesterday,todayandtomorrowshouldbetaggedasnouns(NN)ratherthanas variantThenearestshoppingcenteristwomilesnorthofhere,northisnotprecededbyanarticleand northisprecededbyanarticleandshouldbetaggedasacommonnoun(NN).Ontheotherhand,inthe
ofwhichtrueadverbsdonot. Thelocativeexpressionhomewhenusedbyitselfinanadverbialsenseshouldbetaggedasanadverb(RB). adverbs(RB).Notethatyoucan(marginally)pluralizethemandthattheyallowapossessiveform,both
NNorVBG EXAMPLES:Callmewhenyougethome/RB. Callmewhenyouareathome/NN.
Itisoftendiculttotellwhetheraformin-ingisanoun(NN)oragerund(VBG),especiallysinceboth nounsandgerundscanbeprecededbyanarticleorapossessivepronoun. Ifawordin-ingallowsaplural,itisanoun(NN). EXAMPLES:Thereading/NNforthisclassisdicult.
(NN)canbemodiedbyanadjective,andonlyagerund(VBG)canbemodiedbyanadverb. Whilebothnounsandgerundscanbeprecededbyanarticleorapossessivepronoun,onlyanoun (vs.Thereadings/NNSforthisclassaredicult.)
Similarly,ifthedirectobjectoftheverbunderlyingthe-ingformisexpressedinanof-phrase,the EXAMPLES:Good/JJcooking/NNissomethingtoenjoy.
-ingformisanoun(NN),butifitisexpresseddirectlyasanounphrase,the-ingformisagerund Cooking/VBGwell/RBisausefulskill.
(VBG).

4PROBLEMATICCASES EXAMPLES:GM'sclosing/NNoftheplant (cf.GM'srepeated/*repeatedlyclosingoftheplant; 20
GM'sclosing/VBGtheplant (cf.GM's*repeated/repeatedlyclosingtheplant; *GM'sclosingstheplant) GM'sclosingsoftheplant)
combinationcaninturnprecedeanoun. Whenan-ingformisprecededbyanounorasequenceofnouns,itisitselfanoun.Theresulting EXAMPLES:theplant/NNclosing/NN
(VBG).EXAMPLES:thedeclining/VBGproductivityofU.S.industry IfacollocationX-ingNisequivalent(orsimilar)inmeaningtoNX-es,thenthewordisagerund unsavoryplant/NNclosing/NNtactics/NNS
theacting/VBGvicepresident (cf.TheproductivityofU.S.industryisdeclining)
(NN).Insuchcases,thecollocationcanoftenbeparaphrasedintermsofaninnitiveoramore IfacollocationX-ingNisnotequivalent(orsimilar)inmeaningtoNX-es,thenthewordisanoun (cf.apersonwhoisactingasvicepresident)
clearlynominalconstruction. EXAMPLES:spending/NNreductions themating/NNseason (theseasonformating,not:theseasonthatismating) (reductionsinspending,not:reductionsthatarespending)
aholding/NNpattern
Forinstance,sinceanchoringdevicescouldbeanalyzedaseitherdevicesthatanchor(gerund)oras Finally,inmanycasesthereisnothingtodobuttousetheverticalslashconvention(seeSection5.2). (apatternofholding,not:apatternthatisholding)
NNSorNN|seeNNorNNS devicesforanchoring(noun),itshouldbetaggedanchoring/NNjVBG.
NPorJJ|seeJJorNP
NPSorNP|seeNNorNNS NPorNPS|seeNNorNNS
PDTorDT|seeDTorPDT

PPorNN|seeNNorPP 4PROBLEMATICCASES 21
PPorPP$ Thenominalpossessivepronounsmine,yours,his,hers,oursandtheirsaretaggedaspersonalpronouns (PP),notaspossessivepronouns(PP$). PP$orPP|seePPorPP$
RBorEX|seeEXorRB RBorCD|seeCDorRB
RBorJJ|seeJJorRB RBorIN|seeINorRB
RBorRBR Adverbswiththecomparativeending-erbutwithoutacomparativemeaningshouldalsosimplybetagged RBorNN|seeNNorRB
RBorRBS Most,thoughusuallyasuperlativeform,isasimpleadverb(RB)inthecollocationmostevery-. asRB.Forspecicwords,seeSection4.2.
importanttorealizethattheidiomaticityofaparticularcollocationisnotadiagnosticforthedistinction. RBorRP Adverbsandparticlescanbeevenmorediculttodistinguishthanparticlesandprepositions.Again,itis andtheword. Awordisanadverb(RB)ratherthanaparticle(RP)ifyoucaninsertamanneradverbbetweentheverb
Notethatstrikingmeaningdierencesarenotalwaysreectedindierentpart-of-speechassignment. EXAMPLES:Bringthegirlsrightup/RP.(=conduct) EXAMPLE: tositcalmly/RBby/RB
Oinbadlyo,bettero,welloandworseoisaparticle(RP),notanadverb(RB). Incontextsconcerningthemovementofcurrencyorcommodityprices,upanddownshouldbetaggedas Bringthegirlsrightup/RP.(=educate)
adverbs(RB),notasparticles(RP).
RBSorRB|seeRBorRBS
RBRorRB|seeRBorRBR

