UniversalDependencies/UD_English-EWT#213 raised the issue of "to-do" acting as a noun:
it was a big to-do to find anyone who knew anything about it.
"To do" is a strange expression. I can't think of another to-infinitive verb that has been lexicalized as a noun (in both the fuss sense and the task item sense); closest I can think of is buying food "to go" (adverbial?). I guess the options are:
- to/PART <-mark? compound?- do/NOUN
- to/NOUN <-compound- do/NOUN
I think "do" has to be a NOUN because it is modified by a determiner and an adjective. It wouldn't make sense to call it a verb internally and a noun externally, i.e.:
- to/PART <-mark- do/VERB/ExtPos=NOUN
See also #648 #753
UniversalDependencies/UD_English-EWT#213 raised the issue of "to-do" acting as a noun:
"To do" is a strange expression. I can't think of another to-infinitive verb that has been lexicalized as a noun (in both the fuss sense and the task item sense); closest I can think of is buying food "to go" (adverbial?). I guess the options are:
I think "do" has to be a NOUN because it is modified by a determiner and an adjective. It wouldn't make sense to call it a verb internally and a noun externally, i.e.:
See also #648 #753