---
title: authorities — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «authorities» in the school dictionary: The authorities: the people or organisations in charge, such as the police, the government or the council. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# authorities

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Experts, authorities, you, school authorities, Health authorities, we · **What happens:** know, give, make, close, find, tell · **To what, where:** great deal, orders, decisions, beach, something, authorities · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The authorities: the people or organisations in charge, such as the police, the government or the council.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:authorities:m1:1
# text = The authorities: the people or organisations in charge, such as the police, the government or the council.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	authorities	authority	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	5	punct	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	organisations	organisation	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	conj	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	charge	charge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
11	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=ADP	14	case	_	_
12	as	as	ADP	IN	_	11	fixed	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	government	government	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
18	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	council	council	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Experts who know a great deal about a subject (an authority on birds).

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:authorities:m2:1
# text = Experts who know a great deal about a subject (an authority on birds).
1	Experts	expert	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	3	nsubj	_	_
3	know	know	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	deal	deal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	about	about	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	subject	subject	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
10	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	authority	authority	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	appos	_	_
13	on	on	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **know** | present | Experts | a great deal |  |  |  | about a subject | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer deal=Stimulus |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Plural of authority: the power or right to give orders or make decisions.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:authorities:m3:1
# text = Plural of authority: the power or right to give orders or make decisions.
1	Plural	plural	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	authority	authority	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	6	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	power	power	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	give	give	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	xcomp	_	_
11	orders	order	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	_
12	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	conj	_	_
14	decisions	decision	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | to-infinitive |  | orders |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent order=Theme |
| 2 | **make** | infinitive |  | decisions |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset decision=Product |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The authorities closed the beach because of sharks.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:authorities:x1:1
# text = The authorities closed the beach because of sharks.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	authorities	authority	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	closed	close	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	beach	beach	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	because	because	ADP	IN	ExtPos=ADP	8	case	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	fixed	_	_
8	sharks	shark	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **close** | past | the authorities | the beach |  |  |  | because sharks | vn crane-40.3.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent beach=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
If you find something dangerous, tell the authorities.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:authorities:x2:1
# text = If you find something dangerous, tell the authorities.
1	If	if	SCONJ	IN	_	3	mark	_	_
2	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	find	find	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	advcl	_	_
4	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	3	obj	_	_
5	dangerous	dangerous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
7	tell	tell	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	authorities	authority	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **find** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | you | something |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Topic |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* | imperative | you *not said here* | the authorities |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent authority=Recipient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The school authorities sent a letter home.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:authorities:x3:1
# text = The school authorities sent a letter home.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	authorities	authority	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	sent	send	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	home	home	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **send** | past | the school authorities | a letter home |  |  |  |  | vn confine-92-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent home=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Health authorities say we should wash our hands often.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:authorities:x4:1
# text = Health authorities say we should wash our hands often.
1	Health	health	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	authorities	authority	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	say	say	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
5	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	wash	wash	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
7	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	hands	hand	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
9	often	often	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | Health authorities |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **wash** | should | we | our hands |  |  |  | often *property* | vn floss-41.2.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hand=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She is one of the leading authorities on dinosaurs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:authorities:x5:1
# text = She is one of the leading authorities on dinosaurs.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	leading	lead	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	amod	_	_
7	authorities	authority	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nmod	_	_
8	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	dinosaurs	dinosaur	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | She | one |  |  |  | of the leading authorities on dinosaurs | tree rules |
| 2 | **lead** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn result-27.2 «NP V PP»: agent=Precondition |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The local authorities fixed the broken streetlight.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:authorities:x6:1
# text = The local authorities fixed the broken streetlight.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	local	local	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	authorities	authority	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	fixed	fix	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	broken	break	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	amod	_	_
7	streetlight	streetlight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fix** | past | the local authorities | the broken streetlight |  |  |  |  | vn shake-22.3-2 «NP V NP together»: agent=Agent streetlight=Patient |
| 2 | **break** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The lost hikers were found by the authorities.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:authorities:x7:1
# text = The lost hikers were found by the authorities.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	lost	lose	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	amod	_	_
3	hikers	hiker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	found	find	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	authorities	authority	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lose** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **find** | past · passive | the authorities | the lost hikers |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Topic |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We'll hand you over to the authorities.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:authorities:x8:1
# text = We'll hand you over to the authorities.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	'll	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	hand	hand	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	over	over	ADP	RP	_	3	compound:prt	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	authorities	authority	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hand over** | future | We | you |  | the authorities |  |  | vn send-11.1-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent you=Theme to authority=Destination |

<!-- 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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