RPorIN|seeINorRP 4PROBLEMATICCASES 22
RPorRB|seeRBorRP
VBorVBP Ifyouareunsurewhetheraformisasubjunctive(VB)orapresenttenseverb(VBP),replacethesubject VBorMD|seeMDorVB
(VBP);ifnot,itisasubjunctive(VB). byathirdpersonpronoun.Iftheverbtakesan-sending,thentheoriginalformisapresenttenseverb
VBGorIN|seeINorVBG,VBN EXAMPLE: (cf.Irecommendedthathedo/*doesit.) Irecommendedthatyoudo/VBit.
VBGorJJ|seeJJorVBG
VBNorIN|seeINorVBG,VBN VBGorNN|seeNNorVBG
VBPorVB|seeVBorVBP VBNorJJ|seeJJorVBN
Ifawh-wordprecedesaheadnoun,itisawh-determiner. WDTorWP WDTorIN|seeINorWDT
EXAMPLES:What/WDTkinddoyouwant?
Which/WDTbookdoyoulikebetter? Besuretowashwhatever/WDTfruityoubuy. Idon'tknowwhat/WDTkindyouwant.
Idon'tknowwhich/WDTbookyoulikebetter.
What(ever)isonlytaggedasawh-determiner(WDT)whenitprecedesaheadnoun;otherwise,itis Which/WDTonedoyoulikebetter?
taggedasasimplewh-word(WP). Idon'tknowwhich/WDToneyoulikebetter.
EXAMPLES:Tellmewhat/WPyouwouldliketoeat. I'llgetyouwhatever/WPyouwant.

Which(ever),ontheotherhand,istaggedasawh-determiner(WDT)evenwhenitdoesnotprecedea 4PROBLEMATICCASES headnoun.ThisisparalleltothetaggingofdeterminersasDTwhentheyareusedbythemselves. 23
EXAMPLES:Which/WDTdoyoulikebetter?
WPorWDT|seeWDTorWP I'llgetyouwhichever/WDTyouwant. Idon'tknowwhich/WDTyoulikebetter.
aboutwhenusedtomean\approximately"shouldbetaggedasanadverb(RB),ratherthana 4.2Specicwordsandcollocations Thissectioncontainsanalphabeticallistofspecicproblematicwordsandcollocations.
allisusuallyadeterminer(DT)orapredeterminer(PDT),butitcanalsobeanadverb(RB). EXAMPLES: preposition(IN).
Thecollocationatallistaggedat/INall/DT. all/RBthroughthenight all/RBaroundtheMediterranean
allbutistaggedall/RBbut/RB.
anycanbeadeterminer(DT). anotheroneistaggedanother/DTone/NN. allrightistaggedall/RBright/JJ.
However,whenitprecedesacomparativeadverb,itisanadverb(RB). EXAMPLES: Don'tyouwantany/DTmore/JJR? Wedon'thaveany/DT.
aroundwhenusedtomean\approximately"shouldbetaggedasanadverb(RB),ratherthana EXAMPLES: Ican'tgoonlikethisany/RBmore/RBR. Ican'trunany/RBfurther/RBR.
EXAMPLES: preposition(IN). (cf.Thepoundstabilizedatapproximately1.6973dollars.) But: Thepoundstabilizedataround/RB1.6973dollars.
ascanbeanIN.
Thepoundstabilizedaround/IN1.6973dollars. (cf.*Thepoundstabilizedapproximately1.6973dollars.)

