---
title: blink — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «blink» in the school dictionary: To blink is to shut and open your eyes very quickly. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# blink

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** light, People, it, Two lights, She, cursor · **What happens:** blink, be, open, mean, go, keep · **To what, where:** eyes, eye, bright sunlight, screen, blink, her · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«blink» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 10 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: [blink in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/blink.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To blink is to shut and open your eyes very quickly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blink:m1:1
# text = To blink is to shut and open your eyes very quickly.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	blink	blink	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
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	shut	shut	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	open	open	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
8	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	eyes	eye	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	_
10	very	very	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	quickly	quickly	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **blink** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn hiccup-40.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | shut *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **open** | infinitive |  | your eyes |  |  |  | quickly *property* | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location eye=Theme |

<!-- .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 -->
A light can blink, which means go on and off quickly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blink:m2:1
# text = A light can blink, which means go on and off quickly.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	light	light	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	blink	blink	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
6	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
8	go	go	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	7	ccomp	_	_
9	on	on	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	off	off	ADV	RB	_	9	conj	_	_
12	quickly	quickly	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **blink** | can | a light |  |  |  |  |  | vn hiccup-40.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **go** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | quickly *property* | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the blink of an eye means very, very quickly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blink:m3:1
# text = In the blink of an eye means very, very quickly.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	blink	blink	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	eye	eye	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	very	very	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	very	very	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	quickly	quickly	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  | in the blink of a eye; quickly *property* | vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Pivot in blink=Attribute |
| 2 | **blink** |  |  | a eye |  |  |  |  | nom blink «act transitive»: of=patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
People blink about 15 times a minute.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blink:x1:1
# text = People blink about 15 times a minute.
1	People	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	blink	blink	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	about	about	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	15	15	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	times	time	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl:unmarked	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	minute	minute	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **blink** | present | People |  |  |  | time |  | vn hiccup-40.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The light blinks every 4 seconds.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blink:x2:1
# text = The light blinks every 4 seconds.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	light	light	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	blinks	blink	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	6	det	_	_
5	4	4	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	seconds	second	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **blink** | present | the light |  |  |  | second |  | vn hiccup-40.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
How many times does it blink in 1 minute?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blink:x3:1
# text = How many times does it blink in 1 minute?
1	How	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	2	advmod	_	_
2	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	times	time	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl:unmarked	_	_
4	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
5	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	blink	blink	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	1	1	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	9	nummod	_	_
9	minute	minute	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **blink** | present · do-support | it |  |  |  | minute; time |  | vn hiccup-40.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Two lights blink at once.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blink:x4:1
# text = Two lights blink at once.
1	Two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	lights	light	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	blink	blink	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **blink** | present | Two lights |  |  |  |  |  | vn light\_emission-43.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme at once=Location |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She blinked in the bright sunlight.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blink:x5:1
# text = She blinked in the bright sunlight.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	blinked	blink	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	bright	bright	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	sunlight	sunlight	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 | **blink** | past | She |  |  | the bright sunlight |  |  | vn light\_emission-43.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in sunlight=Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Blinking keeps your eyes wet and clean.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blink:x6:1
# text = Blinking keeps your eyes wet and clean.
1	Blinking	blink	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	nsubj	_	_
2	keeps	keep	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	eyes	eye	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	wet	wet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	clean	clean	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **blink** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn hiccup-40.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **keep** | present |  | your eyes |  |  |  | wet *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent eye=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cursor blinks on the screen.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blink:x7:1
# text = The cursor blinks on the screen.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cursor	cursor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	blinks	blink	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	screen	screen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **blink** | present | the cursor |  |  | the screen |  |  | vn light\_emission-43.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on screen=Location |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The magic trick was over in the blink of an eye.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blink:x8:1
# text = The magic trick was over in the blink of an eye.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	magic	magic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	trick	trick	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
5	over	over	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	blink	blink	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	eye	eye	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the magic trick |  |  | the blink |  | of a eye; over *property* | tree rules |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He answered without blinking.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blink:x9:1
# text = He answered without blinking.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	answered	answer	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	without	without	SCONJ	IN	_	4	mark	_	_
4	blinking	blink	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **answer** *speech: assert* | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn reciprocate-112-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **blink** | gerund | He *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn hiccup-40.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 10 {#x10}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The stars saw her, and blinked at her.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blink:x10:1
# text = The stars saw her, and blinked at her.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	stars	star	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	saw	see	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	blinked	blink	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
8	at	at	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **see** | past | the stars | her *= she* |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer she=Stimulus |
| 2 | **blink** | past | the stars *not said here* |  |  |  |  | at her *= she* | vn light\_emission-43.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme at she=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 -->

<!-- pn -->
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