A query interpretation system exploits semantic annotations in keyword queries over a collection of text documents, casting semantic annotations produced by text analysis engines into a formal annotation type system. The system uses the annotation type system to enumerate various interpretations of a keyword query and automatically translate a keyword query into a set of interpretations expressed in some intermediate query language. The system returns a result list of documents by combining the results of executing one or more of these interpretations. Even though the system generates and uses a complex type system, a user is able to use simple keyword queries to locate documents.