---
title: babbling — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «babbling» in the school dictionary: Babbling is talking quickly in a silly, excited or confusing way, so it is hard to understand or not very sensible. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# babbling

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Babbling, babies, babbling brook, water, baby, He · **What happens:** talk, be, understand, not be, say, make · **To what, where:** silly way, real words, soft continuous sound, stones, cot, babbling brook · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Babbling is talking quickly in a silly, excited or confusing way, so it is hard to understand or not very sensible.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:babbling:m1:1
# text = Babbling is talking quickly in a silly, excited or confusing way, so it is hard to understand or not very sensible.
1	Babbling	babbling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	talking	talk	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	quickly	quickly	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
7	silly	silly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
9	excited	excited	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	conj	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	confusing	confusing	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	conj	_	_
12	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
14	so	so	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	17	expl	_	_
16	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	17	cop	_	_
17	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	parataxis	_	_
18	to	to	PART	TO	_	19	mark	_	_
19	understand	understand	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	17	xcomp	_	_
20	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	23	cc	_	_
21	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	23	advmod	_	_
22	very	very	ADV	RB	_	23	advmod	_	_
23	sensible	sensible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **talk** | present · progressive | Babbling |  |  | a silly way |  | quickly *property* | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | hard *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **understand** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 4 | **not** **be** |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | 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}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Babbling is the sound babies make — «ba-ba-ba, da-da» — before they can say real words.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:babbling:m2:1
# text = Babbling is the sound babies make — «ba-ba-ba, da-da» — before they can say real words.
1	Babbling	babbling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	babies	baby	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
6	make	make	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	13	punct	_	_
8	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	ba	ba	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	ba	ba	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	ba	ba	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
15	da	da	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	da	da	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	_
19	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	23	punct	_	_
20	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	23	mark	_	_
21	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	23	nsubj	_	_
22	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	23	aux	_	_
23	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	parataxis	_	_
24	real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	25	amod	_	_
25	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	23	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Babbling |  |  |  |  | make *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | can | babies *= baby* | real words |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent word=Topic |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A babbling brook or stream makes a soft, bubbling, continuous sound as water runs over stones.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:babbling:m3:1
# text = A babbling brook or stream makes a soft, bubbling, continuous sound as water runs over stones.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	babbling	babbling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	brook	brook	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	stream	stream	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
6	makes	make	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
8	soft	soft	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	bubbling	bubble	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
12	continuous	continuous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
14	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
15	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nsubj	_	_
16	runs	run	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	advcl	_	_
17	over	over	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	stones	stone	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present | a babbling brook or stream | a soft continuous sound |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset sound=Product |
| 2 | **bubble** | gerund | a babbling brook or stream *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn substance\_emission-43.4-1 «NP V»: agent=Source |
| 3 | **run** | present | water |  |  | stones |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme over stone=Trajectory |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The baby was babbling happily in her cot.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:babbling:x1:1
# text = The baby was babbling happily in her cot.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	baby	baby	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	babbling	babble	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	happily	happily	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	cot	cot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **babble** | past · progressive | the baby |  |  | baby's cot |  | happily *property* | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in cot=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He was so nervous he started babbling.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:babbling:x2:1
# text = He was so nervous he started babbling.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	so	so	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	nervous	nervous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	started	start	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
7	babbling	babble	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | He |  |  |  |  | nervous *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **start** | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 3 | **babble** | gerund | he *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We sat beside a babbling brook.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:babbling:x3:1
# text = We sat beside a babbling brook.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sat	sit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	beside	beside	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	babbling	babbling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	brook	brook	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sit** | past | We |  |  | a babbling brook |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent beside brook=Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Stop babbling and tell me slowly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:babbling:x4:1
# text = Stop babbling and tell me slowly.
1	Stop	stop	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	babbling	babbling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	tell	tell	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	1	conj	_	_
5	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	iobj	_	_
6	slowly	slowly	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stop** | imperative | you *not said here* | babbling |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Subeventuality babbling=Eventuality |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* | infinitive | you *not said here* |  | me |  |  | slowly *property* | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent i=Recipient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Babbling is how babies practise sounds.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:babbling:x5:1
# text = Babbling is how babies practise sounds.
1	Babbling	babbling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	5	advmod	_	_
4	babies	baby	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
5	practise	practise	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
6	sounds	sound	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** | present | Babbling |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **practise** | present | babies | sounds |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The excited children were babbling about the trip.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:babbling:x6:1
# text = The excited children were babbling about the trip.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	excited	excited	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
4	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	babbling	babble	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	trip	trip	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **babble** | past · progressive | the excited children |  |  |  |  | about the trip | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent about trip=Topic |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I could hear the stream babbling under the bridge.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:babbling:x7:1
# text = I could hear the stream babbling under the bridge.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	hear	hear	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	stream	stream	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	babbling	babble	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	acl	_	_
7	under	under	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	bridge	bridge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hear** | could | I | the stream |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer stream=Stimulus |
| 2 | **babble** | gerund | the stream *not said here* |  |  | the bridge |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme under bridge=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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