|
|
English |
read (a book) as he walks / walk reading |
|
UNL |
coo ( read.@entry, walk ) |
Two UWs linked by relation "coo" have the same information on tense and aspect represented by attributes as @past, @progress, etc. This means that if such attributes are omitted from one of the UWs, the attributes from the other UW may be used when necessary.
Example 2
|
English |
drink sake while talking |
|
UNL |
coo ( drink.@entry, talk ) |
Example 3
|
English |
talk over lunch |
|
UNL1 |
coo ( talk.@entry, lunch(icl>do) ) |
|
UNL2 |
dur ( talk.@entry, lunch(icl>event) ) |
Comments on Example 3
As UNL1 and UNL2 shown, for the word "lunch", the verbal concept of the UW "lunch(icl>do)" is used in UNL1, while in UNL2 is used the nominal concept of the UW "lunch(icl>event)". "Coo" requires both UW's to be verbal or adjectival concepts but "dur" do not. Both UNL expressions are possible.
Example 4
|
English |
talk over a glass of beer |
|
UNL1 |
coo
( talk.@entry, drink ) |
|
UNL2 |
coo
( talk.@entry, "" ) |
Comments on Example 4
A
verbal concept like "drink" or "have" is necessary
for expressing the meaning clearly. It is quite correct to find out such
corresponding word by means of referring the co-occurrence dictionary.
The nil UW "" can be used for substituting
such UW that is necessary in the UNL expression but its word do not
appear in the original sentence and there is no way or it is difficult
to found out (Please refer "2.6
Null UW" for an explanation of Null UW).
It is possible also to understand "a glass of beer" as a
period of time as in "Talk during the time we have a glass of
beer" for instance. In this case the UNL representation would be:
|
UNL3 |
dur
( talk.@entry, drink ) |
Example 5
|
English |
He read a paper while he waited for the train |
|
UNL |
coo ( read.@entry.@past, wait.@past ) |
Example6
|
English |
So saying (with this) he went out of the room. |
|
UNL |
coo ( go out.@entry.@past, say.@progress ) |
Please also refer to explanations of "Related Relations" of "coo" in UNL specifications.
Example 1
|
English |
work 8 hours a day |
|
UNL |
dur
( work.@entry, hour.@pl ) |
Example 2
|
English |
Don't eat during the movie |
|
UNL |
dur ( eat.@entry.@grant-not.@imperative, movie.@def ) |
Example 3
|
English |
It happened during my stay in London |
|
UNL |
obj
( happen.@entry.@past, it ) |
Example 4
|
English |
He came during my absence |
|
UNL |
agt
( come.@entry.@past, he ) |
Comparison with "coo"
Since relation co-occurrence "coo" defines an event or a state which co-occurs with the focused event or state, it always points to a verbal UW of an event or a state. Relation duration "dur" defines a time period of the focused event or state and it normally points to a noun UW which expresses or used as a time period.
Example 1
|
English |
It's cold today |
|
UNL |
tim ( cold.@entry, today ) |
Example 2
|
English |
I wake up at 8 o'clock |
|
UNL |
agt
( wake up.@entry, I ) |
Example 3
|
English |
It is the last day when he came |
|
UNL |
aoj
( day.@entry.@def, it ) |
Example 4
|
English |
I was sleeping when he came |
|
UNL |
agt
( sleep.@entry.@past.@progress, I ) |
How to express "before" and "after"?
A question here is how to express "before" and "after". In UNL system, "before" and "after" are represented by Relative UWs such as "before(icl>time)" and "after(icl>time)", their UNL expressions are as follows:
Example 5
|
English |
Come before 8 o'clock |
|
UNL |
tim
( come.@entry.@imperative, before(icl>time) ) |
The
following examples represents a sequence in terms of time, and not seq
relation, since it is possible to attach more information to the
representation of sequence.
Example 6
|
English |
I did it before it rains |
|
UNL |
tim
( do.@entry.@past, before(icl>time) ) |
Example 7
|
English |
I did it before 1999 |
|
UNL |
tim
( do.@entry.@past, before(icl>time) ) |
The
most suitable and useful case of using relation "seq" is the
instructions for machines or systems. Such as "fasten the belt,
correct the mirror, then start engine", or "First insert your
bank card, input your password, the amount of money will be shown in the
display". This kind of sentences describe a series of actions in
order without any word that expressing time.
Example 1
|
English |
fasten the belt, correct the mirror, then start engine |
|
UNL |
obj
( fasten, belt.@def ) |
Comments on Example1
It
may not be necessary to attach attribute "@imperative" to the
UWs in such kind of sentences.
The
following is an example of the use of sequence "seq" in
concessive sentences, it is also possible to use relation
"and" instead of "seq".
Example2
|
English |
(He) quit smoking but he still smoke |
|
UNL1 |
seq
( smoke:02.@entry, quit.@although ) |
|
UNL2 |
and
( smoke:02.@entry, quit.@although ) |
Last updated : 2000/09/21