English Events Guidelines v5.4.3
English Events Guidelines v5.4.3
http://www.ldc.upenn.edu/Projects/ACE/
1. Basic Concepts .................................................................................................5
2. Taggability ........................................................................................................5
2.1 Resultatives and resultative-like Events ......................................................6
2.2 Event Extent ................................................................................................7
2.3 Event Triggers: ............................................................................................7
2.3.1 Annotating Event Triggers ....................................................................7
2.3.2 Event Nominalizations and Pronominalizations ....................................9
2.3.3 Annotating Complex Examples...........................................................10
2.3.3.1 Multiple Possible Triggers ............................................................11
2.3.3.1.1 Verb+Noun ............................................................................11
2.3.3.1.2 Verb+X+Adjective ..................................................................12
2.3.3.1.3 Multiple Verbs ........................................................................13
2.3.3.1.4 Verb+Particle .........................................................................14
2.3.3.2 Multiple Events within a Single Scope (Sentence) .......................14
2.3.3.2.1 Distinguishing Multiple Possible Triggers (for a Single Event)
from Multiple Events .............................................................................16
2.3.3.2.2 Coreference and Taggability..................................................17
3. Polarity, Tense, Genericity and Modality.........................................................17
3.1 Polarity ......................................................................................................18
3.2 Tense ........................................................................................................18
3.3 Genericity ..................................................................................................19
3.4 Modality .....................................................................................................20
4. Coreference ....................................................................................................22
5. Event Types and Subtypes .............................................................................23
5.1 LIFE...........................................................................................................23
5.1.1 BE-BORN ...........................................................................................23
5.1.2 MARRY...............................................................................................23
5.1.3 DIVORCE ...........................................................................................24
5.1.4 INJURE...............................................................................................25
5.1.5 DIE......................................................................................................26
5.2 MOVEMENT..............................................................................................27
5.2.1 TRANSPORT......................................................................................27
5.3 TRANSACTION.........................................................................................28
5.3.1 TRANSFER-OWNERSHIP .................................................................29
5.3.2 TRANSFER-MONEY ..........................................................................30
5.4 BUSINESS ................................................................................................31
5.4.1 START-ORG.......................................................................................31
5.4.2 MERGE-ORG .....................................................................................31
5.4.3 DECLARE-BANKRUPTCY .................................................................32
5.4.4 END-ORG...........................................................................................33
5.5 CONFLICT ................................................................................................33
5.5.1 ATTACK..............................................................................................33
5.5.2 DEMONSTRATE ................................................................................34
5.6 CONTACT .................................................................................................35
5.6.1 MEET..................................................................................................35
We will not be tagging all Events, but only examples of a particular set of types
and subtypes. Specifically, we will be interested in annotating LIFE,
MOVEMENT, TRANSACTION, BUSINESS, CONFLICT, CONTACT,
PERSONNEL and JUSTICE Events and among these a particular set of
subtypes. The types and subtypes will be more thoroughly discussed in Section
5 below.
There are two spans of text of interest when first identifying Events: the Event
extent and the Event trigger. An Event extent is a sentence within which a
taggable Event is described. Its trigger is the word that most clearly expresses
its occurrence. The specific rules for identifying the extents and triggers of
Events are described in Section 2 below.
In addition to the description of the Event itself, we will also be identifying all of
the participants of each Event. An Event’s participants are the Entities that are
involved in that Event. The specific types of participants that can be involved will
vary from Event type to Event type. We will only be annotating as participants
those Entities which are mentioned within the Event extent. Sometimes when
talking about Event participants, we will refer to the Event extent as its scope.
There are frequently Entities and Values within the scope of an Event that are not
properly participants, but should be understood as ‘part’ of that Event. We will
refer to such Entities as attributes and we will annotate those elements in a way
that is very similar to the annotation of participants. For example, attributes must
occur within the scope of an Event to be taggable.
2. Taggability
The following subsections describe the rules for determining the taggability and
extent of potential Event mentions.
We will also tag the states that result from taggable Events. These will be
annotated in exactly the same manner as the corresponding ‘action’ Event.
These so-called resultatives can be expressed using a number of related
syntactic constructions.
1. As sentential predicates:
We will use the broader term resultative for all such examples in this document,
whether they are properly resultatives or Event participles. If an adjective (or
other modifier that can behave like an adjective) describes or makes reference to
an Event of a taggable type or its resulting state, then we will tag that Event. For
a more detailed discussion of the choice of trigger words, see Section 2.3 below.
The first step in annotating an Event mention is identifying its extent. The extent
of an Event mention is always the entire sentence within which the Event is
described. (In the following examples, the trigger word has been indicated in
bold to make the examples more clear. For a complete discussion on the choice
of trigger words, please see Section 2.3).
