Clause Edge is an Edge type that expresses logical and discourse relations between predications (Verb Edge), events (Event6 Edge), relationships (Triple Edge), or other Clauses.
It is designed based on the discourse relations of RST (Rhetorical Structure Theory).
Packet Structure (4 words, 64 bits)
1st WORD (16 bits):
┌─────────────────────┬────────────┬────────┐
│ Prefix │ RelType │Reserved│
│ 10 bits │ 4 bits │ 2 bits │
└─────────────────────┴────────────┴────────┘
[1100 000 010] [RRRR] [xx]
2nd WORD: Edge TID (16 bits)
3rd WORD: TID 1 (16 bits) - First clause
4th WORD: TID 2 (16 bits) - Second clause
| Field | Bits | Description |
|---|
| Prefix | 10 | 1100 000 010 |
| RelType | 4 | 16 RST relations |
| Reserved | 2 | For future extension |
| Edge TID | 16 | Unique identifier for this Edge |
| TID 1 | 16 | First clause reference |
| TID 2 | 16 | Second clause reference |
Relation Types (4 bits = 16)
Causal Relations
| Code | Type | Description | Example |
|---|
| 0000 | CAUSE | Cause → Effect | “It rained, so I stayed home” |
| 0001 | RESULT | Effect ← Cause | “I stayed home, because it rained” |
| 0010 | CONDITION | Condition → Consequence | “If it rains, I won’t go” |
| 0011 | PURPOSE | Purpose | “We eat to live” |
Temporal/Sequential Relations
| Code | Type | Description | Example |
|---|
| 0100 | SEQUENCE | Chronological | “Had dinner, then slept” |
| 0101 | PARALLEL | Simultaneous/parallel | “Spoke while smiling” |
Contrast/Concession Relations
| Code | Type | Description | Example |
|---|
| 0110 | CONTRAST | Contrast | “A is big and B is small” |
| 0111 | CONCESSION | Concession | “Although it was hard, I did it” |
Elaboration/Background Relations
| Code | Type | Description | Example |
|---|
| 1000 | ELABORATION | Elaboration | “Specifically speaking” |
| 1001 | BACKGROUND | Background info | “For reference, the situation at that time was” |
Argumentation Relations
| Code | Type | Description | Example |
|---|
| 1010 | EVIDENCE | Evidence presentation | “Because… that is why” |
| 1011 | EVALUATION | Evaluation | “This is good/bad” |
Other Relations
| Code | Type | Description | Example |
|---|
| 1100 | SOLUTIONHOOD | Problem → Solution | “The problem is X, the solution is Y” |
| 1101 | ALTERNATIVE | Choice/alternative | “Go or not go” |
| 1110 | MEANS | Means | “Achieved it by doing this” |
| 1111 | RESERVED | Reserved | For future extension |
TID Ordering Rules
Direction is determined by TID order.
| Relation | TID 1 | TID 2 |
|---|
| CAUSE | Cause | Effect |
| RESULT | Effect | Cause |
| CONDITION | Condition | Consequence |
| PURPOSE | Action | Purpose |
| SEQUENCE | Preceding | Following |
| EVIDENCE | Evidence | Claim |
| ELABORATION | Core | Elaboration |
Multinuclear vs Nucleus-Satellite
Follows the RST distinction.
Nucleus-Satellite (Asymmetric)
| Relation | TID 1 | TID 2 |
|---|
| CAUSE | Cause (Satellite) | Effect (Nucleus) |
| CONDITION | Condition (Satellite) | Consequence (Nucleus) |
| EVIDENCE | Evidence (Satellite) | Claim (Nucleus) |
| ELABORATION | Core (Nucleus) | Elaboration (Satellite) |
Multinuclear (Symmetric)
| Relation | TID 1 | TID 2 |
|---|
| SEQUENCE | Preceding | Following |
| PARALLEL | First | Second |
| CONTRAST | First | Second |
| ALTERNATIVE | First | Second |
In symmetric relations, TID order does not indicate semantic priority.
Examples
Simple causation: “It rained, so I stayed home”
Verb Edge E01: rain(rain) | TID=0x0001
Verb Edge E02: stay(I, home) | TID=0x0002
Clause Edge:
1st: [1100 000 010] [0000] [00] - Prefix + CAUSE + Reserved
2nd: [0x0100] - Edge TID
3rd: [0x0001] - TID 1 (cause: E01)
4th: [0x0002] - TID 2 (effect: E02)
Nested Clause: “It rained so I stayed home, and therefore I studied”
Verb Edge E01: rain(rain) | TID=0x0001
Verb Edge E02: stay(I, home) | TID=0x0002
Verb Edge E03: study(I) | TID=0x0003
Clause Edge C01:
1st: [1100 000 010] [0000] [00] - Prefix + CAUSE
2nd: [0x0100] - Edge TID
3rd: [0x0001] - E01
4th: [0x0002] - E02
Clause Edge C02:
1st: [1100 000 010] [0001] [00] - Prefix + RESULT
2nd: [0x0101] - Edge TID
3rd: [0x0100] - C01 (Clause TID reference!)
4th: [0x0003] - E03
Design Rationale
Why RST-based
- Over 30 years of accumulated research
- Validated across diverse corpora
- Existing discourse parsing tools
- Language-independent
Why 4 bits (16 types)
- Covers 12+ core RST relations
- Preserves room for extension
- 3 bits (8 types) would be insufficient
Why 4-word simplification
- Direction: Determined by TID order (no separate bits needed)
- Confidence: Handled as separate metadata
- 2 reserved bits: For future extension