---
title: chattering — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «chattering» in the school dictionary: Talking quickly and a lot about small, unimportant things: «The girls were chattering in the corridor.». Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# chattering

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** girls, you, teeth, We, teacher, Monkeys · **What happens:** talk, chatter, knock together, be, make, repeat · **To what, where:** corridor, quick high repeated sounds, quick rattling noises, trees, roof, another · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«chattering» in the school dictionary: its 4 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: [chattering in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/chattering.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Talking quickly and a lot about small, unimportant things: «The girls were chattering in the corridor.».

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chattering:m1:1
# text = Talking quickly and a lot about small, unimportant things: «The girls were chattering in the corridor.».
1	Talking	talk	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	16	advcl	_	_
2	quickly	quickly	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	lot	lot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	conj	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
7	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
9	unimportant	unimportant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	1	punct	_	_
12	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	girls	girl	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	nsubj	_	_
15	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	16	aux	_	_
16	chattering	chatter	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
17	in	in	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	corridor	corridor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	16	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **talk** | gerund | the girls *not said here* |  |  |  |  | quickly *property* | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **chatter** *in a quote* | past · progressive | the girls |  |  | the corridor |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in corridor=Location |

<!-- .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: of teeth — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Knocking together quickly because you are cold or scared: «My teeth were chattering.».

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chattering:m2:1
# text = Knocking together quickly because you are cold or scared: «My teeth were chattering.».
1	Knocking	knock	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	csubj	_	_
2	together	together	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
3	quickly	quickly	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
4	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
5	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
6	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	cold	cold	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	scared	scared	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	15	punct	_	_
11	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	nsubj	_	_
14	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	aux	_	_
15	chattering	chatter	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	7	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **knock together** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | quickly, together *property* | vn split-23.2 «NP V apart»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **is** | present | you |  |  |  |  | cold *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **be** |  | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **chatter** *in a quote* | past · progressive | My teeth |  |  |  |  |  | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: of birds, monkeys, squirrels — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Making quick, high, repeated sounds.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chattering:m3:1
# text = Making quick, high, repeated sounds.
1	Making	make	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
2	quick	quick	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	high	high	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
6	repeated	repeat	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	amod	_	_
7	sounds	sound	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | gerund |  | quick high repeated sounds |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset sound=Product |
| 2 | **repeat** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: of machines — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Making quick rattling noises.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chattering:m4:1
# text = Making quick rattling noises.
1	Making	make	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
2	quick	quick	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	rattling	rattling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	noises	noise	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | gerund |  | quick rattling noises |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset noise=Product |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We were chattering when the teacher walked in.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chattering:x1:1
# text = We were chattering when the teacher walked in.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	chattering	chatter	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	7	mark	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	walked	walk	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
8	in	in	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **chatter** | past · progressive | We |  |  |  |  |  | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **walk in** | past | the teacher |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My teeth were chattering after the swim in the cold sea.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chattering:x2:1
# text = My teeth were chattering after the swim in the cold sea.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	chattering	chatter	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	after	after	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	swim	swim	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	cold	cold	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **chatter** | past · progressive | My teeth |  |  |  | after the swim in the cold sea |  | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Monkeys were chattering in the trees.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chattering:x3:1
# text = Monkeys were chattering in the trees.
1	Monkeys	monkey	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	chattering	chatter	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	trees	tree	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Stop chattering and listen, please.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chattering:x4:1
# text = Stop chattering and listen, please.
1	Stop	stop	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	chattering	chatter	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	1	xcomp	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	listen	listen	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	1	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
6	please	please	INTJ	UH	_	1	discourse	_	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* |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Affector clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **chatter** | gerund | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **listen** | infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The magpies kept chattering on the roof.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chattering:x5:1
# text = The magpies kept chattering on the roof.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	magpies	magpie	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	kept	keep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	chattering	chatter	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	xcomp	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	roof	roof	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | past | the magpies |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **chatter** | gerund | the magpies *not said here* |  |  | the roof |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on roof=Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The old engine was chattering loudly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chattering:x6:1
# text = The old engine was chattering loudly.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	engine	engine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	chattering	chatter	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
6	loudly	loudly	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **chatter** | past · progressive | the old engine |  |  |  |  | loudly *property* | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
‘Yes, I am so cold that my teeth are chattering,’ said another.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chattering:x7:1
# text = ‘Yes, I am so cold that my teeth are chattering,’ said another.
1	‘	'	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	7	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
5	am	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	so	so	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	cold	cold	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	nsubj	_	_
8	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
9	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nsubj	_	_
11	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
12	chattering	chatter	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	7	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	’	'	PUNCT	''	_	7	punct	_	_
15	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
16	another	another	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	15	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	15	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | I |  |  |  |  | cold *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **chatter** | present · progressive | my teeth |  |  |  |  |  | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | cold | another |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent another=Topic |

<!-- 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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