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Case Studies in Fluid Construction Grammar: The verb phrase
Edited by Luc Steels and Katrien Beuls
[Benjamins Current Topics 106] 2019
► pp. 105–128

An open-ended computational construction grammar for Spanish verb conjugation

The Spanish verb phrase can take on many forms, depending on the temporal, aspectual and modal interpretation that a speaker wants to convey. At least half a dozen constructions work together to build or analyze even the simplest verb form such as hablo ‘I speak’. This paper documents how the complete Spanish verb conjugation system can be operationalized in a computational construction grammar formalism, namely Fluid Construction Grammar. Moreover, it shows how starting from a seed grammar that handles regular morphology and grammar one can create a productive grammar that captures systematicity in Spanish verb conjugation and can expand its construction inventory when new verbs are encountered.

Keywords: Fluid Construction Grammar, Spanish verbs, grammar fragment, constructional morphology, construction learning
Article outline
  • 1.Introduction
  • 2.Learning challenges in the acquisition of Spanish verbs
    • 2.1Semantic challenges
      • 2.1.1Tense
      • 2.1.2Aspect
      • 2.1.3Mood
    • 2.2Morpho-syntactic challenges
  • 3.Α Spanish grammar fragment
    • 3.1Grammar design
      • 3.1.1Lexical constructions
      • 3.1.2Stem constructions
      • 3.1.3Suffix constructions
      • 3.1.4Grammatical constructions
    • 3.2Verb conjugation
    • 3.3Stem changes
  • 4.Towards a productive Spanish grammar
    • 4.1Extending the seed grammar
    • 4.2Grammar evaluation
  • 5.Conclusions and future outlook
  • Acknowledgments
  • Note
  • References
Published online: 9 October 2019
DOI logo
https://doi.org/10.1075/bct.106.cf.00005.beu
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