Structural Ambiguity and Lexical Relations (Hindle & Rooth)

December 4, 2024

subject - noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that performs the action of the verb

direct object - noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that receives the action of the verb

indirect object - noun, pronoun, or noun phrase that acts as the recipient of the action/whom the action is done for

Example: He gave his friend a gift

-subject: He

-action: gave

-direct object: gift (is being given)

-indirect object: his friend (action is done for)

preposition - shows relationship between a noun and another part of the sentence

prepositional phrase - starts with a preposition and ends with the object of the preposition

-example: on the table

ambiguous prepositional phrase (PP) - prepositional phrase can attach to different parts of the sentence which leads to different interpretations

-I saw the man with the telescope

-"with the telescope" -> prepositional phrase

Right Association - constituent tends to attach to another constituent immediately to its right

Minimal Attachment - a constituent tends to attach to an existing nonterminal using the fewest additional syntactic nodes