MENTAL YAML source
code: MENTAL
biber_number: M56
mfte_code: MENTAL
bohmann_number: 104
xiao_number:
- B44
- B48
name: Mental verbs
definition: >-
Verbs of cognition and perception: see, know, think, want, feel, believe, understand,
remember, etc.
normalization: finite_verbs
detection:
- source: mfte
requires:
- word
- pos
cql: >-
[word={words} & pos="VB.*"]
words:
- accept
- accepted
- accepting
- accepts
- agree
- agreed
- agreeing
- agrees
- appreciate
- appreciated
- appreciates
- appreciating
- approve
- approved
- approves
- approving
- assess
- assessed
- assesses
- assessing
- assume
- assumed
- assumes
- assuming
- bear
- bearing
- bears
- believe
- believed
- believes
- believing
- blame
- blamed
- blames
- blaming
- bore
- borne
- bother
- bothered
- bothering
- bothers
- calculate
- calculated
- calculates
- calculating
- care
- cared
- cares
- caring
- celebrate
- celebrated
- celebrates
- celebrating
- choose
- chooses
- choosing
- chose
- chosen
- compare
- compared
- compares
- comparing
- conclude
- concluded
- concludes
- concluding
- confirm
- confirmed
- confirming
- confirms
- consider
- considered
- considering
- considers
- count
- counted
- counting
- counts
- dare
- dared
- dares
- daring
- decide
- decided
- decides
- deciding
- detect
- detected
- detecting
- detects
- determine
- determined
- determines
- determining
- discover
- discovered
- discovering
- discovers
- dismiss
- dismissed
- dismisses
- dismissing
- distinguish
- distinguished
- distinguishes
- distinguishing
- doubt
- doubted
- doubting
- doubts
- enjoy
- enjoyed
- enjoying
- enjoys
- examine
- examined
- examines
- examining
- expect
- expected
- expecting
- expects
- experience
- experienced
- experiences
- experiencing
- face
- faced
- faces
- facing
- fear
- feared
- fearing
- fears
- feel
- feeling
- feels
- felt
- forgave
- forget
- forgets
- forgetting
- forgive
- forgiven
- forgives
- forgiving
- forgot
- forgotten
- guess
- guessed
- guesses
- guessing
- hate
- hated
- hates
- hating
- hear
- heard
- hearing
- hears
- hope
- hoped
- hopes
- hoping
- identified
- identifies
- identify
- identifying
- ignore
- ignored
- ignores
- ignoring
- imagine
- imagined
- imagines
- imagining
- impress
- impressed
- impresses
- impressing
- intend
- intended
- intending
- intends
- interpret
- interpreted
- interpreting
- interprets
- judge
- judged
- judges
- judging
- justified
- justifies
- justify
- justifying
- knew
- know
- knowing
- known
- knows
- learn
- learned
- learning
- learns
- learnt
- like
- liked
- likes
- liking
- listen
- listened
- listening
- listens
- love
- loved
- loves
- loving
- mind
- minding
- minds
- miss
- missed
- misses
- missing
- need
- needed
- needing
- needs
- notice
- noticed
- notices
- noticing
- observe
- observed
- observes
- observing
- perceive
- perceived
- perceives
- perceiving
- plan
- planned
- planning
- plans
- predict
- predicted
- predicting
- predicts
- prefer
- preferred
- preferring
- prefers
- pretend
- pretended
- pretending
- pretends
- prove
- proved
- proven
- proves
- proving
- read
- reading
- reads
- realize
- realized
- realizes
- realizing
- recall
- recalled
- recalling
- recalls
- reckon
- reckoned
- reckoning
- reckons
- recognise
- recognised
- recognises
- recognising
- recognize
- recognized
- recognizes
- recognizing
- regard
- regarded
- regarding
- regards
- remember
- remembered
- remembering
- remembers
- remind
- reminded
- reminding
- reminds
- satisfied
- satisfies
- satisfy
- satisfying
- saw
- see
- seeing
- seen
- sees
- solve
- solved
- solves
- solving
- studied
- studies
- study
- studying
- suffer
- suffered
- suffering
- suffers
- suppose
- supposed
- supposes
- supposing
- suspect
- suspected
- suspecting
- suspects
- think
- thinking
- thinks
- thought
- trust
- trusted
- trusting
- trusts
- understand
- understands
- understood
- wan
- want
- wanted
- wanting
- wants
- wish
- wished
- wishes
- wishing
- wonder
- wondered
- wondering
- wonders
- worried
- worries
- worry
- worrying
caveat: >-
"see" and "hear" are perception verbs — a potential sub-category worth splitting.
