---
title: apprehend — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «apprehend» in the school dictionary: To apprehend someone is to catch and arrest them. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# apprehend

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** police, It, Officers, Security guards, She · **What happens:** apprehend, be, arrest, take, not apprehend, happen · **To what, where:** someone, them, something, thief, station, suspect

<!-- .vabout -->
«apprehend» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 6 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: [apprehend in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/apprehend.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To apprehend someone is to catch and arrest them.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apprehend:m1:1
# text = To apprehend someone is to catch and arrest them.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	apprehend	apprehend	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	advcl	_	_
3	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	catch	catch	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	arrest	arrest	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
9	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **apprehend** | to-infinitive |  | someone |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer someone=Stimulus |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | catch *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **arrest** | infinitive |  | them *= they* |  |  |  |  | vn prosecute-33.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=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}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To apprehend something is to understand it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apprehend:m2:1
# text = To apprehend something is to understand it.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	apprehend	apprehend	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	advcl	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	understand	understand	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **apprehend** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer something=Stimulus |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | understand *property* | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The police apprehended the thief at the station.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apprehend:x1:1
# text = The police apprehended the thief at the station.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	apprehended	apprehend	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	thief	thief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	station	station	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **apprehend** | past | the police | the thief |  | the station |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer thief=Stimulus |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The suspect was apprehended after a chase.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apprehend:x2:1
# text = The suspect was apprehended after a chase.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	suspect	suspect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	apprehended	apprehend	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	after	after	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	chase	chase	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **apprehend** | past · passive |  | the suspect |  |  | after a chase |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Stimulus |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It took time to apprehend the full danger.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apprehend:x3:1
# text = It took time to apprehend the full danger.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	took	take	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	apprehend	apprehend	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	acl	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	danger	danger	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | past | It |  |  |  | time |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **apprehend** | to-infinitive |  | the full danger |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer danger=Stimulus |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Officers apprehended two people.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apprehend:x4:1
# text = Officers apprehended two people.
1	Officers	officer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	apprehended	apprehend	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	4	nummod	_	_
4	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **apprehend** | past | Officers | two people |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer people=Stimulus |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Security guards cannot always apprehend shoplifters.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apprehend:x5:1
# text = Security guards cannot always apprehend shoplifters.
1	Security	security	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	guards	guard	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
5	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	6	advmod	_	_
6	apprehend	apprehend	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	shoplifters	shoplifter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **apprehend** | can | Security guards | shoplifters |  |  |  | always *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer shoplifter=Stimulus |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She quickly apprehended what was happening.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:apprehend:x6:1
# text = She quickly apprehended what was happening.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	quickly	quickly	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	apprehended	apprehend	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	6	nsubj	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	happening	happen	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **apprehend** | past | She |  |  |  |  | quickly *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 2 | **happen** | past · progressive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

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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.

<!-- /div -->

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