China's recently acquired submarines are mostly still in the South China
Sea.
While the identification of Event extent is not an evaluated task, it will be crucial
in the annotation task. Specifically, it determines whether or not Values and
Entities in the text can be used as arguments in nearby Events. Only Entities
and Values within the extent of an Event are permissible arguments.
The following subsections describe the process for identifying the triggers of
Events.
An Event’s Trigger is the word (in its scope) that most clearly expresses its
occurrence. In many cases, this will merely be the main verb in the part of the
sentence (extent) that most directly describes the Event. Note that the following
examples mark in bold only those triggers that are main verbs.
Other times, the Event reference is used in a modifier position, either in the form
of a participle or an adjective. In such cases, the modifier should be annotated
as the trigger for the Event:
Look, I've slated electors before. You know? [My past deceased mother
and my brothe-- my mother when she was alive, I should make that point].
We will also see cases where the Event is triggered by a noun or pronoun:
"We don't know who did it but ... we're satisfied this was clearly an act
of terrorism," he said on CBS.
Note: Sometimes it will be necessary to annotate noun triggers whose type and
subtype are indicated by mentions outside the scope:
It and Event clearly refer back to the MARRY Event in the previous sentence and
should therefore be tagged as Event mentions.
Finally, there are some nouns that refer to Event participants and simultaneously
imply the occurrence of an Event, such as nominee or attacker. These should
not be tagged as Event mentions for two reasons: 1) nominee does not refer to
an Event in the same way that nominate and nomination, and even anaphors like
it, do; and 2) nominee and other Event participants will already be annotated as
Entities, and we want to avoid tagging an item as both an Entity and an Event
mention.
In some cases, the participants of an Event are picked out, for use in some
description not directly related to the Event itself, using a construction that looks
a lot like the resultative variant of that Event. This happens when the modifier
version of an Event trigger is used without an associated head noun:
Note that this rule is not as straight-forward as it may seem. In the above
example, injured occurs as a pre-modifier for a noun (presumably people) that is
never mentioned. The head of this construction would be injured (the last
modifier before the missing actual head). The Event cannot be annotated
because its potential trigger is already serving as the head for a taggable Entity.
For a complete discussion of taggable Entities, please see the Entities
Annotation Guidelines.
The PERSON Entity here is actually mentioned by the headless noun phrase 20
(by the same reasoning above), not the headless noun phrase 20 dead. As a
result, this DIE Event will be taggable using the trigger dead.
Notice that sometimes we can annotate Events whose potential noun triggers are
Entity heads by using the main verb as a trigger:
Most of the rules for identifying Event triggers discussed so far seem to work
fairly well for the more simple examples. But the real challenge is to use these
rules consistently for the complex cases as well.
There are two major potential sources of Event trigger complexity in a typical
sentence.
2. There are a number of distinct Events mentioned within the same scope
(either all taggable Events or a mix of taggable and non-taggable Events).
A good example of this is:
There will be a number of cases where the choice of the appropriate trigger word
is ambiguous. The following subsections describe the rules for choosing
between the various options.
2.3.3.1.1 Verb+Noun
While many Events anchor on a single verb or noun, there are some problematic
cases where multiple words could reasonably be called the trigger:
Note: For the remaining examples in this section, underlining will be used to
indicate words which may mistakenly be identified as the trigger of the Event
mention in question and bold face will be used to indicate the actual trigger of
the Event mention.
In cases where more than one trigger is possible, we will simply select the
noun whenever that noun can be used by itself to refer to the Event.
Sometimes when a noun is used with a verb to mention some Event we will be
looking at two possible triggers for a single Event:
Other times the two items will actually be triggers for two separate Events (even
if sometimes the second ‘Event’ is not itself of a taggable type):
For both of the cases described above, we will annotate the noun as the trigger if
it can stand alone to express the occurrence of the Event.
2.3.3.1.2 Verb+X+Adjective
These constructions have some properties in common with the main verb cases
in which the ‘main verb’ is actually a participle or an adjective (see: Section 2.3.1
for some examples). Verb+X+Adjective constructions are being described
separately here, because they are often difficult to recognize as directly
analogous to the main verb cases, since they will have some extra material
(usually the direct object of the verb, but sometimes other stuff as well)
intervening between the tensed verb and the resultative adjective (or participle).
There are cases where several verbs are used together to express an Event.
Note: In the examples that follow, underlining is used to indicate the string of
verbs and bold face will be used to indicate the verb to be chosen as the trigger
of a taggable event.