- source: pybiber
requires:
- word
- pos
cql: '[word={words} & pos="VB.*"]'
words:
- accept
- accepted
- accepting
- accepts
- anticipate
- anticipated
- anticipates
- anticipating
- ascertain
- ascertained
- ascertaining
- ascertains
- assume
- assumed
- assumes
- assuming
- believe
- believed
- believes
- believing
- calculate
- calculated
- calculates
- calculating
- check
- checked
- checking
- checks
- conclude
- concluded
- concludes
- concluding
- conjecture
- conjectured
- conjectures
- conjecturing
- consider
- considered
- considering
- considers
- decide
- decided
- decides
- deciding
- deduce
- deduced
- deduces
- deducing
- deem
- deemed
- deeming
- deems
- demonstrate
- demonstrated
- demonstrates
- demonstrating
- determine
- determined
- determines
- determining
- discern
- discerned
- discerning
- discerns
- discover
- discovered
- discovering
- discovers
- doubt
- doubted
- doubting
- doubts
- dream
- dreamed
- dreaming
- dreams
- dreamt
- ensure
- ensured
- ensures
- ensuring
- establish
- established
- establishes
- establishing
- estimate
- estimated
- estimates
- estimating
- expect
- expected
- expecting
- expects
- fancied
- fancies
- fancy
- fancying
- fear
- feared
- fearing
- fears
- feel
- feeling
- feels
- felt
- find
- finding
- finds
- foresaw
- foresee
- foreseeing
- foresees
- forget
- forgets
- forgetting
- forgot
- forgotten
- found
- gather
- gathered
- gathering
- gathers
- guess
- guessed
- guesses
- guessing
- hear
- heard
- hearing
- hears
- held
- hold
- holding
- holds
- hope
- hoped
- hopes
- hoping
- imagine
- imagined
- imagines
- imagining
- implied
- implies
- imply
- implying
- indicate
- indicated
- indicates
- indicating
- infer
- inferred
- inferring
- infers
- insure
- insured
- insures
- insuring
- judge
- judged
- judges
- judging
- knew
- know
- knowing
- known
- knows
- learn
- learned
- learning
- learns
- learnt
- mean
- meaning
- means
- meant
- note
- noted
- notes
- notice
- noticed
- notices
- noticing
- noting
- observe
- observed
- observes
- observing
- perceive
- perceived
- perceives
- perceiving
- presume
- presumed
- presumes
- presuming
- presuppose
- presupposed
- presupposes
- presupposing
- pretend
- pretended
- pretending
- prove
- proved
- proves
- proving
- realise
- realised
- realises
- realising
- realize
- realized
- realizes
- realizing
- reason
- reasoned
- reasoning
- reasons
- recall
- recalled
- recalling
- recalls
- reckon
- reckoned
- reckoning
- reckons
- recognise
- recognised
- recognises
- recognising
- recognize
- recognized
- recognizes
- recognizing
- reflect
- reflected
- reflecting
- reflects
- remember
- remembered
- remembering
- remembers
- reveal
- revealed
- revealing
- reveals
- saw
- see
- seeing
- seen
- sees
- sense
- sensed
- senses
- sensing
- show
- showed
- showing
- shown
- shows
- signified
- signifies
- signify
- signifying
- suppose
- supposed
- supposes
- supposing
- suspect
- suspected
- suspecting
- suspects
- think
- thinking
- thinks
- thought
- understand
- understanding
- understands
- understood
examples:
- text: She _believed_ every word he said.
- text: Frodo _felt_ a sudden chill and _knew_ that danger was near.
- text: He could _see_ the tower in the distance.
- text: They _discovered_ the secret passage behind the bookshelf.
source: pybiber
- text: We _want_ to _see_ you tomorrow.
source: le_foll_2024
- text: Did you never _hear_ back?
source: le_foll_2024
- text: I don't _recognize_ any.
source: le_foll_2024
non_examples:
- text: She ~felt~ the rough surface of the stone wall.
note: felt = tactile action, not mental verb — detector matches but wrong sense
sources:
- biber_1988
- mfte
- pybiber
- xiao_2009
- grieve_2023
- bohmann_2019
notes: >-
Biber's "private verbs" (assume, believe, feel, think) = highest loading on D1
(.96). MFTE's MENTAL is the closest equivalent. Xiao (2009) splits this into
two categories: B44 "Cognitive verbs" (mental processes: think, know, believe,
understand) and B48 "Private verbs" (internal states: feel, want, wish, hope),
both detected via the USAS semantic tagger. Here they are combined under a
single MENTAL feature following MFTE and Biber's original grouping. A future
refinement could split these into separate atomic features with MENTAL as
their composite parent.