English seeds: lexicon and valency (en/seeds/lexicon)
A seed is a short Markdown note that states one fact of English grammar, with its sources. A checkable rule grows from it. This folder covers the lexicon: lists of verbs that license, or rule out, particular complements. These include bare vs to-infinitives, gerund vs infinitive objects, indirect objects, retained objects in the passive, verbs without a passive, copula-like verbs, raising and control, and stative verbs in the progressive. Morphology (tags, lemmas, inflection) lives in en/seeds/morph.
How seeds fit into en
en is a deterministic English parser written in Rust: tokenizer, PTB tagger, lemma/form morphology, dependency parser and word-order generator.
- The lexicon tables are compiled; the seeds are not.
en/build.rscompilesdata/lemmas.tsvanddata/forms.tsv(every form with its tag, lemma, UD frequency and source) into static open-addressing hash tables (lexicon.bin). It also writes word constants (words.rs) for the 5,000 most frequent lemmas plusdata/consts.txt, so a rule in Rust code compares integers, not strings. - Rules are interpreted. The
```ruleblocks in these seeds are loaded from the seeds directory at runtime by the rule engineen::expert. The commanden expert-check <seeds dir> [--gold <file>] <file>runs them over CoNLL-U, and annotation tools use them as hints for a reviewer ("token 5 breaks rule X"). Thecargo testgateseeds_all_parserequires every rule to parse and every rule id to be unique. All lexicon rules have severitywarn: a hit means "suspect: non-native text, a different sense of the verb, or an annotation error", not a certain error.
A lexicon rule usually binds a verb v by lemma list and a dependent by relation (xcomp, obj, iobj, mark, aux), then requires or forbids something:
rule: en.lexicon.copula-like-no-object
what: become/seem/appear/remain/stay/tend take no direct object (the predicative is xcomp)
match: v[lemma=become|seem|appear|remain|stay|tend]; o[rel=obj, head=v]
require: not o[rel=obj]
severity: warn
source: UD docs/_en/dep/cop.md; Jespersen MEG III ch. XVII
Fields: match (nodes name[cond, …] separated by ;), require (clauses name[…], not name[…], exists c[…], none c[…], with or for alternatives), optional unless (exceptions), severity (error or warn) and source (required). Conditions include lemma=, form=, upos=, xpos=, rel=, rel~ (relation by base), head=, feats.X=V, feats.X / !feats.X, word order (before=, after=, next=, prev=), suffix=/prefix=, and negation with !=. The full description is in the morphology seeds document.
Seed format
Sections: Gist, Conditions and exceptions, Examples (* marks an ungrammatical example), In UD (how it looks in UD/EWT annotation), Sources ( Brown 1851, Poutsma, Jespersen's Modern English Grammar (MEG), Reed & Kellogg, VerbNet 3.4, PropBank 3.1, UD documentation, ACL Anthology ids), then zero or more ```rule blocks.
Seeds
verb-bare-infinitive
Bare infinitive after make, let, see, hear…
Gist. After verbs of causing and permitting (make, let, bid, causative have) and of perception (see, hear, feel, watch, notice, observe), an infinitive with an object takes no to: You make me blush, I heard him say so. Help allows both (help me (to) move). In the passive, to returns: He was made to wait, He was seen to go.
Conditions and exceptions. See meaning "recognize, understand" takes to be (I saw it to be so). Feel takes a bare infinitive only for physical sensation; for opinion it takes to (I feel it to be my duty). In older English know also took a bare infinitive (I have known him do it). Have is left out of the rule because have to is a different construction. In UD the infinitive is xcomp (VB, VerbForm=Inf) of the verb: without mark(to) in the active, with mark(to) when the governing verb has Voice=Pass.
Examples. They let him leave. — *Nobody saw him to leave (active: no to). — He was heard to say so (passive: with to).
Sources. Brown 1851, The Grammar of English Grammars, Rule XIX and Obs. 5, 8, 10, 11; Poutsma 1923, The Infinitive…, §§35, 43; Jespersen MEG V ch. XVIII.
