---
title: begin — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «begin» in the school dictionary: To begin is to start doing something. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# begin

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** film, movie, He, She, School, you · **What happens:** begin, be, do, happen, exist, mean · **To what, where:** something, 7, 7:15, page, 's, lesson · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«begin» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 11 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: [begin in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/begin.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To begin is to start doing something.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:begin:m1:1
# text = To begin is to start doing something.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	begin	begin	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	start	start	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	doing	do	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	xcomp	_	_
7	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | start *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **do** | gerund |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Eventuality |

<!-- .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 -->
To begin is to start happening or existing: «The film begins at 7».

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:begin:m2:1
# text = To begin is to start happening or existing: «The film begins at 7».
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	begin	begin	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	start	start	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	happening	happen	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	xcomp	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	existing	exist	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	13	punct	_	_
10	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	film	film	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
13	begins	begin	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
14	at	at	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	7	7	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	13	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | start *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **happen** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **exist** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 5 | **begin** *in a quote* | present | the film |  |  | 7 |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To begin with means first, or at the start.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:begin:m3:1
# text = To begin with means first, or at the start.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	begin	begin	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	4	nsubj	_	_
3	with	with	ADP	IN	_	2	obl	_	_
4	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
8	at	at	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	start	start	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  | first *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The movie begins at 7:15.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:begin:x1:1
# text = The movie begins at 7:15.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	movie	movie	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	begins	begin	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	7:15	7:15	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | present | the movie |  |  | 7:15 |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He began with 20 marbles.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:begin:x2:1
# text = He began with 20 marbles.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	began	begin	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	with	with	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	20	20	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	marbles	marble	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | past | He |  |  |  |  | with 20 marbles | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V PP.subeventuality»: agent=Eventuality with marble=Subeventuality |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She begins reading on page 12.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:begin:x3:1
# text = She begins reading on page 12.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	begins	begin	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	reading	read	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	xcomp	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	page	page	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
6	12	12	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | present | She |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **read** | gerund | She *not said here* |  |  | page |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
School begins in 3 days.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:begin:x4:1
# text = School begins in 3 days.
1	School	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	begins	begin	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	3	3	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	days	day	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | present | School |  |  |  | day |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Let's begin our lesson.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:begin:x5:1
# text = Let's begin our lesson.
1	Let	let	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	1	obj	_	_
3	begin	begin	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	xcomp	_	_
4	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	lesson	lesson	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **let** | imperative | you *not said here* | 's |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **begin** | infinitive | 's *not said here* | our lesson |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent lesson=Eventuality |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It began to rain.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:begin:x6:1
# text = It began to rain.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	began	begin	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	rain	rain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | past | It | rain |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent rain=Eventuality |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The word «cat» begins with c.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:begin:x7:1
# text = The word «cat» begins with c.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
6	begins	begin	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	c.	c.	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | present | the word |  |  |  |  | with c. | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V PP.subeventuality»: agent=Eventuality with c.=Subeventuality |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To begin with, read the question carefully.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:begin:x8:1
# text = To begin with, read the question carefully.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	begin	begin	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	_
3	with	with	ADP	IN	_	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	read	read	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	question	question	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	carefully	carefully	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 2 | **read** | imperative | you *not said here* | the question |  |  |  | carefully *property* | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent question=Topic |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He is a beginner at chess.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:begin:x9:1
# text = He is a beginner at chess.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	beginner	beginner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	chess	chess	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | He | a beginner |  | chess |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 10 {#x10}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The story begins in a dark forest.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:begin:x10:1
# text = The story begins in a dark forest.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	begins	begin	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	dark	dark	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	forest	forest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | present | the story |  |  | a dark forest |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

## Example 11 {#x11}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Then the Sun began to shine.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:begin:x11:1
# text = Then the Sun began to shine.
1	Then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	4	advmod	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	Sun	Sun	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	began	begin	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	shine	shine	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | past | the Sun |  |  |  | then |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **shine** | to-infinitive | the Sun *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn light\_emission-43.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
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