[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/bonial-2016-comprehensive-consistent-propbank-light-verb/)

[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [docs](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/) / [papers](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/) / [English](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/en/) / Comprehensive and Consistent PropBank Light Verb Annotation

# Comprehensive and Consistent PropBank Light Verb Annotation

**Authors:** [Claire Bonial](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/authors/claire-bonial/), [Martha Palmer](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/authors/martha-palmer/) · **Year:** 2016 · **Venue:** LREC 2016 **Link:** [aclanthology.org/L16-1628](https://aclanthology.org/L16-1628/) · **Licence:** [CC BY-NC 4.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) (ELRA, LREC proceedings; the PDF is silent, the proceedings page states CC BY-NC 4.0) — summary only

[**6** citations](https://openalex.org/works?filter=cites:W2572921028) openalex · 2026-10-19[**4** citations in our library](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/cited-by/bonial-2016-comprehensive-consistent-propbank-light-verb/) of the 140673 papers whose bibliographies we read[Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC'16)](https://aclanthology.org/volumes/L16-1/)[licence](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/)

- [Publisher's page](https://aclanthology.org/L16-1628/)
- [PDF](https://aclanthology.org/L16-1628.pdf)
- [DOI 10.63317/2cd7p7jgoyrs](https://doi.org/10.63317/2cd7p7jgoyrs)
- [OpenAlex](https://openalex.org/W2572921028)

**Authors (2)**

1. [Claire Bonial](https://openalex.org/A5087092493) [ORCID](https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3154-2852) · [Semantic Scholar](https://www.semanticscholar.org/author/3202888) · h 17 · 2063 citations · 114 works
2. [Martha Palmer](https://openalex.org/A5017464054) [ORCID](https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9864-6974) · [Semantic Scholar](https://www.semanticscholar.org/author/145755155) · h 57 · 21263 citations · 417 works

Citations and author metrics from openalex (2026-10-19); authors with the same name are not always told apart.

## What it is about

The paper describes how PropBank's guidelines for light verb constructions (*make an offer*, *take a bath*, *have a nap*, *give a kiss*) were revised. The first guidelines relied on the rephrasing test (can the construction be replaced by the related verb?), which missed constructions without a related verb (*commit suicide*) and those whose rephrasing needs the passive (*We got a call from the hospital* = we were called). The new criterion is semantic: the construction is light when the arguments, including the subject, carry the roles of the noun's roleset rather than the verb's; the light verb only licenses them syntactically. Borderline «semi-light» cases where verb and noun share roles (*give a hint*, *get a call*, *give a speech*) are now annotated as light too, for consistency across light verbs. Agreement on the commonest light verbs (give, have, take, make, do) is 93.8%, and a detector trained on OntoNotes reaches F1 89% on BNC data and 80.7% on OntoNotes. A comparison with the Prague treebank's broader «support verb constructions» shows how definitions differ.

## Ideas

- I1. Read light verb constructions as frames of the noun's verb: «the fox made an offer to the crow» → `Event fox offer recipient=crow`, «the bear took a nap» → `Event bear nap`, «gave the dog a bath» → `Event _ bathe patient=dog`. Use the noun→verb links of `prag/data/nominals.tsv` (WordNet) and the light-verb entries of the expression base (`world/src/idioms.rs` already tags LVCs as `light-verb`); the subject keeps the agent, a dative or *to* object becomes the noun's recipient or patient by the noun verb's VerbNet frame. Print `How` as «light verb make + noun offer». Measure frame bench verb/patient F1 and `world knowledge diagnose` on questions that use the plain verb («What did the fox offer?»).
- I2. Apply the paper's subject test as a guard: only when the subject plays the noun's agent (or experiencer) is it light; «We've had assassinations before», «It gives you a sense of terror» keep the verb's own reading. A negative-control test pair per light verb in the reader's tests.
- I3. Treat semi-light *give*/*get* consistently as the paper decided: «gave them a hint» → hint with recipient them; «got a call from the hospital» → call with agent hospital and recipient the subject. Check the effect on to-whom questions (`Ask::Role(recipient)`), a weak spot listed in docs/mmm-diagnosis.md.

## For Mova

[19. The lexicon: vocabulary, multiword expressions and register](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/languages/en/19-lexicon-mwe-register/) (multiword expressions, LVCs), `13-verbs.md`, `30-pragmatics-overview.md` §5. Code: `prag/src/frames.rs`, `prag/data/nominals.tsv`, `world/src/idioms.rs`, `prag/src/vn.rs`. Measures: frame bench verb and role F1, diagnosis step shares, course tests. PARSEME's LVC annotation (CC BY-SA) only as a test.