Rules. en.lexicon.bare-infinitive-active (warn): an active make/let/see/hear/watch/feel/bid/notice/observe with a VB xcomp has no mark to on it. en.lexicon.to-infinitive-after-passive (warn): the same verbs (except let) with Voice=Pass require mark to on the VB xcomp.
verb-copula-like
Copula-like verbs: become, seem, remain…
Gist. Verbs of becoming (become, get, grow, turn, go, come, fall: go mad, fall ill, come true) and of being or seeming (seem, appear, look, sound, feel, remain, stay, keep, prove) link the subject to an adjective or noun just as be does: I became very upset, It remains a mystery. In UD, though, only be is a copula. These are ordinary VERBs, and the predicative is xcomp, not obj, because the noun after become is not acted on.
Conditions and exceptions. Many of these verbs also have transitive senses (prove a theorem, sound the alarm, keep a secret, feel the heat, get a letter, turn the page, rare That dress becomes you). So the rule covers only those that almost never have a transitive sense: become, seem, appear, remain, stay, tend.
Examples. She became a doctor — xcomp(became, doctor). — It seems a good idea — xcomp. — He proved his identity — obj (a different sense).
Sources. UD docs/_en/dep/cop.md; UD docs/_en/specific-syntax.md (functional control); Jespersen MEG III ch. XVII–XVIII; Reed & Kellogg, Higher Lessons in English, Lesson 29; PropBank 3.1 frames become.xml, seem.xml.
Rules. en.lexicon.copula-like-no-object (warn): become, seem, appear, remain, stay, tend have no obj.
verb-gerund-object
Verbs that take a gerund, not an infinitive
Gist. Some verbs take an infinitive complement; others take only a gerund (-ing): I enjoy swimming, not *I enjoy to swim. Gerund-only verbs include verbs of admitting and denying (admit, acknowledge, deny), avoiding and stopping (avoid, escape, finish, give up, leave off, quit, stop "cease"), postponing (postpone, put off, delay, defer) and mind, miss, risk, resist, resent, relish, imagine, fancy, contemplate, consider, suggest, practise, enjoy, appreciate, keep.
Conditions and exceptions. Stop to smoke is a different construction: to smoke is a purpose clause (advcl), not a complement. Try, encourage, urge are listed among gerund verbs by Poutsma but also occur with an infinitive (in another sense or with a personal object), so they are not in the rule. Non-native text often breaks this pattern (I enjoyed very much to study here). In UD the gerund is xcomp with VBG (VerbForm=Ger); an xcomp with VB + mark(to) under these verbs is suspect.
Examples. He carefully avoided giving the least sign. — I have just finished dusting. — *She denied to know him.
Sources. Poutsma, A Grammar of Late Modern English (GLME), Part II, ch. XIX §§17–18; Poutsma 1923, The Gerund, §§43–45; UD docs/_en/feat/VerbForm.md.
Rules. en.lexicon.gerund-verb-no-to-infinitive (warn): enjoy, avoid, escape, finish, mind, consider, suggest, deny, admit, acknowledge, risk, miss, imagine, fancy, contemplate, postpone, delay, defer, practise/practice, quit, appreciate, resist, resent, relish, keep do not take a VB xcomp marked with to.
verb-infinitive-object
Verbs that take an infinitive, not a gerund
Gist. Verbs of wishing, intending, deciding, trying and being able take a to-infinitive: I want to go, We decided to stay, She managed to escape, He pretended not to see. A gerund is impossible after them (*I want going). Here the infinitive points forward in time relative to the main action, unlike the gerund.
Conditions and exceptions. Colloquial want + object + -ing (You don't want it getting too warm) is a different construction (object plus participle). Seem/tend to be going is a progressive infinitive, where the VBG has its own to be. Verbs that take both constructions (begin, start, continue, like, love, hate, prefer; with a change of meaning remember, forget, stop, try, regret) are not in the list. In UD a VBG xcomp under these verbs must have its own aux/mark (to be going); without them it is suspect.
Examples. We hope to see you. — He refused to answer. — *She decided going home.
Sources. Poutsma 1923, The Gerund, §44; Poutsma GLME Part II ch. XIX §§19–20; Jespersen MEG V ch. XII.
