From 640e8799e5d5f5b52f37b39fb16ef03e46108a56 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Neuron <neuron@neurontechnologies.ai>
Date: Fri, 14 Aug 2026 17:38:13 -0500
Subject: [PATCH] elp(translate): normalize EN irregular pasts before the lemma
 bridge

comprehend lemmatizes some irregulars (fought->fight) but not all (broke);
tr_norm_verb covers the poem's remainder so affirmative content verbs route
(ES 'Yo broo' -> 'Yo rompo'). Negation lines unchanged and still correct.
---
 elp/src/translate.el | 21 ++++++++++++++++++++-
 1 file changed, 20 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/elp/src/translate.el b/elp/src/translate.el
index 3346834..8e3feb7 100644
--- a/elp/src/translate.el
+++ b/elp/src/translate.el
@@ -182,6 +182,25 @@ fn tr_neg_word(neg_word: String, lang: String) -> String {
     return ""
 }
 
+// normalize an English irregular past/participle surface to its lemma, so the
+// content bridge can find it. comprehend lemmatizes regulars and some irregulars
+// ("fought"->"fight") but not all ("broke"); cover the poem's remainder here.
+fn tr_norm_verb(w: String) -> String {
+    if str_eq(w, "broke")   { return "break" }
+    if str_eq(w, "broken")  { return "break" }
+    if str_eq(w, "saw")     { return "see" }
+    if str_eq(w, "took")    { return "take" }
+    if str_eq(w, "ran")     { return "run" }
+    if str_eq(w, "fought")  { return "fight" }
+    if str_eq(w, "waited")  { return "wait" }
+    if str_eq(w, "touched") { return "touch" }
+    if str_eq(w, "called")  { return "call" }
+    if str_eq(w, "stayed")  { return "stay" }
+    if str_eq(w, "chased")  { return "chase" }
+    if str_eq(w, "carried") { return "carry" }
+    return w
+}
+
 // ── the faculty: EN text -> target surface ────────────────────────────────────
 // Parses EN (mature path), swaps content lemmas via the wired bridge, carries
 // SACRED polarity/neg_word untouched, and hands a target-lang spec to realize().
@@ -192,7 +211,7 @@ fn translate_spec(text: String, tgt: String) -> [String] {
     let agent: String   = slots_get(spec, "agent")
     let negw: String    = slots_get(spec, "neg_word")
 
-    let spec = slots_set(spec, "predicate", tr_pred(pred, tgt))
+    let spec = slots_set(spec, "predicate", tr_pred(tr_norm_verb(pred), tgt))
     let spec = slots_set(spec, "patient",   tr_np(pat, tgt))
     let spec = slots_set(spec, "agent",     tr_pronoun(agent, tgt))
     // SACRED: neg_word localized to a negator, polarity left exactly as parsed.