---
title: apparition — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «apparition» in the school dictionary: An apparition is a ghost or a strange figure that appears suddenly, especially one people think is a spirit. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# apparition

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** apparition, strange figure, one people, lovely person, children, lights · **What happens:** be, appear, think, seem, float, see · **To what, where:** ghost, spirit, sudden appearance, lovely person, white apparition, stairs · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«apparition» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 7 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: [apparition in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/apparition.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An apparition is a ghost or a strange figure that appears suddenly, especially one people think is a spirit.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apparition:m1:1
# text = An apparition is a ghost or a strange figure that appears suddenly, especially one people think is a spirit.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	apparition	apparition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	ghost	ghost	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	strange	strange	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	figure	figure	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
10	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
11	appears	appear	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	acl:relcl	_	_
12	suddenly	suddenly	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
14	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
15	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	16	nummod	_	_
16	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	nsubj	_	_
17	think	think	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
18	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	20	cop	_	_
19	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	spirit	spirit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a apparition | a ghost or a strange figure |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **appear** | present | a strange figure |  |  |  |  | suddenly *property* | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **think** *speech: other* | present | one people |  |  |  |  |  | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is a** | present |  | a spirit |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- .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}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: formal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An apparition is the sudden appearance of something unexpected.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apparition:m2:1
# text = An apparition is the sudden appearance of something unexpected.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	apparition	apparition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	sudden	sudden	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	appearance	appearance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	nmod	_	_
9	unexpected	unexpected	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a apparition | the sudden appearance |  |  |  | of something | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An apparition can also be a lovely person who suddenly seems to appear, like a vision.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apparition:m3:1
# text = An apparition can also be a lovely person who suddenly seems to appear, like a vision.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	apparition	apparition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	cop	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	lovely	lovely	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
10	suddenly	suddenly	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	seems	seem	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	_
12	to	to	PART	TO	_	13	mark	_	_
13	appear	appear	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
15	like	like	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	vision	vision	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | can | a apparition | a lovely person |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **seem** | present | a lovely person |  |  |  |  | suddenly *property* | vn seem-109-1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Theme clause=Attribute |
| 3 | **appear** | to-infinitive | a lovely person *not said here* |  |  |  |  | like a vision | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A white apparition floated down the stairs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apparition:x1:1
# text = A white apparition floated down the stairs.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	apparition	apparition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	floated	float	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	down	down	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	stairs	stair	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **float** | participle |  | a white apparition *not said here* |  | the stairs |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme down stair=Trajectory |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The children thought they saw an apparition in the old house.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apparition:x2:1
# text = The children thought they saw an apparition in the old house.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	thought	think	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	saw	see	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
6	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	apparition	apparition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	house	house	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **think** *speech: other* | past | the children |  |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **see** | past | children *= child* | a apparition |  | the old house |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer apparition=Stimulus |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The apparition vanished as the lights came on.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apparition:x3:1
# text = The apparition vanished as the lights came on.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	apparition	apparition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	vanished	vanish	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	lights	light	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
7	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
8	on	on	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **vanish** | past | the apparition |  |  |  |  |  | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **come on** | past | the lights |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The «apparition» turned out to be a curtain in the wind.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apparition:x4:1
# text = The «apparition» turned out to be a curtain in the wind.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	apparition	apparition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
5	turned	turn	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	out	out	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
8	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	cop	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	curtain	curtain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	xcomp	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	wind	wind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **turn out** | past | the apparition |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **is a** | to-infinitive | the apparition *not said here* | a curtain |  | the wind |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Old castles are said to have apparitions.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apparition:x5:1
# text = Old castles are said to have apparitions.
1	Old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	castles	castle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	said	say	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	have	have	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	apparitions	apparition	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present · passive |  | Old castles |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **have** | to-infinitive |  | apparitions |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent apparition=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The sudden apparition of a deer on the road startled Dad.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apparition:x6:1
# text = The sudden apparition of a deer on the road startled Dad.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	sudden	sudden	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	apparition	apparition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	deer	deer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	road	road	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
10	startled	startle	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	Dad	Dad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **startle** | past | the sudden apparition of a deer on the road | Dad |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus dad=Experiencer |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Like an apparition of loveliness she appeared in the soft twilight.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apparition:x7:1
# text = Like an apparition of loveliness she appeared in the soft twilight.
1	Like	like	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	apparition	apparition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	loveliness	loveliness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
6	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	appeared	appear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	soft	soft	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	twilight	twilight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **appear** | past | she |  |  | the soft twilight |  | like a apparition of loveliness | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in twilight=Location |

<!-- 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 -->

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