4PROBLEMATICCASES EXAMPLES: As/INanuntenuredfacultymember,::: It'sjustas/INIthought. 24
EXAMPLES: Butwhenithasameaningakinto`so',itisanadverb(RB).
Bothtypesofasoccurinthecollocationas:::as. Thisoneisnotas/RBgood. I'mnotas/RBhungry.
atallistaggedat/INall/DT. EXAMPLES: as/RBmanyas/INhehas as/RBhungryas/INme
backshouldbetaggedasanadjective(JJ)whenusedasaprenominalmodier,asinbackdoor.
but,thoughusuallyacoordinatingconjunction,isapreposition(IN)whenitmeans\except." bottomshouldbetaggedasanadjective(JJ)whenusedasaprenominalmodier,asinbottomdrawer.
Inveryformalusage,itcanbeanadverb(RB)withthemeaning\only." EXAMPLE: everybodybut/INme
Chapter,asinChapter1,isanNN,notanNP. EXAMPLE: Wecanbut/RBtry.
close(r)Inthecollocationclose(r)to,close(r)isanadverb(RB)orcomparativeadverb(RBR).
comingshouldbetaggedasanadjective(JJ)byanalogytoupcoming. EXAMPLE: Wewerecloser/RBRtohome. Wewereclose/RBtohome.
datatriggersvariablenumberagreementandshouldbetaggedaccordingtoitsuseinaparticulartext.If
dearinOhdearandDearmeisanexclamation(UH).InYes,dear,ontheotherhand,itisusedasatrue theagreementpatterncannotbedetermined,tagitasNNjNNS(seeSection5.2fortheverticalslash convention).
downshouldbetaggedasanadverb(RB),notasaparticle(RP),incontextsconcerningthemovement vocativeandshouldbetaggedasanoun(NN).Finally,insalutationslikeDearMartin,itshouldbe taggedasanadjective(JJ).
dueinthecollocationduetoisapreposition(IN).Otherwise,itisanadjective(JJ).
ofcurrencyorcommodityprices.

4PROBLEMATICCASES EXAMPLES: Thebooksaredue/JJonthedue/JJdate. due/INto/TOthestorm 25
far,thoughusuallyanadverb(RB),canalsobeanadjective(JJ). eachothershouldbetaggedeach/DTother/JJ.
EXAMPLE: Shelivesfar/RBfrom/INhere. Thefar/JJsideofthemoon Shelivesfar/RBaway.
Inthecollocationfar(ther)from,far(ther)isanadverb(RB)orcomparativeadverb(RBR).
Furtheristreatedonaparwithfarther. EXAMPLE: Wewerefarther/RBRfromhome. Wewerefar/RBfromhome.
Figure,asinFigure1,isanNN,notanNP.
forinthesenseof\because"isacoordinatingconjunction(CC),notasubordinatingconjunction(IN). tisanadjective(JJ)intheexpressiontoseet.
frontshouldbetaggedasanadjective(JJ)whenusedasaprenominalmodier,asinfrontdoor. EXAMPLE: Heaskedtobetransferred,for/CChewasunhappy.
further,likefarther,isacomparativeadverb(RBR)inthecontextfurtherfrom. halfcanbeanadjective(JJ),anoun(NN)orapredeterminer(PDT).Itisanadjective(JJ)ifit
EXAMPLES: immediatelyprecedesanoun,apredeterminer(PDT)ifitimmediatelyprecedesanarticleora possessivepronoun,andanoun(NN)otherwise.
half/NNofthetime half/PDThistime;half/PDTthetime ahalf/JJpoint
modier,butasanadverb(RB)ifitcouldbereplacedbydoubleortwice. Thehyphenatedfractionone-halfshouldbetaggedasanadjective(JJ)whenitisaprenominal
hers,asinThat'shers,isaPP,notaPP$. EXAMPLES:one-half/JJcup; one-half/RBtheamount;cf.twice/RBtheamount;double/RBtheamount cf.afull/JJcup
his,asinThat'shis,isaPP,notaPP$.

