Tagging guidelines for English
"this"
The word "this" (along with its plural "these") can be either a determiner, modifying a noun phrase, or a pronoun, replacing a noun phrase.
det.dem
- I don't like this cat.
- I don't like these cats.
prn
- This is the reason.
- These are the ones.
"that"
The word "that" can be either a determiner, which modifies a noun phrase, a demonstrative pronoun which substitutes a noun phrase, a subordinating conjunction or a relative pronoun.
det.dem
- I don't like that cat.
- I don't like those cats.
prn
- That is the reason.
- Those are the ones.
rel
- These are the ones that I like.
cnjsub
- I think that you like cats.
Here is a tip for distinguishing rel
and cnjsub
. Try substituting the word "which" and see how it sounds. If it sounds ok, then your "that" is probably a relative pronoun, if it sounds bad, it's probably a conjunction.
- ok: These are the ones which I like.
- not ok: I think which you like cats.
"no"
The word "no" in English can be a determiner, modifying a noun phrase or an adverb (or interjection).
det.ind
- There are no cats in my attic.
adv
- No! Don't do that!
Verbs with "-ing"
The ending -ing
in English can be a gerund (adverbial), a substantive (like a noun) or a present participle (like an adjective).
vblex.subs
:- Roughly, when you can substitute it with a noun: "Flying is hard" → "Flight is hard"
vblex.pprs
:- Roughly, when you can substitute it with a relative clause: "The flying circus" → "The circus that flies"
vblex.ger
- When it follows to be in continuous tenses, or when it can be replaced by a prepositional phrase or a different verbal phrase:
- "He came singing" → "He came with a song"
- "He is singing → "He sings"
- When it follows to be in continuous tenses, or when it can be replaced by a prepositional phrase or a different verbal phrase:
Adverb or adjective
A word like "first" can be either an adverb, or an ordinal adjective. An adverb modifies a verb phrase, an ordinal adjective modifies a noun phrase.
adj
- This is my first computer.
adv
- First I'm going to buy a computer.