12. The system of claim 8 , wherein the query pattern processor is further configured to replacing a first portion of each of the one or more query patterns that match the particular topic with one or more identifiers.
8. A system comprising: one or more processors; an interface that is configured to i) provide, to a plurality of users of a search system, a statement that references a particular attribute of a particular topic and ii) in response to providing the statement to the plurality of users of the search system, obtain, from the plurality of users, a collection of candidate query patterns, the query patterns including one or more query terms that are indicated by the plurality of users as terms that are useful for obtaining a value for the particular attribute of the particular topic referenced in the statement; a query pattern processor that is configured to select a subset of the candidate query patterns of the collection, generalize the one or more received query patterns to generate one or more generalized query patterns that are useful for obtaining a value for the particular attribute of other topics in addition to the particular topic and to associate the one or more generalized query patterns with the particular topic as well as one or more other topics that include the particular attribute; and the search system that is configured to obtain the value for the particular attribute of the particular topic in response to the submitted question.