Rules. en.lexicon.infinitive-verb-no-gerund (warn): a VBG xcomp of want, hope, decide, agree, refuse, promise, plan, expect, manage, fail, afford, offer, pretend, seem, tend, wish, choose, deserve, threaten, learn must have an aux or mark dependent.
verb-iobj-licensors
Verbs that take an indirect object
Gist. An indirect object (a recipient, addressee or beneficiary without a preposition) occurs only with verbs that allow two objects: give him a book, tell them a story, buy her a present, bake me a cake. These are verbs of transfer (give, hand, lend, owe, sell, send, pay), communication (tell, show, teach, email, write), benefaction (buy, build, cook, fix, find, get, make), cost and charging (cost, charge, bill, fine) and promising (promise, offer, guarantee). Speech and persuasion verbs that combine an addressee with a clause or infinitive also qualify (inform, notify, remind, warn, advise, assure, convince, persuade, urge, ask, allow, cause).
Conditions and exceptions. Since UD 2.12 the addressee stays iobj even without a direct object (tell them, remind me of Vietnam, allow radicals to launch operations), as long as the verb can in principle take a second object. Verbs without that possibility (help, question) take obj (She helps her students to succeed). EWT also uses iobj with trust (trust me) and thank (thank god); this is EWT convention, not grammar, and the rule may flag such cases for review. The list combines VerbNet double-object classes (filtered by EWT frequency) with speech verbs that take ccomp/xcomp; the full VerbNet list has 279 lemmas, and the rule uses 171.
Examples. It took me two hours (take). — He quoted me a price (quote). — Do yourself a favour (do). — *She explained me the rule (explain takes no iobj: an error in the text or the annotation).
Sources. VerbNet 3.4 classes with frames "NP V NP-Dative NP", "NP V NP.beneficiary NP", "NP V NP NP" (give-13.1, send-11.1, bring-11.3, throw-17.1, slide-11.2, carry-11.4, get-13.5.1, steal-10.5, future_having-13.3, pay-68, bill-54.5, cost-54.2, build-26.1, create-26.4, preparing-26.3, performance-26.7, feeding-39.7, transfer_mesg-37.1.1, instr_communication-37.4); PropBank 3.1 (give.01, tell.01); UD docs/changes.md ("Sole iobj"); UD docs/_u-dep/iobj.md; Jespersen MEG III ch. XIV; ACL papers P17-1074, 2026.udw-1.1.
Rules. en.lexicon.iobj-verb (warn): the head of an iobj must be one of 171 listed lemmas (accord, advise, afford, allocate, allow, answer, ask, … give, … tell, text, thank, throw, … wish, write).
verb-no-passive
Verbs without a passive and without an object
Gist. Only verbs with a real affected object form a passive. Verbs describing an event, state or motion without an agent (happen, occur, exist, arrive, arise, emerge, belong, consist, matter, seem, appear, remain) have neither a direct object nor a passive (*It was happened). Some verbs with an object do not passivize either: cost, last, resemble (It costs two shillings, but not *Two shillings are cost).
Conditions and exceptions. In PropBank, the first rolesets of these verbs (happen.01, occur.01, exist.01, arrive.01, seem.01, remain.01, consist.01, matter.01, last.01, cost.01, resemble.01) have no agent role ARG0, which is a formal sign that there is no doer. Die takes a cognate object (die a hero's death), and fall has a passive-like form only in archaic be fallen, so both are excluded. Brown: the passive is formed only from active-transitive verbs. In UD these lemmas have no Voice=Pass, and happen, occur, exist, arrive, arise, emerge, belong, consist, matter, seem, appear, remain have no obj.
Examples. What happened? — *The accident was happened. — The book costs ten dollars (no passive). — *It had only happened times (error: happen with obj).
Sources. Jespersen MEG III §15.12 and ch. XVI "Transitivity"; Brown 1851, Part II, ch. VI ("Form of Passive Verbs"); PropBank 3.1 frames.
Rules. en.lexicon.no-passive-verb (warn): happen, occur, exist, arrive, appear, seem, remain, stay, become, consist, matter, last, cost, resemble, belong, arise, emerge have no Voice=Pass. en.lexicon.unaccusative-no-object (warn): happen, occur, exist, arrive, arise, emerge, belong, consist, matter, seem, appear, remain have no obj.
verb-passive-retained-object
A direct object with a passive — only for certain verbs
Gist. A passive verb normally has no direct object, since the object has become the subject. An object is retained only with two-object verbs whose recipient has become the subject (I was given a horse, He was told the truth, She was offered a job, We were charged a fee) and in idioms like was taken care of. The predicative of naming and electing verbs (He was elected president, was called a fool) is xcomp, not an object.
