Annotating Nonlocal Dependencies

Nonlocal dependencies are dependencies from one clause into another. They do not exist as syntactic dependencies in (basic) UD, so for Superframes annotation, we add them when needed. We have already seen nonlocal dependencies with the META frame in the chapter on Annotating Dynamic Verbs and with attributive adjectives, adverbs, relative clauses, and relation nominal adjuncts in the chapter on Annotating Adjuncts. In both cases, the element filling the scene role has an additional dependency (a “backlink”) pointing back at the element filling the participant role.

There are a number of other constructions that systematically introduce nonlocal dependencies, which we also annotate. We give examples of each in the following.

Subject Control

Object Control

Light Verbs

From the perspective of Superframes, light verbs are just control verbs whose scene role happens to be filled by a noun. For details and examples, see META.

“Non-obligatory” Control

Here, the control relationship is contributed by an adjunct construction rather than by the predicate.

Non-obligatory Control with Parasitic Gap

Depictives

Depicitves are like non-obligatory control, but without a conjunction and with role ACCOMPANIER.

Resultatives

Resultatives are like non-obligatory control, but without a conjunction and with role EFFECT, and sometimes AFFECTED if there is no other role assigned by the matrix predicate to the controlled argument.

Raising

Attributive Adjective/Adverb/Relative Clause/Relation Nominal Adjunct

See the chapter on Annotating Adjuncts.

Pseudocleft

It-cleft

Inter-Argument Relations

Some arguments that are introduced by argument structure constructions are in a semantic relation not so much with their head but with (or more) of the head’s other dependents (or a descendant of one). Give such arguments the generic role RELATED-TO and introduce a backlink from them to their semantic relate.

Coordination