John would have been killed if he hadn’t moved. Men in civilian clothes in
the crowd began firing with AK-47 assault rifles.
There are reports that he could meet separately with Israeli Prime Minister
Ehud Barak and Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat.
In the interview, parts of which were also published in The Daily Express
of London, Chapman made the widely publicized remark that Lennon was
a liberal and would have wanted him to be released.
In such cases, the main verb will be annotated as the trigger for the Event. The
main verb is typically the last verb in a string of verbs. It expresses the type of
1
The astute reader may have noticed that the major difference between Verb(+X)+Noun and
Verb+X+Adjective is that Verb+X+Adjective will be triggered by the adjective when the resulting
state is completely described by the adjective, whereas Verb+Noun will be triggered by the Noun
whenever the Event itself is completely described by the noun.
2.3.3.1.4 Verb+Particle
In verb+particle constructions, we will tag the main verb and the particle together.
If the words occur contiguously, then there will be one multi-word trigger:
If the words occur non-contiguously, then we will only annotate the verb:
Cases where there are multiple possible triggers for the same Event within the
same scope (i.e. sentence) should not be confused with cases where there are
multiple Events expressed within the same sentence.
For example, ATTACK nouns often seem to act as agents in other Events. In the
following examples, each bold-faced word is a trigger to an independent Event
and therefore should be tagged as such:
For these examples, there will be more than one Event with the same extent, but
each Event will have its own trigger. (For a detailed discussion of the difference
between the second and third examples, see Section 2.3.2 above.)
Frequently, the other ‘Events’ in the same scope as some Event trigger are not of
a taggable type. In the following examples, triggers of taggable Events are
indicated in bold and triggers for non-taggable 2 Events are indicated with
underlining:
Intuitively, these verbs signal separate Events because, for example, the
‘witnessed’ Event is not part of the ATTACK Event.
In many cases, we can simply apply the stand-alone-noun rule (or the stand-
alone-adjective rule) and ignore the question of whether a verb and noun (or
adjective) within the same scope refer to the same exact Event. Indeed, for all of
the examples in the last set this assumption works perfectly well. The common
property is that the Events expressed by the main verb are different, but non-
taggable Events. For these cases, the simple stand-alone rules will work quite
well (although as an entirely accidental property of the system).
There are, however, plenty of examples where the question is not so clean-cut:
It will be important to recognize that there are three Events described here. For a
complete presentation of the decision rules for distinguishing multiple Events
from Events with multiple potential triggers, please see the discussion at the end
of the present section.
2
Here we are using ‘taggable’ to imply that an Event is ‘of a taggable type’. For a complete
presentation of which Event types are taggable, please see Section 5 below.
Sometimes, the tests are unnecessary and the decision can be made using only
the stand-alone-noun rule or the stand-alone-adjective rule (described in Section
2.3.3.1, above):
There are plenty of cases where it is unclear whether the main verb is (a) an
additional potential trigger for the Event picked out by the noun (or adjective); or
(b) a trigger for a separate, taggable Event (an Event which is an example of a
taggable Event type). For example:
There are a number of simple tests that can provide guidance in making the
decision about whether the two potential triggers refer to the same Event or to
different Events.
1. One test is to ask whether the person doing the one ‘Event’ is the same as
the person doing the other. If not, then we are dealing with two separate
Events.
2. A second test is to ask whether the one ‘Event’ is a (smaller) part of the
other. If so, then we are dealing with two separate Events.
3. A third test is to ask whether the one ‘Event’ is describing the ‘internal
structure’ of the other. If so, then we are dealing with two separate
Events.
3
Such information will later be encoded using Event-Event Relations.
There are two examples that exhibit the problem described in the preceding
section quite clearly.
The first example will be annotated as two separate Events because the
‘secondary trigger’ actually expresses the occurrence of a separate (and
taggable) Event, whereas the second example will be annotated as a single
Event triggers by the word dead because left and dead are being used together
to express the same Event. This is a difficult decision and care should be taken
in annotating examples such as these.
Ambiguous triggers (such as ‘the deal’ or ‘this opportunity for peace’) should only
be tagged when they are clearly co-referent with an unambiguous trigger within
the same document. By clearly co-referent, we mean:
3.1 Polarity
An Event is NEGATIVE when it is explicitly indicated that the Event did not occur
(see examples). The non-occurrence of the Event must be explicitly and
intentionally communicated.
There are two ways in which NEGATIVE Polarity may be expressed: (1) with the
help of a negative word such as not or never; or (2) by embedding in a negative
lexical context such deny, refuse or disobey.
His wife was sitting on the backseat and was not hurt.
