---
title: arrears — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «arrears» in the school dictionary: Money that is owed and should have been paid already: rent arrears. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# arrears

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** family, formal club, club, He, rent, 500 dollars · **What happens:** owe, pay, fall, be, pay off, say · **To what, where:** Money, payments, arrears, end, two months, Workers · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«arrears» in the school dictionary: its 3 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: [arrears in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/arrears.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Money that is owed and should have been paid already: rent arrears.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:arrears:m1:1
# text = Money that is owed and should have been paid already: rent arrears.
1	Money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	owed	owe	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
6	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
7	have	have	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	aux	_	_
8	been	be	AUX	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	9	aux:pass	_	_
9	paid	pay	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	conj	_	_
10	already	already	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	13	punct	_	_
12	rent	rent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	_
13	arrears	arrear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **owe** | present · passive |  | Money |  |  |  | rent arrears *obl* | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: subject=Theme |
| 2 | **pay** | should · perfect · passive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP» |

<!-- .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 -->
In arrears: late with payments that are owed.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:arrears:m2:1
# text = In arrears: late with payments that are owed.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	arrears	arrear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	6	punct	_	_
4	late	late	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	6	advmod	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	payments	payment	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj:pass	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj:pass	_	_
8	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux:pass	_	_
9	owed	owe	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **owe** | present · passive |  | payments |  | arrears |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: subject=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Paid in arrears: paid at the end of a period of work, not at the start.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:arrears:m3:1
# text = Paid in arrears: paid at the end of a period of work, not at the start.
1	Paid	pay	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
2	in	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	arrears	arrear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	5	punct	_	_
5	paid	pay	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	end	end	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	period	period	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
15	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	18	advmod	_	_
16	at	at	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	start	start	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pay** | participle |  |  |  | arrears |  |  | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **pay** | participle |  | arrears *not said here* |  |  | at the end of a period of work and the start |  | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The family fell into arrears with the rent.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:arrears:x1:1
# text = The family fell into arrears with the rent.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	family	family	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	fell	fall	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	into	into	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	arrears	arrear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	rent	rent	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 | **fall** | past | the family |  |  |  |  | into arrears *result*; with the rent | vn become-109.1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient into arrear=Result |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
(formal) The club is two months in arrears with its payments.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:arrears:x2:1
# text = (formal) The club is two months in arrears with its payments.
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	formal	formal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	2	punct	_	_
4	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	club	club	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	months	month	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	arrears	arrear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nmod	_	_
11	with	with	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	payments	payment	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the formal club | two months |  | arrears with club's payments |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **pay** |  | club |  |  |  |  |  | nom payment «possession transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He paid off all his arrears by the summer.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:arrears:x3:1
# text = He paid off all his arrears by the summer.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	paid	pay	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	off	off	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	6	det:predet	_	_
5	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	arrears	arrear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
7	by	by	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	summer	summer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pay off** | past | He | his arrears |  |  | summer |  | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent arrear=Asset |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Workers are paid monthly in arrears, at the end of each month.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:arrears:x4:1
# text = Workers are paid monthly in arrears, at the end of each month.
1	Workers	worker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	paid	pay	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	monthly	monthly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	arrears	arrear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	at	at	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	end	end	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	parataxis	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	13	det	_	_
13	month	month	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pay** | present · passive |  | Workers |  | arrears |  | monthly *property* | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Asset |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
If the rent is 500 dollars a month and two months are unpaid, the arrears are 1,000 dollars.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:arrears:x5:1
# text = If the rent is 500 dollars a month and two months are unpaid, the arrears are 1,000 dollars.
1	If	if	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	rent	rent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	500	500	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	dollars	dollar	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	nsubj	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	month	month	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod:unmarked	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
10	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	11	nummod	_	_
11	months	month	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	conj	_	_
12	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	cop	_	_
13	unpaid	unpaid	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	arrears	arrear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	19	nsubj	_	_
17	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	19	cop	_	_
18	1,000	1000	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	19	nummod	_	_
19	dollars	dollar	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | the rent | 500 dollars and two months |  |  | month |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | 500 dollars and two months |  |  |  |  | unpaid *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is a** | present | the arrears | 1,000 dollars |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The letter said the electricity bill was in arrears.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:arrears:x6:1
# text = The letter said the electricity bill was in arrears.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	electricity	electricity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	bill	bill	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	arrears	arrear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | the letter | the electricity bill |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent bill=Topic |
| 2 | **is** | past |  |  |  | arrears |  |  | 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.

<!-- /div -->

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