# On the Complexity of CCG Parsing

arXiv: https://arxiv.org/abs/1702.06594 · HTML: https://mlsanity.com/paper/1702.06594/

## Key facts

- Cited by 3 papers in the map (data through 14 Oct 2026).
- First posted on arXiv 21 Feb 2017.

## Built on by (most cited first, 3 of 3)

- [Something Old, Something New: Grammar-based CCG Parsing with Transformer Models](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.10044/) (2021)
- [Searching for More Efficient Dynamic Programs](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2109.06966/) (2021)
- [Strong Equivalence of TAG and CCG](https://mlsanity.com/paper/2205.07743/) (2022)

## Abstract (arXiv)

We study the parsing complexity of Combinatory Categorial Grammar (CCG) in the formalism of Vijay-Shanker and Weir (1994). As our main result, we prove that any parsing algorithm for this formalism will take in the worst case exponential time when the size of the grammar, and not only the length of the input sentence, is included in the analysis. This sets the formalism of Vijay-Shanker and Weir (1994) apart from weakly equivalent formalisms such as Tree-Adjoining Grammar (TAG), for which parsing can be performed in time polynomial in the combined size of grammar and input sentence. Our results contribute to a refined understanding of the class of mildly context-sensitive grammars, and inform the search for new, mildly context-sensitive versions of CCG.