Kimes' main demand was that his mother not be extradited to California.
3.2 Tense
TENSE is determined with respect to the speaker or author. We will refer to the
time of publication or broadcast as the textual anchor time.
PAST is used for those Events that occur prior to the textual anchor time.
1. PAST Examples:
FUTURE is used for those Events that have not yet occurred at the textual
anchor time.
2. FUTURE Examples:
Russian and U.S. trade officials will meet in London on May 17.
3. PRESENT is used for those Events that occur at the textual anchor time;
PRESENT Examples:
3.3 Genericity
GENERIC Examples:
There have been concerns the clashes in southern Serbia could explode
into violence similar to the 1999 conflict in Kosovo.
3.4 Modality
1. Believed Events:
2. Hypothetical Events:
The United Nations has warned their people not to take the ferry.
5. Desired Events:
6. Promised Events:
Israel says, it has lifted the internal restrictions that barred Palestinians
from moving among West Bank towns and villages.
There have been concerns the clashes in southern Serbia could explode
into violence similar to the 1999 conflict in Kosovo.
Fueling speculation that John Paul II might retire at the end of this year, a
Belgian cardinal says ...
In the interview, parts of which were also published in The Daily Express
of London, Chapman made the widely publicized remark that Lennon was
a liberal and would have wanted him to be released.
4. Coreference
When two Event mentions refer to the same Event, then they corefer. We will
restrict the coreference relation to Event identity. We will not identify Events as
coreferent when one mention refers only to a part of the other.
Three people have been convicted in the operation, including Smith and
Jones. … Smith and Jones were found guilty of selling guns to straw
purchasers.
The gunmen shot Smith and his son. … The attack against Smith.
There will also be cases where the arguments are modally questionable. Since
modality is not considered in the selection of arguments, this will not have an
effect on coreference.
For example, the following two Event mentions will be annotated as coreferent:
5.1 LIFE
5.1.1 BE-BORN
A BE-BORN Event occurs whenever a PERSON Entity is given birth to. Please
note that we do not include the birth of other things or ideas.
Examples
While investigators said they did not yet know where the Massachusetts-
born suspect got his guns, Scott Harshbarger, the former state attorney
general who pushed for more stringent state gun-control rules in the late
1990s, said, ``This is where you'll see if the tracing system works.''
For me, it's not difficult, because I was born without my hand, and I've
never known any different.
They have been linked to cancer, birth defects, and other genetic
abnormalities.
5.1.2 MARRY
4
This requirement will be loosened for cases of nominal anaphora --- for both Pronouns and
Definite Descriptions.
Examples
Ames recruited her as an informant in 1983, then married her two years
later.
5.1.3 DIVORCE
A DIVORCE Event occurs whenever two people are officially divorced under the
legal definition of divorce. We do not include separations or church annulments.
Examples
Fox and his four adopted children _ he is divorced will move into guest
quarters behind the presidential residence
Jephson, who was also Prince Charles' secretary for two years, said that
the Princess confided in him a great deal, especially in the years
preceding her divorce from the heir to the throne in 1996.
This year in Egypt, for example, avid campaigning helped women reverse
laws that prevented them from obtaining divorce and traveling abroad
without their husbands' permission.
But the Simpson trial and the jury's findings marked a turning point in the
career of the twice-divorced mother of two.
Note: For Events that where a single common trigger is ambiguous between the
types LIFE (i.e. INJURE and DIE) and CONFLICT (i.e. ATTACK), we will only
annotate the Event as a LIFE Event in case the relevant resulting state is clearly
indicated by the construction. This rule will not apply when there are
independent triggers.
Examples
Witnesses said the soldiers responded by firing tear gas and rubber
bullets, which led to ten demonstrators being injured.
5.1.5 DIE
A DIE Event occurs whenever the life of a PERSON Entity ends. DIE Events can
be accidental, intentional or self-inflicted.
Note: For Events that where a single common trigger is ambiguous between the
types LIFE (i.e. INJURE and DIE) and CONFLICT (i.e. ATTACK), we will only
annotate the Event as a LIFE Event in case the relevant resulting state is clearly
indicated by the construction. This rule will not apply when there are
independent triggers.
Examples
The commander of Israeli troops in the West Bank said there was a simple
goal to the helicopter assassination on Thursday of a gun-wielding local
Palestinian leader.
All four live in the southern port city of Aden, where the two suspected
suicide bombers blew up a small boat filled with explosives alongside the
Cole on Oct. 12 as it prepared to refuel.
We watched the state funeral in Montreal today for Canada's former prime
minister Pierre Trudeau, who died last week at 80.
