ADJP - Adjective Phrase.

Phrasal category headed by an adjective (including comparative and superlative adjectives).

Example: outrageously expensive.

 

ADVP - Adverb Phrase.

Phrasal category headed by an adverb (including comparative and superlative adverbs).

Examples: rather timidly, very well indeed, rapidly.

 

CC - Coordinating conjunction

This category includes 'and', 'but', 'nor', 'or', 'yet' (as in 'Yet it's cheap', 'cheap yet good'), as well as the mathematical operators 'plus', 'minus', 'less', 'times' (in the sense of "multiplied by") and 'over' (in the sense of "divided by"), when they are spelled out.

For in the sense of "because" is a coordinating conjunction (CC) rather than a subordinating conjunction (IN).

He asked to be transferred, for/CC he was unhappy.

So in the sense of "so that," on the other hand, is a subordinating conjunction (IN).

 

CD - Cardinal number

 

CONJP - Conjunction Phrase.

Used to mark certain "multi-word" conjunctions, such as 'as well as', 'instead of'.

 

DT - Determiner

This category includes the articles a(n), every, no and the, the indefinite determiners another, any and some, each, either (as in either way), neither (as in neither decision), that, these, this and those, and instances of all and both when they do not precede a determiner or possessive pronoun (as in all roads or both times). (Instances of all or both that do precede a determiner or possessive pronoun are tagged as predeterminers (PDT).) Since any noun phrase can contain at most one determiner, the fact that such can occur together with a determiner (as in the only such case) means that it should be tagged as an adjective (JJ), unless it precedes a determiner, as in such a good time, in which case it is a predeterminer (PDT).

 

EX - Existential there

Existential there is the unstressed there that triggers inversion of the inflected verb and the logical subject of a sentence.

EXAMPLES: There/EX was a party in progress.; There/EX ensued a melee.

 

FRAG - Fragment.

 

FW - Foreign word

Use your judgment as to what is a foreign word. For me, yoga is an NN, while 'bete noire' and 'persona non grata' should be tagged bete/FW noire/FW and persona/FW non/FW grata/FW, respectively.

 

IN - Preposition or subordinating conjunction

We make no explicit distinction between prepositions and subordinating conjunctions. (The distinction is not lost, however - a preposition is an IN that precedes a noun phrase or a prepositional phrase, and a subordinate conjunction is an IN that precedes a clause.)

The preposition to has its own special tag TO.

 

INTJ - Interjection.

Corresponds approximately to the part-of-speech tag UH.

 

JJ - Adjective

Hyphenated compounds that are used as modifiers are tagged as adjectives (JJ).

EXAMPLES: happy-go-lucky/JJ; one-of-a-kind/JJ; run-of-the-mill/JJ;

Ordinal numbers are tagged as adjectives (JJ), as are compounds of the form n-th X-est, like fourth-largest.

 

JJR - Adjective, comparative

Adjectives with the comparative ending -er and a comparative meaning are tagged JJR. More and less when used as adjectives, as in more or less mail, are also tagged as JJR. More and less can also be tagged as JJR when they occur by themselves. Adjectives with a comparative meaning but without the comparative ending -er,  like superior, should simply be tagged as JJ. Adjectives with the ending -er but without a strictly comparative meaning  ("more X"), like further in further details, should also simply be tagged as JJ.

 

JJS - Adjective, superlative

Adjectives with the superlative ending -est (as well as worst) are tagged as JJS. Most and least when used as adjectives, as in the most or the least mail, are also tagged as JJS. Most and least can also be tagged as JJS when they occur by themselves. Adjectives with a superlative meaning but without the superlative ending -est, like first, last or unsurpassed, should simply be tagged as JJ.

 

LS - List item marker

This category includes letters and numerals when they are used to identify items in a list.

 

LST - List marker.

Includes surrounding punctuation.

 

MD – Modal

This category includes all verbs that don't take an -s ending in the third person singular present:

'can', 'could,' '(dare)', 'may', 'might', 'must', 'ought', 'shall', 'should', 'will', 'would'.

 

NAC - Not a Constituent

used to show the scope of certain prenominal modifiers within an NP.

 

NN - Noun, singular or mass

 

NNS - Noun, plural

 

NNP - Proper noun, singular

 

NNPS - Proper noun, plural

 

NP - Noun Phrase.

Phrasal category that includes all constituents that depend on a head noun.

 

NX

Used within certain complex noun phrases to mark the head of the noun phrase. Corresponds very roughly to N-bar level but used quite differently.

 

PDT - Predeterminer

This category includes the following determiner like elements when they precede an article or possessive pronoun.

EXAMPLES: all/PDT his marbles; nary/PDT a soul;

both/PDT the girls; quite/PDT a mess;

half/PDT his time; rather/PDT a nuisance;

many/PDT a moon; such/PDT a good time;

 

POS - Possessive ending

The possessive ending on nouns ending in 's or ' is split off by the tagging algorithm and tagged as if it were a separate word.

EXAMPLES: John/NNP 's/POS idea; the parents/NNS '/POS distress

 

PP - Prepositional Phrase.

Phrasal category headed by a preposition.

 

PRN - Parenthetical.

