---
title: comma — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «comma» in the school dictionary: A comma is a punctuation mark (,) that shows a short pause or separates parts of a sentence. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# comma

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** comma, that, Commas, threes, you, 's · **What happens:** be, show, separate, make, read, use · **To what, where:** punctuation mark, short pause, parts, things, list, threes · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A comma is a punctuation mark (,) that shows a short pause or separates parts of a sentence.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:comma:m1:1
# text = A comma is a punctuation mark (,) that shows a short pause or separates parts of a sentence.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	comma	comma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	punctuation	punctuation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	mark	mark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	11	punct	_	_
10	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
11	shows	show	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	parataxis	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	pause	pause	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
15	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	separates	separate	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	conj	_	_
17	parts	part	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	obj	_	_
18	of	of	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	sentence	sentence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a comma | a punctuation mark |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **show** | present | that | a short pause |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent pause=Recipient |
| 3 | **separate** | present | that *not said here* | parts of a sentence |  |  |  |  | vn separate-23.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent part=Patient |

<!-- .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 -->
Commas separate things in a list: «eggs, milk and bread».

<!-- fold The tree, 10 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:comma:m2:1
# text = Commas separate things in a list: «eggs, milk and bread».
1	Commas	comma	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	separate	separate	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	list	list	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	9	punct	_	_
8	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	eggs	egg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
11	milk	milk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	bread	bread	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **separate** | present | Commas | things |  |  |  | in a list *goal* | vn classify-29.10 «NP V NP PP.goal»: agent=Agent thing=Theme in list=Goal |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In numbers, a comma groups digits in threes to make them easy to read: «1,000,000»; in many European countries a comma is used as the decimal point instead.

<!-- fold The tree, 28 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:comma:m3:1
# text = In numbers, a comma groups digits in threes to make them easy to read: «1,000,000»; in many European countries a comma is used as the decimal point instead.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	numbers	number	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	28	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	comma	comma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	groups	group	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	compound	_	_
7	digits	digit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	appos	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	threes	three	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	acl	_	_
12	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	_
13	easy	easy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	xcomp	_	_
14	to	to	PART	TO	_	15	mark	_	_
15	read	read	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	18	punct	_	_
17	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	1,000,000	1,000,000	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	15	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
21	in	in	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
22	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	24	amod	_	_
23	European	European	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	24	amod	_	_
24	countries	country	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	28	obl	_	_
25	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	26	det	_	_
26	comma	comma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	28	nsubj:pass	_	_
27	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	28	aux:pass	_	_
28	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
29	as	as	ADP	IN	_	32	case	_	_
30	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	32	det	_	_
31	decimal	decimal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	32	amod	_	_
32	point	point	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	28	obl	_	_
33	instead	instead	ADV	RB	_	28	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
34	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	28	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | to-infinitive |  | threes *= three* |  |  |  | easy *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset they=Product |
| 2 | **read** | to-infinitive | threes *= three* *not said here* | 1,000,000 |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent 1,000,000=Topic |
| 3 | **use** | present · passive |  | a comma |  | numbers |  | in many European countries; as the decimal point; instead *property* | vn spend\_time-104 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: subject=Duration as point=Attribute |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Put a comma between the items in a list.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:comma:x1:1
# text = Put a comma between the items in a list.
1	Put	put	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	comma	comma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	between	between	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	items	item	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nmod	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	list	list	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **put** | imperative | you *not said here* | a comma |  | a list |  | between the items | vn put-9.1-2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent comma=Theme in list=Destination |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Let's eat, Grandma!» needs a comma, or it sounds like we are eating Grandma.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:comma:x2:1
# text = «Let's eat, Grandma!» needs a comma, or it sounds like we are eating Grandma.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Let	let	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	eat	eat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	Grandma	grandma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
9	needs	need	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	comma	comma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
14	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
15	sounds	sound	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	parataxis	_	_
16	like	like	SCONJ	IN	_	19	mark	_	_
17	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	19	nsubj	_	_
18	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	19	aux	_	_
19	eating	eat	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	15	advcl	_	_
20	Grandma	grandma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **let** *in a quote* | infinitive |  | 's |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **eat** *in a quote* | infinitive | 's *not said here* | Grandma |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent grandma=Patient |
| 3 | **need** | present |  | a comma |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **sound** | present | it |  |  |  |  |  | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |
| 5 | **eat** | present · progressive | we | Grandma |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent grandma=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
After a fronted adverbial, put a comma: «Later that day, it rained.»

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:comma:x3:1
# text = After a fronted adverbial, put a comma: «Later that day, it rained.»
1	After	after	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	fronted	front	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	amod	_	_
4	adverbial	adverbial	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
6	put	put	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	comma	comma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	16	punct	_	_
10	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	Later	late	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	13	advmod	_	_
12	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	13	det	_	_
13	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
16	rained	rain	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **front** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **put** | imperative | you *not said here* | a comma |  |  | after a fronted adverbial |  | vn invest-13.5.4-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent comma=Goal |
| 3 | **rain** *in a quote* | past | it |  |  |  | day |  | vn weather-57 «It V PP.theme» |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My sister, who loves horses, rides every Saturday.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:comma:x4:1
# text = My sister, who loves horses, rides every Saturday.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	sister	sister	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
4	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	5	nsubj	_	_
5	loves	love	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
6	horses	horse	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
8	rides	ride	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	10	det	_	_
10	Saturday	Saturday	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **love** | present | My sister | horses |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer horse=Stimulus |
| 2 | **ride** | present | My sister |  |  |  | saturday |  | vn nonvehicle-51.4.2 «NP.agent V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Write ten thousand as 10,000.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:comma:x5:1
# text = Write ten thousand as 10,000.
1	Write	write	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	ten	ten	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	3	compound	_	_
3	thousand	thousand	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	1	obj	_	_
4	as	as	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	10,000	10000	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write** | imperative | you *not said here* | ten thousand |  |  |  | 10,000 *obl* | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent thousand=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The point (2, 5) is two across and five up.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:comma:x6:1
# text = The point (2, 5) is two across and five up.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	point	point	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
3	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	2	2	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	2	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	5	5	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	4	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	4	punct	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	0	root	_	_
10	across	across	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	five	five	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	9	conj	_	_
13	up	up	ADP	RP	_	12	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the point | two |  |  |  | across *property* | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A comma shows the reader where to take a short breath.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:comma:x7:1
# text = A comma shows the reader where to take a short breath.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	comma	comma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	shows	show	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	reader	reader	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	iobj	_	_
6	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	8	advmod	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	take	take	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	acl:relcl	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	breath	breath	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | present | a comma |  | the reader |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent reader=Recipient |
| 2 | **take** | to-infinitive | a comma *not said here* | a short breath |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent breath=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 -->

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