Since the beginning of the epidemic, about 22 million people have died of
the disease.
5.2 MOVEMENT
5.2.1 TRANSPORT
Note: This Event is taggable only when the object is known to be a taggable
ARTIFACT or PERSON.
Note: We will only tag TRANSPORT Events when the movement is explicit.
Note: EXTRADITE and MEET Events are treated independently as their own
type. EXTRADITE examples should be clear from context (see Section 5.8.10,
below).
Examples
The aid was aimed at repairing houses damaged by Israeli bombing and
buying additional ambulances" to transport the rising number of
wounded.
Zone escaped the incident with minor injuries, and Kimes was moved to
the prison's disciplinary housing unit, the authorities said.
The Palestinian leaders also warned that Israel must remove its soldiers
from the outskirts of Palestinian cities.
5.3 TRANSACTION
Note: These Events are taggable only when the thing transferred is known to be
a taggable VEHICLE, FACILITY, ORGANIZATION or WEAPON.
Note: If someone is selling unspecified ‘materials’ and later in the article those
materials turn out to be weapons, then there is a taggable TRANSFER-
OWNERSHIP Event. However, if someone is selling unspecified ‘materials’ that
turn out to be tulip bulbs, then there is no TRANSFER-OWNERSHIP Event.
Examples
If the man accused of killing seven people near Boston on Tuesday got
his guns in Massachusetts, he was able to skirt some of the strictest
regulations in the country, people familiar with the state's laws said
Wednesday.
There is also a scandal that erupted over Russia's declaration that it will
sell weapons to Iran, contrary to the earlier made agreement.
5.3.2 TRANSFER-MONEY
Examples
Actors and singers also on the flight held a benefit concert in Baghdad
Saturday evening, with most of the $13 cover charge to be donated to
support the Palestinian uprising.
I'd like to see them accept his offer,'' said Jean Dolan, 59, a retired singing
instructor who borrowed about $10,500 to buy Eircom shares in the IPO
in July 1999.
5.4 BUSINESS
5.4.1 START-ORG
Note: When an ORGANIZATION opens new branch office, this will be annotated
as a START-ORG Event.
Note: When a new ORGANIZATION results from the merger of two pre-existing
ORGANIZATIONS, this will be annotated as a START-ORG Event.
Examples
British Airways PLC plans to sell Go, its profitable cut-price subsidiary
launched two years ago, the company said Monday.
5.4.2 MERGE-ORG
Examples
Three U.S. banks, Chase Manhattan and its merger partner J.P. Morgan
and Citibank, which was involved in moving about $100 million for Raul
Salinas de Gortari, brother of a former Mexican president, to banks in
Switzerland, are also expected to sign on, according to UBS.
Parkhurst later merged with another company that owned Road & Track
to become Bond/Parkhurst Publishing.
The drug companies passed the final regulatory hurdle to their $72 billion
merger, which will create the world's largest pharmaceutical company.
5.4.3 DECLARE-BANKRUPTCY
Examples
Southern California Edison says it may have to file for bankruptcy unless
government officials can offer some relief.
5.4.4 END-ORG
Examples
5.5 CONFLICT
5.5.1 ATTACK
Note: For Events that where a single common trigger is ambiguous between the
types LIFE (i.e. INJURE and DIE) and CONFLICT (i.e. ATTACK), we will only
annotate the Event as a LIFE Event in case the relevant resulting state is clearly
indicated by the construction.
The above rule will not apply when there are independent triggers. For example
in:
Note: The generic concepts typically represented by the strings ‘terrorism’ and
‘terrorist activities’ will be taggable as ATTACK Events. However, those
represented by the string ‘military operations’ will not.
Examples
Israel retaliated with rocket attacks and terrorists blew a hole in a United
States warship in Yemen.
Men in civilian clothes in the crowd began firing with AK-47 assault rifles
and a 45-minute gun battle broke out.
5.5.2 DEMONSTRATE
Examples
For weeks Italian Jewish groups, World War II veterans and leftist political
parties have staged protests against a meeting between the pope and
Haider, arguing that a papal encounter would lend the Austrian politician
legitimacy.
More than 40,000 workers were back at their jobs Thursday following a 1-
day walkout that closed social welfare offices and crippled public medical
services. During the work stoppage Wednesday, local residents were
unable to register marriages or get documents for real estate transactions.
5.6 CONTACT
5.6.1 MEET
A MEET Event occurs whenever two or more Entities come together at a single
location and interact with one another face-to-face. MEET Events include talks,
summits, conferences, meetings, visits, and any other Event where two or more
parties get together at some location.
It is not clear that these talks are all (face-to-face) meetings, so we cannot tag
this example.
