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Resolves #678.
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dan-zeman committed Jan 24, 2020
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Expand Up @@ -24,4 +24,4 @@ If the two nominals denote two different entities that together have the same gr

If the two nominals participate in denoting one entity, the default relation to connect them is [flat]() (which may also be used to connect other nodes that are not nominals). Typical examples are personal names: we can say that _John Smith_ is a special type of _John_ as well as a special type of _Smith_, but none of the names governs the other and either of them can be omitted. In many languages this analysis extends to titles and occupations, as in English _president Barack Obama_.

Some languages may have language-specific criteria that allow to separate apposition from simple flat sequences of nouns; then the [appos]() relation is used. For example in English, the criterion is that the second (i.e., technically dependent) nominal in apposition has its own determiner and possibly other modifiers; the two nominals are typically separated by a comma in writing: in _Robert Mugabe, the former president of Zimbabwe_, there is a `flat` relation from _Robert_ to _Mugabe_, an `appos` relation from _Robert_ to _president_, and an `nmod` relation from _president_ to _Zimbabwe_. Furthermore, in appositions the two nominals can typically be reordered: _the former president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe._ Note that non-UD grammars and theories may use a broader notion of apposition, which covers constructions that will not lead to the `appos` relation in UD. Also remember that the rules in this example are specific for English. Other languages may have different rules or may not be able to separate `appos` from `flat` at all.
Some languages may have language-specific criteria that allow to separate apposition from simple flat sequences of nouns; then the [appos]() relation is used. For example in English, the criterion is that the second (i.e., technically dependent) nominal in apposition can have its own determiner and possibly other modifiers; the two nominals are typically separated by a comma in writing: in _Robert Mugabe, the former president of Zimbabwe_, there is a `flat` relation from _Robert_ to _Mugabe_, an `appos` relation from _Robert_ to _president_, and an `nmod` relation from _president_ to _Zimbabwe_. Furthermore, in appositions the two nominals can typically be reordered: _the former president of Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe._ Note that non-UD grammars and theories may use a broader notion of apposition, which covers constructions that will not lead to the `appos` relation in UD. Also remember that the rules in this example are specific for English. Other languages may have different rules or may not be able to separate `appos` from `flat` at all.

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