howeverisusuallyasimpleadverb(RB). 4PROBLEMATICCASES 26
Itcanalso(rarely)beawh-adverb(WRB). EXAMPLES: Thereseemstobeaproblem,however/RB. However/RB,thattimehasnotyetcome.
latershouldbetaggedasasimpleadverb(RB)ratherthanasacomparativeadverb(RBR),unlessits EXAMPLES: I'lldoithowever/WRBhewantsmeto. However/WRBmuchhewantsto,hecan't.
meaningisclearlycomparative.Ausefuldiagnosticisthatthecomparativelatercanbeprecededby EXAMPLES: evenorstill.
lessshouldbetaggedasacomparativeadjective(JJR)whenitisusedwithoutaheadnounandit Ifyoudon'thurry,we'llarrive(even)later/RBRthanyourmother. I'llgetitaroundtoitsoonerorlater/RB.
EXAMPLES: (RBR)whenitsuseisparalleltootheradverbs. correspondstotheobjectofaverborpreposition.Itshouldbetaggedasacomparativeadverb Youshouldeatless/JJR(intermsofquantity). (cf.Youshouldeatless/JJRcheese.) Youshouldeatless/RBR(intermsoffrequency). (cf.Youshouldeatrarely/RB.)
Lessshouldbetaggedasacomparativeadjective(JJR)evenwhenitoccurswithoutaheadnoun,as Youshouldworkless/RBR.
inlessofaproblem. (cf.Youshouldworkharder/RBR.)
littleisanadjective(JJ)inalittlebit,alittlebitmoreandalittlemore. Lessinthesenseofminusshouldbetaggedasacoordinatingconjunction(CC).
manyisaPDTwhenitimmediatelyprecedesanarticle.Ingeneral,however,itisanadjective(JJ),since lotisanoun(NN)inalotandalotmore. itcanbeprecededbyanarticleorapersonalpronoun.
maximum,asinmaximumtolerance,isanoun(NN),notanadjective(JJ).
EXAMPLES: many/PDTa/DTstormynight the/DTmany/JJfacesofGod

mine,asinThat'smine,isaPP,notaPP$. 4PROBLEMATICCASES 27
moreshouldbetaggedasacomparativeadjective(JJR)whenitisusedwithoutaheadnounandit minimum,asinminimumwage,isanoun(NN),notanadjective(JJ).
EXAMPLES: (RBR)whenitsuseisparalleltootheradverbs. correspondstotheobjectofaverborpreposition.Itshouldbetaggedasacomparativeadverb Youshouldeatmore/JJR(intermsofquantity). (cf.Youshouldeatmore/JJRfruit.) Youshouldeatmore/RBR(intermsoffrequency). (cf.Youshouldeatoften/RB.)
Moreshouldbetaggedasacomparativeadjective(JJR)evenwhenitoccurswithoutaheadnoun. Youshouldrelaxmore/RBR.
Again,however,ifitllsthesamepositionasanadverb,itshouldbetaggedasacomparativeadverb (cf.Youshouldworkharder/RBR.)
(RBR). EXAMPLES: It'smore/JJRofavegetablegarden. growstovefeetormore/JJR cf.*It'salmost/RBofavegetablegarden. more/JJRofmyfriends
But:
most,shouldbetaggedasasuperlativeadjective(JJS)evenwhenitoccurswithoutaheadnoun,asin It'smore/RBRavegetablegarden.
mostofthetime.Thereasonisthatitsdistributionisparalleltothatofothersuperlativeadjectives; It'salmost/RBavegetablegarden.
cf.thefollowing: EXAMPLES:mostapples; theripestapples;theripestoftheapples theripestofthebunch mostofthebunch mostoftheapples
muchcanbeanadjective(JJ)oranadverb(RB). Inthecollocationmostevery-,mostisasimpleadverb(RB).
EXAMPLES: That'smuch/RBbetteralready. Ilikethatquitewell;infact,Ilikeitverymuch/RB.
Shesaidnothing,oratleastnotverymuch/JJ. Hedoesn'thavemuch/JJenergyleft.

nearcanbeanadjective(JJ),anadverb(RB)orapreposition(IN). 4PROBLEMATICCASES 28
EXAMPLES: Wewerenear/INthestation. But: Theyhadapproachedquitenear/RB. Thenear/JJsideofthemoon
Inthecollocationnear(er)to,near(er)isanadverb(RB)orcomparativeadverb(RBR).The colloquialuseofnearerwithoutafollowingtoshouldalsobetaggedasacomparativeadverb(RBR). Wewerevery/RBnear/RBthestation.
EXAMPLES: Wewerenearer/RBRtothestation. Wewerenearer/RBRthestation. Wewerenear/RBtothestation.
nextcanbeanadjective(JJ),anadverb(RB)or(inarchaicusage)apreposition(IN). EXAMPLE: Igraspthehandsofthosenext/INme. Theylivenext/RBto/TOthepark. Thenext/JJtrain
nocanbeadeterminer(DT).
Itcanalsobeanadverb(RB). EXAMPLE: Wehaveno/DTsolutiontothatdicultyasyet.
EXAMPLE: Finally,astheoppositeofyes,itisaninterjection(UH). Sheisno/RBlongerheroldself.
notisanadverb(RB),asisitscontractedformn't. nooneshouldbetaggedno/DTone/NN;initshyphenatedformno-one,itshouldbetaggedNN.
oisaparticle(RP)inthecollocationswello,bettero,badlyo,worseo. oneIngeneral,oneshouldbetaggedasacardinalnumber(CD)evenwhenitssenseisnotclearlythatof EXAMPLE: anumeral.
However,whenitisusedasanimpersonalthirdpersonpronoun,itisapronoun(PP).
one/CDofthebestreasons