Examples
China, Japan, the United States, and both Koreas will hold a meeting this
month.
Seven Lebanese Druze representatives out of eight who met under the
leadership of representative Walid Jumblatt called on "youths in our
Islamic Arab faction to actively join the heroic Palestinian Intifada against
Israeli occupation and its agents, and to expose its means and methods."
Only representative Talal Arslan did not attend the meeting.
Egypt condemned Israel's attacks today and said it has the approval of
other Arab states to host a summit with the Palestinians and Israelis only
if the violence stops.
5.6.2 PHONE-WRITE
Examples
All else being equal, Duane Roelands would prefer to dash off short
instant text messages to co-workers and friends with the service offered
by Microsoft _ the one he finds easiest to use.
** Bush spent most of the day on the telephone and in meetings, moving
ahead at lightning speed putting together his administration. (not
taggable)
5.7 PERSONELL
All PERSONNEL Events can have an POSITION attribute. The object populating
the POSITION-ARG slot in a PERSONNEL Event will be a VALUE of type JOB-
TITLE, which consists of a string taken from within the scope of the Event.
the POSITION-ARG of the Event is the JOB-TITLE Value populated by the string
‘CEO’.
5.7.1 START-POSITION
Examples
In 1997, the company hired John D. Idol to take over as chief executive.
5.7.2 END-POSITION
Georgia fired football coach Jim Donnan Monday after a disappointing 7-4
season that started with the Bulldogs ranked No. 10 and picked to win the
SEC East, his players said.
5.7.3 NOMINATE
Examples
Gore holds a degree from the university, and is one of about 500 people
nominated for the job.
5.7.4 ELECT
Examples
Many other Israelis have turned away from the man they elected just 18
months ago.
5.8 JUSTICE
Please note that some JUSTICE Event subtypes seem to permit actions by non-
state (extra-governmental) ORGANIZATION Entities. For example, one can
imagine tagging the release of hostages by some paramilitary or terrorist group
as a JUSTICE.RELEASE Event. As the name of the containing type suggests,
this will not be permissible. We will only annotate as JUSTICE Events those
occurrences that can be tied to the legal system of some taggable GPE Entity.
5.8.1 ARREST-JAIL
ARREST-JAIL Events can have a CRIME-ARG attribute filled with a string from
the text. For example:
Examples
Since May, Russia has jailed over 20 suspected terrorists without a trial.
Abu Talb, the last major prosecution witness, has been jailed in Sweden
for attacks against Jewish and American targets in Europe.
A judicial source said today, Friday, that five Croatians were arrested last
Tuesday during an operation targeting a number of war criminals
suspected of involvement in the killing of around 50 Serbian civilians in
1991.
5.8.2 RELEASE-PAROLE
Examples
5.8.3 TRIAL-HEARING
A TRIAL Event occurs whenever a court proceeding has been initiated for the
purposes of determining the guilt or innocence of a PERSON, ORGANIZATION
or GPE accused of committing a crime.
A TRIAL-HEARING Event can have a CRIME attribute filled by a string from the
text. It is important that the PROSECUTER-ARG be a state actor (GPE,
ORGANIZATION subpart or PERSON representing them).
Examples
And so the case is being tried in federal court, where prosecutors can,
and say they will, seek the death penalty.
The trial resumed this week after a month of delays following the
disclosure that new evidence surfaced on another group, the Damascus-
based Palestinian Front for the Liberation of Palestine-General Command.
Clinton also touched on the matter of American Edmond Bob who is being
tried in a closed court in Russia on charges of spying.
Midway through the hearing, Chief Justice Renquist seemed to scold his
colleagues for being too talkative when he made an unusual offer to the
lawyer representing Florida's Attorney General.
5.8.4 CHARGE-INDICT
An INDICT Event occurs whenever a state actor (GPE, ORG subpart of a GPE or
PERSON agent of a GPE) takes official legal action to follow up on an
accusation.
Examples
Joy Fenter was indicted by a grand jury on eleven counts of mail fraud.
Milosevic, who has been indicted by the international war crimes tribunal
in The Hague, Netherlands, cannot leave Yugoslavia without risking arrest
and extradition.
Guzman indicted Pinochet, holding him responsible for the actions by the
``Caravan of Death,'' a military party that killed 73 political prisoners
Appointed to the federal bench in 1979, he was charged two years later
with conspiracy to accept a bribe in a case he presided over in Miami.
Bagri was also charged with trying to murder Tara Singh Hayer, editor of
The Indo-Canadian Times, North America's largest Punjabi newspaper, in
1998.