Conditions and exceptions. Titled/entitled/headed X (titles) have obj in EWT. Any other obj under Voice=Pass is suspect. Either the verb is not a passive (a perfect without been), or the "object" is really xcomp/obl, or it is an error. In UD, obj under a Voice=Pass head is allowed only for two-object verbs, naming verbs and take (take care).
Examples. I was given a horse — nsubj:pass(I), obj(horse). — Pakistan was gifted a slice of the territory. — The story was featured ARD (suspect).
Sources. Jespersen MEG III ch. XV "Subject of Passive Verb"; Reed & Kellogg, Higher Lessons in English, Lesson 129; UD docs/_en/dep/cop.md; VerbNet 3.4 dative classes (see verb-iobj-licensors).
Rules. en.lexicon.passive-object-verb (warn): a Voice=Pass verb with an obj must be one of give, send, tell, show, offer, bring, pay, ask, teach, lend, hand, owe, promise, grant, deny, allow, award, charge, cost, save, spare, forgive, refuse, assign, leave, provide, serve, feed, guarantee, bill, fine, email, inform, notify, call, name, title, entitle, head, elect, appoint, make, sell, buy, issue, afford, extend, gift, quote, take, read, write, mail.
verb-raising-control
Raising, control and "object + infinitive"
Gist. Verbs with an infinitive "lend" it a subject in different ways. Raising verbs (seem, appear, tend, happen, be likely) have no agent of their own: He seems to know = "it seems that he knows". Subject-control verbs (want, try, hope, decide, promise): in I want to go, the one who wants is the one who goes. Object-control verbs (ask, tell, persuade, convince, urge, order, allow, cause): in I asked him to stay, him stays. Verbs of thinking and wanting with "object + infinitive" (believe, consider, expect, want, find, like): in I believe him to be honest, him is grammatically the main verb's object but semantically the infinitive's subject.
Conditions and exceptions. In EWT the person is iobj with speech and persuasion verbs that allow two objects (ask, tell, allow, convince, urge, persuade, cause) and obj with perception, causation and opinion verbs (let, make, have, get, keep, find, want, help, see, consider). Raising verbs have no passive and no direct object (see verb-no-passive, verb-copula-like). With there (There seems to be a problem) the expletive subject raises, and the notional subject stays with be. In UD all three types use xcomp; they differ in whether the main verb has an obj/iobj, and enhanced UD shows who the infinitive's subject is.
Examples. Sue asked George to respond — xcomp(asked, respond). — I consider him honest — obj(him), xcomp(honest). — The cat seems to be in pain — xcomp(seems, pain).
Sources. UD docs/_en/dep/xcomp.md, docs/_u-dep/xcomp.md, docs/_en/specific-syntax.md (functional control); PropBank 3.1 seem.xml, want.xml, persuade.xml; Poutsma GLME Part II ch. XIX §19; Jespersen MEG V ch. XVIII; Brown 1851, Rule XIX, Obs. 4.
Rules. None (descriptive seed).
verb-stative-progressive
Stative verbs hardly take the progressive
Gist. The progressive (be + -ing) describes an action that is ongoing and developing through will or activity. So verbs of state, knowledge, possession and attitude rarely take it: I know, not *I am knowing; It belongs to me, not *is belonging. Poutsma's groups: perception (see, hear, smell, taste in the literal sense, unlike look, listen), attitude (like, love, hate, prefer, esteem), desire (desire, wish), thought (believe, know, suppose, understand), possession and composition (belong, contain, consist, possess, resemble) and appearance (seem, appear).
Conditions and exceptions. With a nuance of activity the progressive is possible: I'm seeing a doctor (visiting), You're being silly (behaving), modern colloquial I'm loving it, I've been meaning to call. So the rule takes only the most stable stative verbs and only warns: either the text is unusual or the -ing is mis-annotated (for example, an adjective or gerund taken for a progressive). In UD, a VBG head with aux be should not have a lemma from the list.
Examples. I know the answer. — *I am knowing the answer. — She is being very kind (copula with a sense of behaviour).
Sources. Poutsma 1921, The Characters of the English Verb (The Expanded Form), §§38–42; Jespersen MEG IV ch. XIV.
Rules. en.lexicon.stative-progressive (warn): a VERB tagged VBG with aux be is not one of know, believe, understand, suppose, belong, contain, consist, own, possess, resemble, seem, prefer, matter, exist, deserve, recognize.
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