---
title: aback — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «aback» in the school dictionary: To be taken aback means to be surprised or shocked by something unexpected, so that you are thrown off balance. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# aback

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Sam, my, news, sharp words · **What happens:** take, mean, be, shock, throw off, shout · **To what, where:** you, I, name, She, little bird, Dad · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«aback» in the school dictionary: its meaning for a pupil and its 4 examples, every sentence parsed by Mova itself — its syntax tree, a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies, and its pragmatics clause by clause. The word in the dictionary, with its sense in the lessons: [aback in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/aback.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To be taken aback means to be surprised or shocked by something unexpected, so that you are thrown off balance.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:aback:m1:1
# text = To be taken aback means to be surprised or shocked by something unexpected, so that you are thrown off balance.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	3	mark	_	_
2	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	taken	take	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	nsubj	_	_
4	aback	aback	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	_
5	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
7	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	cop	_	_
8	surprised	surprised	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	ccomp	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	shocked	shock	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	conj	_	_
11	by	by	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	10	obl	_	_
13	unexpected	unexpected	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
15	so	so	SCONJ	IN	ExtPos=SCONJ	19	mark	_	_
16	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	15	fixed	_	_
17	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	19	nsubj:pass	_	_
18	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	19	aux:pass	_	_
19	thrown	throw	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	parataxis	_	_
20	off	off	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
21	balance	balance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | to-infinitive · passive |  |  |  |  |  | aback *property* | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP» |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | surprised *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **shock** | participle |  |  |  |  |  | by something | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 5 | **throw off** | present · passive |  | you |  |  |  | off balance | vn throw-17.1-1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: subject=Destination balance=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I was taken aback when Sam shouted my name.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:aback:x1:1
# text = I was taken aback when Sam shouted my name.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	taken	take	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	aback	aback	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	_
5	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	7	advmod	_	_
6	Sam	Sam	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	shouted	shout	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
8	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	name	name	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | past · passive |  | I |  |  |  | aback *property* | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP ADVP»: subject=Destination |
| 2 | **shout** *speech: express* | past | Sam | my name |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent name=Topic |
| 3 | **name** |  | my |  |  |  |  |  | nom name «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She was taken aback by the news.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:aback:x2:1
# text = She was taken aback by the news.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	taken	take	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	aback	aback	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	news	news	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | past · passive | the news | She |  |  |  | aback *property* | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP ADVP»: agent=Instrument subject=Destination |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The little bird was taken aback by the sharp words.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:aback:x3:1
# text = The little bird was taken aback by the sharp words.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	taken	take	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	aback	aback	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
7	by	by	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	sharp	sharp	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | past · passive | the sharp words | the little bird |  |  |  | aback *property* | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP ADVP»: agent=Instrument subject=Destination |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dad was taken aback at how late it was.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:aback:x4:1
# text = Dad was taken aback at how late it was.
1	Dad	dad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	taken	take	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	aback	aback	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	_
5	at	at	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	7	advmod	_	_
7	late	late	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	3	obl	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | past · passive |  | Dad |  |  |  | aback *property* | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP ADVP»: subject=Destination |
| 2 | **is** | past |  |  |  |  |  | late *property* | tree rules |

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**Text:** the school dictionary of Mova's schools (`world/data/dictionary-schools/`), written for Mova. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each meaning and example read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

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