Topics: [Semantic role labeling](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/topics/semantic-role-labeling/)

## Cite

The paper itself, not this card. BibTeX from the library's record of the work. [DOI 10.63317/2cd7p7jgoyrs](https://doi.org/10.63317/2cd7p7jgoyrs)

```
@inproceedings{bonial2016comprehensive,
  title = {{Comprehensive and Consistent PropBank Light Verb Annotation}},
  author = {Bonial, Claire and Palmer, Martha},
  booktitle = {Proceedings of the Tenth International Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC'16)},
  year = {2016},
  doi = {10.63317/2cd7p7jgoyrs},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.63317/2cd7p7jgoyrs}
}
```

- [← previous PropBank: Semantics of New Predicate Types](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/bonial-2014-propbank-semantics-new-predicate-types/)
- [next → Integrating Aspectually Relevant Properties of Verbs into a Morphological Analyzer for English](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/bontcheva-2012-integrating-aspectually-relevant-properties-verbs/)
- [↑ back to English](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/en/)

## References

15 references, 2 of them with a card of ours. ↗ leads to the work, «find» searches for one we have no id for yet.

1. Banarescu, L., Bonial, C., Cai, S., Georgescu, M., Griffitt, K., Hermjakob, U., Knight, K., Koehn, P., Palmer, M. and Schneider, N., (2012). Abstract meaning representation (AMR) 1.0 specification. In Parsing on Freebase from Question-Answer Pairs.” In Proceedings of the 2013 Conference on Empirical Methods in Natural Language Processing. Seattle: ACL (pp. 1533-1544). [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Banarescu%2C+L%2E%2C+Bonial%2C+C%2E%2C+Cai%2C+S%2E%2C+Georgescu%2C+M%2E%2C+Griffitt%2C+K%2E%2C+Hermjakob%2C+U%2E%2C+Knight%2C+K%2E%2C+Koehn%2C+P%2E%2C+Palmer%2C+M%2E+and+Schneider%2C+N%2E%2C+%282012%29%2E+Abstract+meaning+representation+%28AMR%29+1%2E0+specification%2E+In)
2. Bonial, Claire, et al. (2014). PropBank: semantics of new predicate types. The 9th edition of the Language Resources and Evaluation Conference. Reykjavik, Iceland. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Bonial%2C+Claire%2C+et+al%2E+%282014%29%2E+PropBank%3A+semantics+of+new+predicate+types%2E+The+9th+edition+of+the+Language+Resources+and+Evaluation+Conference%2E+Reykjavik%2C+Iceland%2E) [our card](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/bonial-2014-propbank-semantics-new-predicate-types/)
3. Butt, Miriam. (2003). The Light Verb Jungle. In G. Aygen, C. Bowern & C. Quinn (Eds.) Papers from the GSAS/Dudley House Workshop on Light Verbs. Cambridge, Harvard Working Papers in Linguistics, p. 1-50. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Butt%2C+Miriam%2E+%282003%29%2E+The+Light+Verb+Jungle%2E+In+G%2E+Aygen%2C+C%2E+Bowern+%26+C%2E+Quinn+%28Eds%2E%29+Papers+from+the+GSAS%2FDudley+House+Workshop+on+Light+Verbs%2E+Cambridge%2C+Harvard+Working+Papers+in+Linguistics%2C+p%2E+1%2D)
4. Butt, Miriam, and Wilhelm Geuder. (2001). On the (Semi)Lexical Status of Light Verbs. In Semi-Lexical Categories: On the content of function words and the function of content words, ed. Norbert Corver and Henk van Riemsdijk. 323-370. Berlin: Mouton De Gruyter. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Butt%2C+Miriam%2C+and+Wilhelm+Geuder%2E+%282001%29%2E+On+the+%28Semi%29Lexical+Status+of+Light+Verbs%2E+In+Semi%2DLexical+Categories%3A+On+the+content+of+function+words+and+the+function+of+content+words%2C+ed%2E+Norbert+Corver)
5. Chen, Wei-Te, Claire Bonial & Martha Palmer. (2015). English Light Verb Construction Identification Using Lexical Knowledge. In proc. of the Twenty-Ninth Conference on Artificial Intelligence (AAAI-15). [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Chen%2C+Wei%2DTe%2C+Claire+Bonial+%26+Martha+Palmer%2E+%282015%29%2E+English+Light+Verb+Construction+Identification+Using+Lexical+Knowledge%2E+In+proc%2E+of+the+Twenty%2DNinth+Conference+on+Artificial+Intelligence+%28AAAI%2D15)
6. Cinková et al. (2004). Annotation of English on the tectogrammatical level. Technical Report TR-2006-35, ´UFAL/CKL, Prague, Czech Republic. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Cinkov%C3%A1+et+al%2E+%282004%29%2E+Annotation+of+English+on+the+tectogrammatical+level%2E+Technical+Report+TR%2D2006%2D35%2C+%C2%B4UFAL%2FCKL%2C+Prague%2C+Czech+Republic%2E)