5.8.5 SUE
A SUE Event occurs whenever a court proceeding has been initiated for the
purposes of determining the liability of a PERSON, ORGANIZATION or GPE
accused of committing a crime or neglecting a commitment. It can have a
CRIME attribute filled by a string from the text. It is not important that the
PLAINTIFF-ARG be a state actor (a GPE, an ORGANIZATION subpart or a
PERSON representing them).
Examples
Five years there, $30 million. U.S. victims of terrorism have been able to
sue foreign governments since 1996.
Brentwood Academy responded with a lawsuit that has made its way to
the U.S. Supreme Court, where arguments will be made Wednesday.
5.8.6 CONVICT
Examples
It found him guilty of enriching himself through a property deal with the
state's main food supply agency.
5.8.7 SENTENCE
Examples
5.8.8 FINE
A FINE Event takes place whenever a state actor issues a financial punishment
to a GPE, PERSON or ORGANIZATION Entity, typically as a result of court
proceedings. It can have a CRIME attribute filled by a string from the text.
Examples
Ms. Brooks, who could go to prison and will certainly be heavily fined has
agreed to turn state's evidence, turning against her boss.
5.8.9 EXECUTE
Examples
She recently sold the film rights to her latest book, ``Saints and Villains,''
about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, the German theologian executed by the Nazis
for plotting against Hitler.
Bush said he might change his mind if he did not think that executions
saved lives.
5.8.10 EXTRADITE
Wherever the ORIGIN-ARG is not explicitly stated, the slot will not be filled.
Examples
Milosevic, who has been indicted by the international war crimes tribunal
in The Hague, Netherlands, cannot leave Yugoslavia without risking arrest
and extradition.
In the end, Milosevic may even prefer extradition to The Hague rather
than stay here and face our justice,'' said opposition leader Zarko Korac.
Kimes' main demand was that his mother not be extradited to California,
where the two face the death penalty on charges they killed a former
business associate.
5.8.11 ACQUIT
An ACQUIT Event occurs whenever a trial ends but fails to produce a conviction.
This will include cases where the charges are dropped by the PROSECUTOR-
ARG.
Examples
5.8.12 APPEAL
Example
5.8.13 PARDON
Example
6. Event Arguments
Event arguments will be taggable only when they occur within the scope of the
corresponding Event. This is another way of saying that any taggable Event
argument will occur in the same sentence as the trigger word for its Event.
We begin with a brief discussion of the different kinds of things that we will call
Arguments.
1. Event Participants:
Most Event arguments will be participants in the Event. These will be taggable
Entities that are somehow involved in the Event. For each type and subtype of
Event, there will be a specific set of participant roles that can be filled. The
following subsections indicate what the possible participant roles are for each
Event subtype, and how to interpret each.
2. Event Attributes:
In addition to participants, there are two kinds of attributes that can be associated
with Events (as arguments).
a. Event-Specific Attributes:
The complete list of Event-Specific Attributes, their associated Event types, their
associated Value types and their interpretations is as follows:
These attributes are described with arguments such as PLACE-ARG and TIME-
ARG which will readily apply to most (if not all) Events and be interpreted in
precisely the same way each time.
Attribute Interpretation
PLACE-ARG Where the Event takes place
TIME-ARG When the Event takes place
The present section describes the basic rules to be used in making decisions
about Argument taggability for Events.
We will only tag as Arguments those Entities and Values that occur within
the scope of the Event. In addition, we select the Entities and Values that
are in the closest syntactic proximity to the event trigger.
Shared Arguments:
The explosion in Lahore caused a fire that burned makeshift stalls and
wounded 36 people.
2. Six men were murdered, including Bob (in Paris) and Joe (in Reims).
In cases where an event is mentioned in the same scope as some of its taggable
Sub-Events, we will mark all possible valid arguments of the larger event except
when those arguments are understood as more directly applicable to any of the
sub-events.
As such, we get:
Anchor Arguments
Ev1: murders France
Ev2: assassination Bob
France
Ev3: killing Joe
France
2. Six men were murdered, including Bob (in Paris) and Joe (in Reims).
Additionally, we will employ the following decision rule for the cases which
remain unclear even after the application of rules (1) and (2).
In the examples in the subsections to follow, triggers are indicated in bold and
the relevant arguments are indicated using bold font and square brackets.
All of the arguments available to each Event subtype will be presented in each
table as follows:
BE-BORN Events have one participant slot (PERSON-ARG) and two attribute
slots (TIME-ARG and PLACE-ARG).
Person- PER The person who is born [john robert bond] was
Arg born in england.
Time-Arg TIME When the birth takes place
Place- GPE Where the birth takes place john robert bond was
Arg LOC born in [england].
