Detecting Noun Compounds and Light Verb Constructions: a Contrastive Study

In this paper, we describe our methods to detect noun compounds and light verb constructions in running texts. For noun compounds, dictionary-based methods and POStagging seem to contribute most to the performance of the system whereas for light verb constructions, the combination of POStagging, syntactic information and restrictions on the nominal and verbal component yield the best result. However, focusing on deverbal nouns proves to be beneficial for both types of MWEs. The effect of syntax is negligible on noun compound detection whereas it is unambiguously helpful for identifying light verb constructions.