---
title: cannon — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «cannon» in the school dictionary: A cannon is a big, heavy gun, usually on wheels or on a ship, that fires large metal balls or shells. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cannon/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [C](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/) / cannon

# cannon

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** cannon, that, someone, water cannon, machine, pirates · **What happens:** be, fire, cannon, move, spray, smash · **To what, where:** big heavy gun, large metal balls, machine, strong jets, cannons, ship · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A cannon is a big, heavy gun, usually on wheels or on a ship, that fires large metal balls or shells.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cannon:m1:1
# text = A cannon is a big, heavy gun, usually on wheels or on a ship, that fires large metal balls or shells.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cannon	cannon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
5	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
7	heavy	heavy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	gun	gun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	usually	usually	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
11	on	on	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	wheels	wheel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	conj	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
14	on	on	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	ship	ship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
18	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	19	nsubj	_	_
19	fires	fire	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	conj	_	_
20	large	large	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	22	amod	_	_
21	metal	metal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	compound	_	_
22	balls	ball	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	19	obj	_	_
23	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	24	cc	_	_
24	shells	shell	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	22	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a cannon | a big heavy gun and wheels or a ship |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **fire** | present | that | large metal balls or shells |  |  |  |  | vn throw-17.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ball=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 -->
To cannon into someone is to crash into them hard while moving fast.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cannon:m2:1
# text = To cannon into someone is to crash into them hard while moving fast.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	cannon	cannon	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	into	into	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
4	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	7	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	crash	crash	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
8	into	into	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obl	_	_
10	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	xcomp	_	_
11	while	while	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
12	moving	move	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	advcl	_	_
13	fast	fast	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	12	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cannon** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | someone |  |  |  |  | into them *= they*; crash, hard *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **move** | gerund | someone *not said here* |  |  |  |  | fast *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A water cannon is a machine that sprays very strong jets of water.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cannon:m3:1
# text = A water cannon is a machine that sprays very strong jets of water.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	cannon	cannon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	machine	machine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
8	sprays	spray	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
9	very	very	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	strong	strong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	jets	jet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a water cannon | a machine |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **spray** | present | a machine | strong jets of water |  |  |  |  | vn spray-9.7-1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent jet=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The pirates fired their cannons at the ship.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cannon:x1:1
# text = The pirates fired their cannons at the ship.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	pirates	pirate	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	fired	fire	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	cannons	cannon	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	ship	ship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fire** | past | the pirates | pirates's cannons |  | the ship |  |  | vn throw-17.1-1 «NP V NP PP.destinations»: agent=Agent cannon=Theme at ship=Destination |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A cannonball smashed through the castle wall.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cannon:x2:1
# text = A cannonball smashed through the castle wall.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cannonball	cannonball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	smashed	smash	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	through	through	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	castle	castle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	wall	wall	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **smash** | participle |  | a cannonball *not said here* |  | the castle wall |  |  | vn throw-17.1-1 «NP V NP PP.destinations»: agent=Agent through wall=Destination |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cannon on the hill fires once a day for the tourists.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cannon:x3:1
# text = The cannon on the hill fires once a day for the tourists.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cannon	cannon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	hill	hill	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	fires	fire	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	6	advmod	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl:unmarked	_	_
10	for	for	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	tourists	tourist	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fire** | present | the cannon on the hill |  |  |  |  | for the tourists; once *property* | vn throw-17.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He cannoned into me in the corridor and we both fell over.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cannon:x4:1
# text = He cannoned into me in the corridor and we both fell over.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	cannoned	cannon	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	into	into	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	obl	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	corridor	corridor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
9	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
10	both	both	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	fell	fall	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
12	over	over	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cannon** | past | He |  |  | the corridor |  | into me | tree rules |
| 2 | **fall over** | past | we |  |  |  |  | both, over *property* | vn occur-48.3 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He is a loose cannon; you never know what he will say.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cannon:x5:1
# text = He is a loose cannon; you never know what he will say.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	loose	loose	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	cannon	cannon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	9	punct	_	_
7	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	know	know	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
10	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	13	obj	_	_
11	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
12	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
13	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | He | a loose cannon |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **know** | present | you |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | future | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Firefighters used a water cannon on the burning barn.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cannon:x6:1
# text = Firefighters used a water cannon on the burning barn.
1	Firefighters	firefighter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	used	use	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	cannon	cannon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	burning	burning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	barn	barn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | past | Firefighters | a water cannon |  | the burning barn |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cannon=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The soldiers fired off cannons, and the boys let off crackers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cannon:x7:1
# text = The soldiers fired off cannons, and the boys let off crackers.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	soldiers	soldier	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	fired	fire	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	off	off	ADP	RP	_	3	compound:prt	_	_
5	cannons	cannon	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	boys	boy	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
10	let	let	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
11	off	off	ADP	RP	_	10	compound:prt	_	_
12	crackers	cracker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fire off** | past | the soldiers | cannons |  |  |  |  | vn throw-17.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cannon=Theme |
| 2 | **let off** | present | the boys | crackers |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cracker=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 -->
- ← previous: [cannibal](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cannibal/)
- next →: [cannonball](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cannonball/)
- ↑ back to [C in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/)