---
title: cur — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «cur» in the school dictionary: A cur is a dog of no special breed, especially a bad-tempered or dirty one. 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/cur/)

<!-- 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/) / cur

# cur

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** cur, Calling, man, village curs, Fury, Mouse · **What happens:** be, temper, call, mean, bark, chase · **To what, where:** dog, man, mangy cur, cart, cur, teeth · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«cur» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 6 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: [cur in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/cur.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A cur is a dog of no special breed, especially a bad-tempered or dirty one.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cur:m1:1
# text = A cur is a dog of no special breed, especially a bad-tempered or dirty one.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cur	cur	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	9	det	_	_
8	special	special	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	breed	breed	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
11	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
13	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	tempered	temper	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	18	amod	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	dirty	dirty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a cur | a dog and a tempered dirty one |  |  |  | of no special breed | tree rules |
| 2 | **temper** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- .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, insulting — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Calling a man a cur means he is mean, cowardly or worthless.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cur:m2:1
# text = Calling a man a cur means he is mean, cowardly or worthless.
1	Calling	call	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	csubj	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	cur	cur	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
6	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	mean	mean	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
11	cowardly	cowardly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	conj	_	_
12	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	worthless	worthless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | gerund |  | a man |  |  |  |  | vn dub-29.3.2 «NP V NP NP»: agent=Agent man=Theme cur=Result |
| 2 | **mean** | present | Calling |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is** | present | man |  |  |  |  | mean *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **be** |  | man *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **be** |  | man *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A mangy cur barked at the beggar.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cur:x1:1
# text = A mangy cur barked at the beggar.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	mangy	mangy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	cur	cur	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	barked	bark	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	beggar	beggar	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 | **bark** | participle |  | a mangy cur *not said here* |  |  |  | at the beggar | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V PP.stimulus»: agent=Agent at beggar=Stimulus |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Out of my way, you cowardly cur!»

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cur:x2:1
# text = «Out of my way, you cowardly cur!»
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Out	out	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
7	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	cowardly	cowardly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	cur	cur	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The village curs chased the cart.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cur:x3:1
# text = The village curs chased the cart.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	village	village	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	curs	cur	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	chased	chase	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	cart	cart	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **chase** | past | the village curs | the cart |  |  |  |  | vn chase-51.6 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cart=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cur snarled and showed its teeth.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cur:x4:1
# text = The cur snarled and showed its teeth.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cur	cur	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	snarled	snarl	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
5	showed	show	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **snarl** | participle |  | the cur *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **show** | past | the cur | cur's teeth |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent tooth=Recipient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Only a cur would hit someone smaller.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cur:x5:1
# text = Only a cur would hit someone smaller.
1	Only	only	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	cur	cur	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	hit	hit	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	obj	_	_
7	smaller	small	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hit** | would | a cur | someone |  |  |  | small *property* | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme someone=Co-Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Fury, the dog in the Mouse's tale, acts as judge and jury.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:cur:x6:1
# text = Fury, the dog in the Mouse's tale, acts as judge and jury.
1	Fury	Fury	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	appos	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	Mouse	Mouse	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	's	's	PART	POS	_	7	case	_	_
9	tale	tale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
11	acts	act	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
12	as	as	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	judge	judge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	jury	jury	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **act** | present | Fury |  |  |  |  | as judge and jury | vn masquerade-29.6-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Agent as judge=Attribute |
| 2 | **tell** |  | the Mouse |  |  |  |  |  | nom tale «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- 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: [cupping](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/cupping/)
- next →: [curable](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/curable/)
- ↑ back to [C in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/)