7. Grimshaw, J., and A. Mester. (1988). Light verbs and θ-marking. Linguistic Inquiry, 19(2):205–232. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Grimshaw%2C+J%2E%2C+and+A%2E+Mester%2E+%281988%29%2E+Light+verbs+and+%CE%B8%2Dmarking%2E+Linguistic+Inquiry%2C+19%282%29%3A205%E2%80%93232%2E)
8. Hwang, J.D., Bhatia, A., Bonial, C., Mansouri, A., Vaidya, A., Xue, N. and Palmer, M. (2010). Propbank annotation of multilingual light verb constructions. In Proceedings of the Fourth Linguistic Annotation Workshop(pp. 82-90). Association for Computational Linguistics. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Hwang%2C+J%2ED%2E%2C+Bhatia%2C+A%2E%2C+Bonial%2C+C%2E%2C+Mansouri%2C+A%2E%2C+Vaidya%2C+A%2E%2C+Xue%2C+N%2E+and+Palmer%2C+M%2E+%282010%29%2E+Propbank+annotation+of+multilingual+light+verb+constructions%2E+In+Proceedings+of+the+Fourth+Linguistic+Anno)
9. Jespersen, Otto. (1942). A Modern English Grammar. Part VI, Morphology. Ejnar Munksgaard, Copenhagen. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Jespersen%2C+Otto%2E+%281942%29%2E+A+Modern+English+Grammar%2E+Part+VI%2C+Morphology%2E+Ejnar+Munksgaard%2C+Copenhagen%2E)
10. Kipper, Karin, et al. (2008). A large-scale classification of English verbs. Language Resources and Evaluation 42.1: 21-40. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Kipper%2C+Karin%2C+et+al%2E+%282008%29%2E+A+large%2Dscale+classification+of+English+verbs%2E+Language+Resources+and+Evaluation+42%2E1%3A+21%2D40%2E)
11. Meyers, A., Reeves, R., Macleod, C., Szekely, R., Zielinska, V., Young, B., & Grishman, R. (2004). Annotating Noun Argument Structure for NomBank. In LREC (Vol. 4, pp. 803-806). [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Meyers%2C+A%2E%2C+Reeves%2C+R%2E%2C+Macleod%2C+C%2E%2C+Szekely%2C+R%2E%2C+Zielinska%2C+V%2E%2C+Young%2C+B%2E%2C+%26+Grishman%2C+R%2E+%282004%29%2E+Annotating+Noun+Argument+Structure+for+NomBank%2E+In+LREC+%28Vol%2E+4%2C+pp%2E+803%2D806%29%2E)
12. Palmer, Martha, Daniel Gildea, and Paul Kingsbury. (2005). The Proposition Bank: An annotated corpus of semantic roles. Computational linguistics 31.1: 71-106. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Palmer%2C+Martha%2C+Daniel+Gildea%2C+and+Paul+Kingsbury%2E+%282005%29%2E+The+Proposition+Bank%3A+An+annotated+corpus+of+semantic+roles%2E+Computational+linguistics+31%2E1%3A+71%2D106%2E) [our card](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/docs/papers/palmer-2005-proposition-bank-annotated-corpus-semantic/)
13. Stevenson, Suzanne, Afsaneh Fazly, and Ryan North. (2004). Statistical measures of the semi-productivity of light verb constructions. Proceedings of the Workshop on Multiword Expressions: Integrating Processing. Association for Computational Linguistics. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Stevenson%2C+Suzanne%2C+Afsaneh+Fazly%2C+and+Ryan+North%2E+%282004%29%2E+Statistical+measures+of+the+semi%2Dproductivity+of+light+verb+constructions%2E+Proceedings+of+the+Workshop+on+Multiword+Expressions%3A+Integrating+)
14. Tu, Yuancheng, and Dan Roth. (2011). Learning English Light Verb Constructions: Contextual or Statistical. In Proceedings of the Workshop on Multiword Expressions: from Parsing and Generation to the Real World (MWE 2011), pp. 31-39. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Tu%2C+Yuancheng%2C+and+Dan+Roth%2E+%282011%29%2E+Learning+English+Light+Verb+Constructions%3A+Contextual+or+Statistical%2E+In+Proceedings+of+the+Workshop+on+Multiword+Expressions%3A+from+Parsing+and+Generation+to+the+R)
15. Weischedel, R., E. Hovy, M. Palmer, M. Marcus, R. Belvin, S. Pradhan, L. Ramshaw and N. Xue. (2011). Ontonotes: A large training corpus for enhanced processing. In Olive, J.; Christianson, C.; and McCary, J., eds., Handbook of Natural Language Processing and Machine Translation. Springer. [find](https://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=Weischedel%2C+R%2E%2C+E%2E+Hovy%2C+M%2E+Palmer%2C+M%2E+Marcus%2C+R%2E+Belvin%2C+S%2E+Pradhan%2C+L%2E+Ramshaw+and+N%2E+Xue%2E+%282011%29%2E+Ontonotes%3A+A+large+training+corpus+for+enhanced+processing%2E+In+Olive%2C+J%2E%3B+Christianson%2C+C%2E%3B+and+McC)