---
title: apologise — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «apologise» in the school dictionary: To say you are sorry for something you did wrong or for something that upset or hurt someone. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# apologise

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** you, I, She, He, waiter, good apology · **What happens:** say, be, do, hurt, interrupt, apologise · **To what, where:** someone, pencil, Sam, bus driver, teacher, clean fork · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«apologise» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 8 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: [apologise in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/apologise.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To say you are sorry for something you did wrong or for something that upset or hurt someone.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apologise:m1:1
# text = To say you are sorry for something you did wrong or for something that upset or hurt someone.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	say	say	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
4	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	sorry	sorry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	ccomp	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	obl	_	_
8	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
10	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	xcomp	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
12	for	for	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	7	conj	_	_
14	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	15	nsubj	_	_
15	upset	upset	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	acl:relcl	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	hurt	hurt	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	15	conj	_	_
18	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	17	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | you |  |  |  |  | for something; sorry *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **do** | past | you |  |  |  |  | wrong *property* | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **hurt** | participle | you *not said here* | someone |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer someone=Patient |

<!-- .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.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To say sorry politely for a small trouble, like being late or interrupting.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apologise:m2:1
# text = To say sorry politely for a small trouble, like being late or interrupting.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	say	say	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	sorry	sorry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
4	politely	politely	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	trouble	trouble	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	like	like	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
11	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	12	cop	_	_
12	late	late	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	parataxis	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	interrupting	interrupt	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: apologize* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | for a small trouble; politely, sorry *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | late *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **interrupt** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I apologised to my sister for breaking her pencil.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apologise:x1:1
# text = I apologised to my sister for breaking her pencil.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	apologised	apologise	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	sister	sister	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
7	breaking	break	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
8	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	pencil	pencil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **apologise** *speech: apologize* | past | I |  |  |  |  | to my sister | tree rules |
| 2 | **break** | gerund | I *not said here* | her pencil |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer pencil=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
You should apologise to Sam for pushing him.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apologise:x2:1
# text = You should apologise to Sam for pushing him.
1	You	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	apologise	apologise	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	Sam	Sam	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
6	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
7	pushing	push	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	_
8	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **apologise** *speech: apologize* | should | You |  | Sam |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **push** | gerund | You *not said here* | Sam |  |  |  |  | vn carry-11.4-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The bus driver apologised for the delay.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apologise:x3:1
# text = The bus driver apologised for the delay.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	bus	bus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	driver	driver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	apologised	apologise	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	delay	delay	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **apologise** *speech: apologize* | participle |  | the bus driver *not said here* |  |  |  | for the delay | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She apologised for interrupting the teacher.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apologise:x4:1
# text = She apologised for interrupting the teacher.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	apologised	apologise	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	4	mark	_	_
4	interrupting	interrupt	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **apologise** *speech: apologize* | past | She |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **interrupt** | gerund | She *not said here* | the teacher |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He never apologises, even when he is wrong.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apologise:x5:1
# text = He never apologises, even when he is wrong.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	apologises	apologise	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
5	even	even	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
6	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	9	advmod	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **apologise** *speech: apologize* | present | He |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | he |  |  |  |  | wrong *property* | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"I apologise," said the waiter, and brought a clean fork.

<!-- fold The tree, 10 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apologise:x6:1
# text = "I apologise," said the waiter, and brought a clean fork.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	apologise	apologise	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
6	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	waiter	waiter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	brought	bring	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	clean	clean	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	fork	fork	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **apologise** *speech: apologize* *in a quote* | present | the waiter *= waiter* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | the waiter |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **bring** | past | the waiter *not said here* | a clean fork |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3-1 «NP V NP together»: agent=Agent fork=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A good apology says what you did and how you will fix it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apologise:x7:1
# text = A good apology says what you did and how you will fix it.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	apology	apology	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	7	obj	_	_
6	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	ccomp	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
9	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	12	advmod	_	_
10	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
11	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
12	fix	fix	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	conj	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | a good apology |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **do** | past | you |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent what=Eventuality |
| 3 | **fix** | future | you | apology |  |  |  |  | vn shake-22.3-2 «NP V NP together»: agent=Agent it=Patient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We apologised to our neighbour after the ball hit her window.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apologise:x8:1
# text = We apologised to our neighbour after the ball hit her window.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	apologised	apologise	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	neighbour	neighbour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	after	after	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	ball	ball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	hit	hit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
10	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	window	window	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **apologise** *speech: apologize* | past | We |  |  |  |  | to our neighbour | tree rules |
| 2 | **hit** | past | the ball | her window |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme window=Co-Theme |

<!-- div src -->

**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.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
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