---
title: brethren — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «brethren» in the school dictionary: Fellow members of a church or religious group, used to address them in old or formal language ("Dearly beloved brethren"). Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# brethren

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** preacher, Joseph, monks, He, farmers, old hymn · **What happens:** use, address, begin, forgive, pray, greet · **To what, where:** Fellow members, church, old language, brethren, Bible, church meeting · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: church, Bible — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Fellow members of a church or religious group, used to address them in old or formal language ("Dearly beloved brethren").

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:brethren:m1:1
# text = Fellow members of a church or religious group, used to address them in old or formal language ("Dearly beloved brethren").
1	Fellow	fellow	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	members	member	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	church	church	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
7	religious	religious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	group	group	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl:relcl	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	address	address	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	xcomp	_	_
13	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	_
14	in	in	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
15	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	formal	formal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	conj	_	_
18	language	language	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	_
19	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	23	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	23	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	Dearly	dearly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	23	amod	_	_
22	beloved	beloved	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	23	amod	_	_
23	brethren	brethren	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	23	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	23	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | participle |  | Fellow members of a church or religious group *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **address** | to-infinitive |  | church |  | old language |  |  | vn illustrate-25.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=Destination |

<!-- .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}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: old-fashioned — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Brothers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:brethren:m2:1
# text = Brothers.
1	Brothers	brother	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

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

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Members of the same group or profession.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:brethren:m3:1
# text = Members of the same group or profession.
1	Members	member	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	same	same	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	group	group	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	profession	profession	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The preacher began, "My dear brethren."

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:brethren:x1:1
# text = The preacher began, "My dear brethren."
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	preacher	preacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	began	begin	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
7	dear	dear	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	brethren	brethren	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	8	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the Bible, Joseph forgave his brethren.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:brethren:x2:1
# text = In the Bible, Joseph forgave his brethren.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	Bible	Bible	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	Joseph	Joseph	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	forgave	forgive	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	brethren	brethren	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **forgive** | past | Joseph | Joseph's brethren |  | the Bible |  |  | vn judgment-33.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent brethren=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The monks prayed with their brethren every morning.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:brethren:x3:1
# text = The monks prayed with their brethren every morning.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	monks	monk	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	prayed	pray	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	brethren	brethren	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
7	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	8	det	_	_
8	morning	morning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pray** | past | the monks |  |  |  | morning | with monks's brethren | vn long-32.2 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Pivot |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He greeted his brethren at the church meeting.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:brethren:x4:1
# text = He greeted his brethren at the church meeting.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	greeted	greet	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	brethren	brethren	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	church	church	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	meeting	meeting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **greet** *speech: greet* | past | He | his brethren |  | the church meeting |  |  | vn judgment-33.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent brethren=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The farmers helped their brethren in the next valley.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:brethren:x5:1
# text = The farmers helped their brethren in the next valley.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	farmers	farmer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	helped	help	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	brethren	brethren	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	next	next	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	valley	valley	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **help** | past | the farmers | farmers's brethren |  | the next valley |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent brethren=Beneficiary |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The old hymn calls all Christians brethren.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:brethren:x6:1
# text = The old hymn calls all Christians brethren.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	hymn	hymn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	calls	call	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	7	det	_	_
6	Christians	Christian	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	7	compound	_	_
7	brethren	brethren	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | present | the old hymn | all Christians brethren |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent brethren=Recipient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The judge was respected by her legal brethren.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:brethren:x7:1
# text = The judge was respected by her legal brethren.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	judge	judge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	respected	respect	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
7	legal	legal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	brethren	brethren	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 | **respect** | past · passive | judge's legal brethren | the judge |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer subject=Stimulus |

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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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