FAC
6.2.2 MARRY
MARRY Events have one participant slot (PERSON-ARG) and two attribute slots
(TIME-ARG and PLACE-ARG).
Person- PER The people who are married [ames] recruited her as
Arg an informant in 1983,
then married [her] two
years later.
Time-Arg TIME When the marriage takes ames recruited her as an
place informant in 1983, then
married her [two years
later].
Place-Arg GPE Where the marriage takes We were married in
LOC place [Spain]
FAC
6.2.3 DIVORCE
DIVORCE Events have one participant slot (PERSON-ARG) and two attribute
slots (TIME-ARG and PLACE-ARG).
Person- PER The people who are divorced the Princess confided in
Arg him a great deal,
especially in the years
preceding [her] divorce
from the [heir] to the
throne in 1996.
Time-Arg TIME When the divorce takes place the Princess confided in
6.2.4 INJURE
6.2.5 DIE
Note: While the AGENT-ARG is available for DIE Events, it is not required.
Agenthood is not criterial for us, so we will tag all deaths, leaving the AGENT-
ARG slot empty wherever necessary.
6.3 MOVEMENT
6.3.1 TRANSPORT
2. Any artifact other than the vehicle doing the transporting will be
annotated as ARTIFACT-ARG;
6.4 Transaction
6.4.1 TRANSFER-OWNERSHIP
This type will be used both for sales of ‘items’ (VEHICLE, WEAPON and
FACILITY) and of ORGANIZATIONS.
6.4.2 TRANSFER-MONEY
6.5 BUSINESS
6.5.1 START-ORG
Agent- PER The agent responsible for the [British Airways PLC]
Arg ORG START-ORG Event (the plans to sell Go, its
GPE ‘founder’) profitable cut-price
subsidiary launched two
years ago, the company
said Monday.
Org-Arg ORG The ORGANIZATION that is British Airways PLC
started plans to sell [Go, its
profitable cut-price
subsidiary] launched
two years ago, the
company said Monday.
Time- TIME When the Event takes place British Airways PLC
Arg plans to sell Go, its
profitable cut-price
subsidiary launched
[two years ago], the
company said Monday.
Place- GPE Where the Event takes place
Arg LOC
FAC
6.5.2 MERGE-ORG
MERGE-ORG Events have one participant slot (ORG-ARG) and two attribute
slots (TIME-ARG and PLACE-ARG).
6.5.3 DECLARE-BANKRUPTCY
6.5.4 END-ORG
END-ORG Events have one participant slot (ORG-ARG) and two attribute slots
(TIME-ARG and PLACE-ARG).
6.6.2 DEMONSTRATE
6.7 CONTACT
6.7.1 MEET
MEET Events have one participant slot (ENTITY-ARG) and two attribute slots
(TIME-ARG and PLACE-ARG)
Entity-Arg PER The agents who are meeting [Mr. Erekat] is due to
ORG travel to Washington to
GPE meet with [US Secretary
of State Madeleine
Albright and other US
officials] attempting to
win a ceasefire.
Time-Arg TIME When the meeting takes
place
Place-Arg GPE Where the meeting takes Mr. Erekat is due to
LOC place travel to [Washington]
FAC to meet with US
Secretary of State
Madeleine Albright and
other US officials
attempting to win a
ceasefire.
6.7.2 PHONE-WRITE
6.8 PERSONNEL
6.8.1 START-POSITION
6.8.2 END-POSITION
6.8.3 NOMINATE
6.8.4 ELECT
ELECT Events have two participant slots (PERSON-ARG and AGENT-ARG) and
three attribute slots (POSITION-ARG, TIME-ARG and PLACE-ARG).
6.9 JUSTICE
6.9.1 ARREST-JAIL
6.9.2 RELEASE-PAROLE
6.9.3 TRIAL-HEARING
6.9.4 CHARGE-INDICT
6.9.5 SUE
6.9.6 CONVICT
6.9.7 SENTENCE
6.9.8 FINE
Entity-Arg PER the Entity that was fined [The company] was
ORG ordered to pay a fine of
GPE $300,000.
Adjudicator- PER the Entity doing the fining
Arg ORG
GPE
Money-Arg NUM The amount of the fine The company was
ordered to pay a fine of
[$300,000].
Crime-Arg CRIME The CRIME (or offence) for
which the ENTITY-ARG is
being fined
Time-Arg TIME When the fining Event
takes place
Place-Arg GPE Where the fining Event
LOC takes place
FAC
6.9.10 EXTRADITE
6.9.11 ACQUIT
6.9.12 PARDON
6.9.13 APPEAL