Roleset trace.01 Verbnet Class: 1 "copy":

Roles:

Arg0:copier, agent


Arg1:original


Arg2:copy

Examples:

person: ns tense: past aspect: ns voice: active form: full


all args (-)
John traced the diagram onto tissue paper.
Arg0:	John
REL:	traced
Arg1:	the diagram
Arg2-onto:	tissue paper

In the absense of arg2 the two senses can be very difficult to distinguish, since both are essentially "follow the lines". The distinction might ultimately come down to the semantic ontology of the arg1--is it a picture?

Roleset trace.02 Verbnet Class: NONE "follow to the source":

Roles:

Arg0:follower


Arg1:thing followed


Arg2:source

Examples:

person: ns tense: past aspect: ns voice: active form: full


all args (-)
Douglas Madison, a corporate trader with Bank of America in Los Angeles, traced the dollar's recent solid performance against the yen to purchases of securities by Japanese insurance companies and trust banks and the sense that another wave of investment is waiting in the wings.
Arg0:	Douglas Madison, a corporate trader with Bank of America in Los Angeles,
REL:	traced
Arg1:	the dollar's recent solid performance against the yen
Arg2-to:	purchases of securities by Japanese insurance companies and trust banks and the sense that another wave of investment is waiting in the wings

person: ns tense: ns aspect: ns voice: ns form: infinitive


lacking source (-)
The personal antics of agency Director Amadou-Mahtar M'Bow drew much attention, such as when several of his top aides were uncovered as KGB plants and ejected from France and when a mysterious office fire was set just before Congress sent accountants *trace* *trace* to trace U.S. funds.
Arg0:	*trace* -> *trace* -> accountants
REL:	trace
Arg1:	U.S. funds

Whence "trace chain".