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<Paper uid="J87-1007">
  <Title>Technical Correspondence A Note on a Study of Cases A NOTE ON A STUDY OF CASES</Title>
  <Section position="2" start_page="0" end_page="0" type="abstr">
    <SectionTitle>
WITHIN
(1) Inside
</SectionTitle>
    <Paragraph position="0"> Within the house all was quiet.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="1"> The Kingdom of God is within you.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="2"> (2) Amongst the members of a group.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="3"> Opinion within the profession is divided. (3) Inside specified bounds or limits.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="4"> They were ordered to remain within the precincts of the college.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="5"> The scholarship is open to anyone residing within fifty miles of the university.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="6"> He always strove to live within his income. Our study was intended to establish both the justification for each case relation individually, by reference to a range of sentences, and the plausibility of the set of relations as a whole, by reference to the complete set of sentences. Looking at Wood's description of a preposition's sense, and its accompanying illustration(s), we tried to assign a case label to the link between the sentence elements made by the preposition which we felt captured the essential nature of that link, at the level of generality represented by a set of 20-30 cases. Thus &amp;quot;location&amp;quot; would be the label associated with a number of specific space-relation prepositions, e.g., above, at, by. The study was primarily concerned with prepositionally-Computational Linguistics, Volume 13, Numbers 1-2, January-June 1987 65 Technical Correspondence A Note on a Study of Cases based cases, but we considered other case instantiations, though not systematically. While additional cases might therefore be motivated by non-prepositional sources we have not examined, we believe that a complete set would have to include something like our list, to cover prepositions adequately.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="7"> The study was a purely investigative one; we were interested in the legitimacy of the cases as characterisations of sentence relations, and did not address the question of how the specific assignments, for the individual sentences, could be achieved automatically. However, as we had already demonstrated that a quite refined set of cases could be applied by Boguraev's existing analyser, and hive since, as practical need has arisen, implemented further cases, we feel some confidence in the feasibility of automatic assignment of the cases in the present set.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="8"> (This of course accepts that some individual sentences may present considerable difficulties.) We are nevertheless not offering our results here with any great claims about the especial novelty or merits of our case set, but rather as a practical contribution to the utilisation of case labels, justified by the large and varied sentence sample studied. Though domain-specific strategies may reduce the need to handle lexical ambiguity, especially in nouns and verbs but even in prepositions, it may nevertheless be necessary even in the domain-specific case to provide for distinct semantic functions in prepositions.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="9"> Wood's complete set of sentences is substantial; we took one sentence for each straightforward sense defined by Wood's numbering, omitting items labelled &amp;quot;phrases&amp;quot; and with occasional modifications, e.g., to shorten sentences. This gave us 421 sentences altogether, for 86 prepositions. As a result of our analysis we emerged with 28 cases. These are listed below with notes on the types of source from which they may be derived, and (our) examples showing both prepositional and non-prepositional uses. This list is followed by illustrations from the Wood sample.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="10"> In the list each case, or tag, name is prefaced by its * abbreviation. The meaning of the case is not explicitly defined, but is assumed to be ostended by the subsequent examples (and more particularly by the fuller sample derived from Wood). Possible sources for the cases include the lexicon and syntactic structures like embedded clauses identified by the parsing program (and in our analyser elements of structure identified by semantic pattern matching). The normal linkage marked by a case is between verb and noun group, but two nominal groups may also be case-linked, and also more than two items (though this is not common). In the illustrations we have adopted the convention of marking the head words of the two linked constituents by -. Thus the tag &amp;quot;after&amp;quot; labels the relation between left and breakfast in John left following breakfast, written as &amp;quot;John -left following -breakfast&amp;quot;. In the cases where complete constituents like embedded clauses fill case roles, they are bracketed with \[ \], and the whole item is marked with -. The cases are alphabetically ordered here on their abbreviations.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="11"> (ace) ACCOMPANIMENT dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;with&amp;quot;; can link nominals John -went to the zoo (along) with -Mary.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="12"> John -went everywhere with his -violin.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="13">  (ag) AGENT program: contents of &amp;quot;subj&amp;quot; register John was -hit by -Bill.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="14"> -Malaria -killed the girl.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="15"> (aloc) ABSTRACT-LOCATION dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;in&amp;quot; Parry was -fixed in his -mind that the Mafia was out to get him sometime.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="16"> * The four friends -shared the work between -them.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="17"> (asour) ABSTRACT-SOURCE  dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;from&amp;quot; I -got them from -Bill.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="18"> She -makes dresses of -silk.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="19"> (attr) ATTRIBUTE dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;with&amp;quot;; can link nominals The -girl in -blue was happy.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="20"> The -girl with the pink -hat was sad.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="21"> (bef) BEFORE dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;before&amp;quot;, program: adverbials; can link nominals John -left before -noon.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="22"> The stock market -was very active ahead of the -Budget.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="23"> (comp) COMPARISON dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;as&amp;quot;, program ?; can link nominals John -passed as -Bill.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="24"> He was given -cash instead of -kind.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="25"> Time -flies like an -arrow.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="26">  dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;down&amp;quot; John -walked after-Bill.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="27"> John -ran down the -hill.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="28"> (force) FORCE dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;of&amp;quot; The girl --died of -malaria.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="29"> The girl -.died from an -accident.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="30"> (goal) GOAL dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;for&amp;quot;, program: to-complements He -walked for -pleasure.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="31"> John -went to town in order -\[to buy a shirt\].</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="32"> (inst) INSTRUMENT dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;by&amp;quot;, program: complements The boy -caught the fish with a -minnow.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="33"> John -went to Paris by -plane.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="34"> (loc) LOCATION dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;at&amp;quot; The -girl at -Smith's was not helpful about buying a book.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="35"> Sebastian -felt pain in his -foot.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="36"> (man) MANNER dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;with&amp;quot;, program: embedded clauses,  program: noun phrases; only links nominals The -daughter of the -Mayor was blonde.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="37"> The -pocket of my uncle's -coat was empty.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="38"> (quant) QUANTITY program: noun phrases; can link nominals There were four -students including a -dwarf.