4PROBLEMATICCASES EXAMPLE: One/PPdoesn'tdothatkindofthinginpublic. 29
Ifitcouldbepluralizedormodiedbyanadjectiveinaparticularcontext,itisacommonnoun (NN). EXAMPLE: Inthecollocationanotherone,oneisacommonnoun(NN). (cf.theonly(good)ones/NNSoftheirkind) theonly(good)one/NNofitskind
onlyshouldbetaggedasanadverb(RB),unlessitcanbeparaphrasedbysole. EXAMPLE: (cf.thesole/*solelygoodones) theonly/JJgoodones
otherIfothercouldbepluralizedinaparticularcontext,itisacommonnoun(NN). only/RBthegoodones (cf.solely/*solethegoodones)
ours,asinThat'sours,isaPP,notaPP$. EXAMPLE: (cf.theothers/NNSarebad) Oneofthemisgood,buttheother/NNisbad.
overinthecollocationIt's(all)overisanadverb(RB). ownincombinationwithpossessivepronounsisanadjective(JJ).
peopleisapluralnoun(NNS),sinceittriggerspluralagreement. EXAMPLES: herown/JJroom aroomofone'sown/JJ
publicinthecollocationtogopublicisanadjective(JJ). plentyisacommonnoun(NN),evenincollocationslikeplentywarm.
ratherinisolationisanadverb(RB).
Inthecollocationratherthan,however,itshouldbetaggedasasubordinatingconjunction. EXAMPLE: Tareytonsmokerswouldrather/RBghtthanswitch.
rightThecollocationallrightistaggedall/RBright/JJ.
EXAMPLE: Butoftenit'swisertoswitchrather/INthan/INtoght.

Section,asinSection1,isanNN,notanNP. 4PROBLEMATICCASES 30
sideshouldbetaggedasanadjective(JJ)whenusedasaprenominalmodier,asinsidedoor. seetFitisanadjective(JJ)intheexpressiontoseet.
sointhesenseof\tosuchadegree"isanadverb(RB).
Inthecollocationssoastoandsothatandwhenitmeanssothatbyitself,soisasubordinating EXAMPLES: Hewasso/RBirresponsibleweredhim. So/RBmanypiecesarebrokenthatweneedanewone.
conjunction(IN). EXAMPLES: Ileftearlyso/INthat/INIwouldcatchmytrain. Heleftthehousequietlyso/INas/INnottowakeanyone.
Sointhesenseof\therefore"isanadverb(RB)ratherthanasubordinatingconjunction(IN). Igavehimmoneyso/INhecouldbuyit.
soonerIfitsmeaningisnotclearlycomparative,soonershouldbetaggedasasimpleadverb(RB)rather EXAMPLE: thanasacomparativeadverb(RBR).Ausefuldiagnosticisthatthecomparativesoonercanbe Hewasunhappy,so/RBheaskedtobetransferred.
precededbyeven.
suchSinceanynounphrasecancontainonlyonedeterminer,thefactthatitcanoccurtogetherwitha EXAMPLES: Let'shurry,sowecanarrive(even)sooner/RBRthanyourmother. I'llgetitaroundtoitsooner/RBorlater.
Table,asinTable1,isanNN,notanNP. However,whenitprecedesadeterminer,itshouldbetaggedasapredeterminer(PDT). determiner(asintheonlysuchcase)meansthatitshouldgenerallybetaggedasanadjective(JJ).
theirs,asinThat'stheirs,isaPP,notaPP$. thatwhenusedtointroducerelativeclausesisaWDT,notanIN.
thencanhaveastrictlytemporalsense(\atthatpointintime")oramoregeneralsense(\inthatcase"). EXAMPLE: Ineithercase,itisanadverb(RB).Bothusescanoccurinthesamesentence.
Thencanalsobeanadjective(JJ). Then/RBI'llhavetodoitbeforethen/RB.
EXAMPLE: Thethen/JJgovernorofMassachusetts