 

PRP - Personal pronoun

This category includes the personal pronouns proper, without regard for case distinctions ('I', 'me', 'you', 'he', 'him', etc.), the reflexive pronouns ending in -self or -selves, and the nominal possessive pronouns 'mine', 'yours', 'his', 'hers', 'ours' and 'theirs'. The adjectival possessive forms 'my', 'your', 'his', 'her', 'its', 'our' and 'their', on the other hand, are tagged PRPS.

 

PRPS Possessive pronoun

This category includes the adjectival possessive forms 'my', 'your', 'his', 'her', 'its', 'one's', 'our' and 'their'. The nominal possessive pronouns 'mine', 'yours', 'his', 'hers', 'ours' and 'theirs' are tagged as personal pronouns (PRP).

 

PRT - Particle.

Category for words that should be tagged RP.

 

QP - Quantifier Phrase (i.e. complex measure/amount phrase); used within NP.

 

RB - Adverb

This category includes most words that end in -ly as well as degree words like quite, too and very,

posthead modifiers like enough and indeed (as in good enough, very well indeed), and negative markers like 'not', 'n't' and 'never'.

 

RBR Adverb, comparative

Adverbs with the comparative ending -er but without a strictly comparative meaning, like later in We can always come by later, should simply be tagged as RB.

 

RBS - Adverb, superlative

 

RP - Particle

This category includes a number of mostly monosyllabic words that also double as directional adverbs and prepositions.

 

RRC - Reduced Relative Clause.

 

S - Simple declarative clause.

One that is not introduced by a (possible empty) subordinating conjunction or a wh-word and that does not exhibit subject-verb inversion.

 

SBAR - Clause introduced by a (possibly empty) subordinating conjunction.

Direct question introduced by a wh-word or a wh-phrase. Indirect questions and relative clauses should be bracketed as SBAR, not SBARQ.

 

SINV - Inverted declarative sentence

One in which the subject follows the tensed verb or modal.

 

SQ - Inverted yes/no question, or main clause of a wh-question, following the wh-phrase in SBARQ.

 

SYM - Symbol

This tag should be used for mathematical, scientific and technical symbols or expressions that aren't words of English. It should not used for any and all technical expressions. For instance, the names of chemicals, units of measurements (including abbreviations thereof) and the like should be tagged as nouns.

 

TO - to

To is tagged TO, regardless of whether it is a preposition or an infinitival marker

 

UCP - Unlike Coordinated Phrase

 

UH - Interjection

This category includes 'my' (as in 'My, what a gorgeous day'), 'oh', 'please', 'see' (as in 'See, it's like this'), 'uh', 'well' and 'yes', among others.

 

VB - Verb, base form

This tag subsumes imperatives, infinitives and subjunctives.

EXAMPLES: Imperative: Do/VB it.

EXAMPLES: Infinitive: You should do/VB it.; We want them to do/VB it.; We made them do/VB it.;

EXAMPLES: Subjunctive: We suggested that he do/VB it.

 

VBD - Verb, past tense

This category includes the conditional form of the verb to be.

EXAMPLES: If I were/VBD rich, ... ; If I were/VBD to win the lottery, ...

 

VBG - Verb, gerund or present participle

 

VBN - Verb, past participle

 

VBP - Verb, non-3rd person singular present

 

VBZ - Verb, 3rd person singular present

 

VP - Verb Phrase.

Phrasal category headed a verb.

 

WDT - Wh-determiner

This category includes which, as well as that when it is used as a relative pronoun.

 

WHADJP - Wh-adjective Phrase.

Adjectival phrase containing a wh-adverb, as in 'how hot'.

 

WHADVP - Wh-adverb Phrase.

Introduces a clause with an NP gap. May be null (containing the 0 complementizer) or lexical, containing a wh-adverb such as 'how' or 'why'.

 

WHNP - Wh-noun Phrase.

Introduces a clause with an NP gap. May be null (containing the 0 complementizer) or lexical, containing some wh-word, e.g. 'who', 'which book', 'whose daughter', 'none of which', or 'how many leopards'.

 

WHPP - Wh-prepositional Phrase.

Prepositional phrase containing a wh-noun phrase (such as 'of which' or 'by whose authority') that either introduces a PP gap or is contained by a WHNP.

 

WP - Wh-pronoun

This category includes 'what', 'who' and 'whom'.

 

WPS - Possessive wh-pronoun

This category includes the wh-word 'whose'

 

WRB - Wh-adverb

This category includes 'how', 'where', 'why', etc.

When in a temporal sense is tagged WRB. In the sense of "if", on the other hand, it is a subordinating conjunction (IN).

EXAMPLES: When/WRB he finally arrived, I was on my way out.; I like it when/IN you make dinner for me.

 

X - Unknown, uncertain, or unbracketable.

X is often used for bracketing typos and in bracketing 'the...the'-constructions.

 

. ; ? ! - Punctuation mark, sentence close: '.',';','?','!'

 

, - Punctuation mark, comma: ','.

 

: - Punctuation mark, colon: ':'.

 

LRB - Contextual separator, left parenthesis: '(','{','['

 

RRB - Contextual separator, right parenthesis: ')','}',']'

 

SQT - Start quote

 

EQT - End quote