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="39"> It was too -long by twelve -inches.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="40"> (reas) REASON dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;of&amp;quot;, &amp;quot;because of&amp;quot;, program: embedded clauses John is -afraid of -\[being apprehended by the police\]. John is -happy about -school.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="41"> (rec) RECIPIENT dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;to&amp;quot;, program: contents of &amp;quot;obj&amp;quot; register null Susan -gave the flowers to -Jill.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="42"> John -shot -Mary.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="43"> (sour) SOURCE dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;from&amp;quot; She -took some money out of her -bag.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="44"> I -got them from -Paris.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="45"> (state) STATE dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;of&amp;quot;, program: predicate adjectives His conduct -is -admirable.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="46"> He wears -green -trousers.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="47"> (subj) SUBJECT (almost a default), program: various places -Books -are nice.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="48"> John is -fascinated by -books, especially ones published by private presses.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="49"> (tloc) TIME-LOCATION dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;at&amp;quot; They-ate breakfast at -noon.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="50"> I-wrote my thesis during -1979.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="51"> (tspan) TIME-SPAN dictionary: e.g., &amp;quot;throughout&amp;quot;, program: embedded clauses, ing-phrases I -was a bus conductor for two ---days.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="52"> John -sang -\[running in the park\].</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="53"> Our treatment of the sample of sentences taken from Wood is illustrated by the two selections below. These show first the complete analyses for two prepositions, and then the complete set of sentences for two cases. The average number of sentences per case in the sample is 15, with low variation. However, &amp;quot;location&amp;quot; has 80 sentences, reflecting the very large number of different space-relation prepositions there are. It is possible that more specific space-location cases would be desirable, though the right level of discrimination and particular set would not be easy to establish. We are, in any case, not suggestiffg that the use of a case tag in the representation of a sentence delivered by the analyser makes it unnecessary to indicate the specific lexical sense of the preposition. null  The concert -starts at half past -seven.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="54"> At the second -roundabout, -turn left.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="55"> We have -arrived at our ---destination.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="56"> The two tribes -were constantly at -war.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="57"> She loved to watch the -children at -play.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="58"> He -left at a moment's -notice.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="59"> He -vaulted over the gate at a single -leap.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="60"> I have ---called to see you at the -request of a friend.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="61"> Cars are -parked at their owners' -risk.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="62">  The car -whizzed along at sixty -miles an hour. She felt sure she would -faint at the -sight of blood.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="63"> As we passed the gate the dog -flew out at -us. That boy -is clever at -mathematics.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="64"> The new library was --opened by the -Mayor.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="65"> I shall -go by the 10:30 -train.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="66"> He -seized me by the -arm.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="67"> He -succeeded by hard -work.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="68"> I -know him by -sight.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="69"> She -sat by the -pillar.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="70"> We -went by the -shop without realising it.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="71"> They should have -been here by -now.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="72"> They decided to -travel by -night.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="73"> We -lost the match by one -goal.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="74"> She -was very generous by -nature.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="75"> They always -addressed each other by their Christian -names.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="76"> I -went from London to Manchester by -Sheffield.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="77"> He -swore by all the -Gods he would conquer.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="78"> He brought a -person by the -name of Smoth.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="79"> The carpet is three -yards by -four.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="80"> The box is too heavy for me to lift by myself. -Little by -little his savings accumulated.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="81"> Milk is -sold by the -pint.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="82"> By my -watch, it' -s time for lunch.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="83"> The meeting will be -held in the school, by -permission of the headmaster.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="84"> By my -watch it' -s time for lunch.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="85"> He -looked at it through his -binoculars.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="86"> He -swore by all the -Gods he would conquer.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="87"> I managed to -beat the dog off with a -stick. I shall -go by the 10:30 -train.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="88"> Many locomotives nowadays -run on -oil.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="89"> Marian Evans -wrote under the -name George Eliot.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="90"> The parcel was -wrapped in -paper.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="91"> The poem has been -set to -music.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="92"> The prosecution was -brought under the -Vagrancy Act.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="93"> The repairs -cost me over five -pounds.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="94"> The roof of the building is -supported on -pillars.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="95"> They always -addressed each other by their  Cars are -parked at their owners' -risk.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="96"> He -is, without --doubt, a very able person. He -left at a moment's -notice.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="97"> He -said nothing in -reply to my questions.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="98"> He -succeeded by hard -work.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="99"> He -vaulted over the gate at a single -leap. I ---.did it without -thinking.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="100"> I -know him by -sight.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="101"> I only -said it in -fun.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="102"> It -is all right in -theory.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="103"> She -did the work to the -best of her ability. She -lay back with her ---eyes closed.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="104"> The car -whizzed along at sixty -miles an hour. The child -screamed in -terror.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="105"> The last few years of his life were -spent in -poverty.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="106"> The water -shot up in a -fountain.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="107"> The work has been ---carded out according to your -instructions.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="108"> They -played out of -tune.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="109"> They let him -have it on -loan.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="110"> To our -surprise, the train -was early.</Paragraph>
    <Paragraph position="111"> Our complete sample is available in listings, with a fuller description. We acknowledge the immense value of Wood's work as a gource, and are grateful to the publisher Macmillan for permission to reproduce and use</Paragraph>
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