5GENERALTAGGINGCONVENTIONS topshouldbetaggedasanadjective(JJ)whenusedasaprenominalmodier,asintopdrawerortop notch. 31
upshouldbetaggedasanadverb(RB),notasaparticle(RP),incontextsconcerningthemovementof very,thoughusuallyanadverb(RB),canbeanadjective(JJ). currencyorcommodityprices.
vice,asinvicepresident,shouldbetaggedasacommonnoun(NN)ratherthanasanadjective(JJ). EXAMPLE: thevery/JJidea
wellisanadjective(JJ)whenitmeanstheoppositeofsick.Itisanadverb(RB)otherwise. EXAMPLES: Youdidverywell/RBontheexam. Itrytospeakonlywell/RBofpeople. I'mquitewell/JJ,thankyou.
wheninatemporalsenseistaggedWRB.Inthesenseof\if,"ontheotherhand,itisasubordinating conjunction(IN).
worthisapreposition(IN)whenitprecedesameasurephrase,asinworthtendollars. EXAMPLES: Ilikeitwhen/INyoumakedinnerforme. When/WRBhenallyarrived,Iwasonmywayout.
yetcanbeacoordinatingconjunction(CC). EXAMPLE: Itcanalsobeanadverb(RB). It'sexpensiveyet/CCworthit.
yours,asinThat'syours,isaPP,notaPP$. EXAMPLES: Wehavenosolutiontothatdicultyasyet/RB. I'vefoundyet/RBanothererror.
5.1Partofspeechandsyntacticfunction 5Weadoptthegeneralconventionthatpartsofspeecharedenedonthebasisoftheirsyntactic Generaltaggingconventions
adjectives(JJ)(seeSection4.1|JJorNN).
isthatnounsinprenominalpositionthatarebeingusedasmodiersaretaggedasnouns(NN),notas distributionratherthantheirsemanticfunction.Thisconventionhasseveralimportantconsequences.One

5GENERALTAGGINGCONVENTIONS EXAMPLES: acotton/NNshirt 32
Section4.1|NNorRB). Anotheristhatnounsthatareusedasadverbialmodiersaretaggedasnouns,notadverbs(see thenearestbook/NNstore
5.2Verticalslashconvention EXAMPLE: Thisweek,Iworkmornings/NNSonly.
Linguisticorextralinguisticcontextgenerallyresolvesthequestionofwhattagtoassigntoatoken.
Nevertheless,uncertaintiescanarise.Ratherthanattemptingtoforciblyresolvesuchuncertainties,with EXAMPLES: Sampling/NNdatacanbefulloferrors. Sampling/VBGdatacanbetime-consuming.
verticalslash(thischaracterappearsasaninterruptedslashonthekeyboard).Forinstance,intheabsence theattendantriskofinconsistency,youshouldsimplyrecordthembyseparatingtherelevanttagsbya ofdisambiguatingcontext,examplessuchasthefollowingshouldbetaggedusingtheverticalslash. EXAMPLES: TheDuchesswasguarded/JJjVBNlastnight. Sampling/NNjVBGdatacanbefun. TheDuchesswasentertaining/JJjVBGlastnight.
5.3Capitalizedwords Ifaseriesofwordsiscapitalizedaspartofaname,thecapitalizedwordsshouldbetaggedaspropernouns (NPorNPS). EXAMPLES: Kansas/NPCity/NP Mount/NPEverest/NP North/NPCarolina/NP Constitution/NPAvenue/NP
Supreme/NPCourt/NPJustice/NP the/DTFulton/NPCounty/NPGrand/NPJury/NP
Otherwise,titlesshouldbetaggedasiftheywererunningtext. the/DTUnited/NPStates/NPS A/NPTale/NPof/INTwo/NPCities/NPS
ifasinglewordorseriesofwordsiscapitalizedasaresultofgurativespeech,itshouldbetaggedasifit Ifasinglewordiscapitalizedbecauseitisusedasatitle,itshouldbetaggedasapropernoun(NP).But weren'tcapitalized. EXAMPLES: Mother/NP,areyoucoming? HewasnogoodatrebellingagainstSociety/NN.

5GENERALTAGGINGCONVENTIONS 5.4Abbreviations 33
Abbreviationsandinitialsshouldbetaggedasiftheywerespelledout. EXAMPLES: e.g./FW
Mr./NPJohn/NPWarner/NP Dr./NPElizabeth/NPBlackwell/NP Ave./NPof/INthe/DTAmericas/NPS