---
title: dawn — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «dawn» in the school dictionary: Dawn is the time in the early morning when light first appears in the sky, just before the sun rises. 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/D/dawn/)

<!-- 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/) / [D](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/) / dawn

# dawn

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Dawn, light, sun, It, I, We · **What happens:** be, appear, rise, mean, begin, get · **To what, where:** time, sky, beginning, light, me, bag · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dawn is the time in the early morning when light first appears in the sky, just before the sun rises.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dawn:m1:1
# text = Dawn is the time in the early morning when light first appears in the sky, just before the sun rises.
1	Dawn	dawn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	early	early	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	morning	morning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
9	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	12	advmod	_	_
10	light	light	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
11	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	12	advmod	_	_
12	appears	appear	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	21	advcl	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	sky	sky	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
17	just	just	ADV	RB	_	21	advmod	_	_
18	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	21	mark	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	sun	sun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	nsubj	_	_
21	rises	rise	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Dawn | the time |  |  | morning |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **appear** | present | light |  |  | the sky |  | first *property* | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in sky=Location |
| 3 | **rise** | present | the sun |  |  |  |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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 -->
Dawn is the beginning of something: the dawn of time.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dawn:m2:1
# text = Dawn is the beginning of something: the dawn of time.
1	Dawn	dawn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	beginning	beginning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	9	punct	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	dawn	dawn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	appos	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Dawn | the beginning |  |  |  | of something | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To dawn means to begin to get light.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dawn:m3:1
# text = To dawn means to begin to get light.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	dawn	dawn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	begin	begin	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	get	get	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	_
8	light	light	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | dawn |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **begin** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 3 | **get** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | light |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer light=Stimulus |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«It dawned on me» means I suddenly understood or realised.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dawn:m4:1
# text = «It dawned on me» means I suddenly understood or realised.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	dawned	dawn	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	nsubj	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
7	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
9	suddenly	suddenly	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	understood	understand	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	ccomp	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	realised	realise	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dawn** *in a quote* | past | It |  |  |  |  | on me | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on i=Location |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **understand** | past | I |  |  |  |  | suddenly *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 4 | **realise** | participle | I *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We got up at dawn to see the sunrise.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dawn:x1:1
# text = We got up at dawn to see the sunrise.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	got	get	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	up	up	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	dawn	dawn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	sunrise	sunrise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get up** | past | We |  |  |  | dawn |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **see** | to-infinitive | We *not said here* |  |  |  | sunrise |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The birds' dawn chorus woke me up.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dawn:x2:1
# text = The birds' dawn chorus woke me up.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	'	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	dawn	dawn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	chorus	chorus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	woke	wake	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	up	up	ADP	RP	_	6	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wake up** | past | the birds's dawn chorus | me |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent i=Patient |
| 2 | **chorus** |  | the birds |  |  |  |  |  | nom chorus «event transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Farmers work from dawn till dusk.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dawn:x3:1
# text = Farmers work from dawn till dusk.
1	Farmers	farmer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	work	work	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	from	from	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	dawn	dawn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
5	till	till	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	dusk	dusk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | present | Farmers |  |  |  | dawn; dusk |  | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It dawned on me that I had left my bag on the bus.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dawn:x4:1
# text = It dawned on me that I had left my bag on the bus.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	dawned	dawn	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	obl	_	_
5	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
6	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
7	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	left	leave	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
9	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	bag	bag	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	on	on	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	bus	bus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dawn** | past | It |  |  |  |  | on me | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on i=Location |
| 2 | **leave** | past · perfect | I | my bag |  | the bus |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent bag=Theme on bus=Location |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dawn broke over the mountains.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dawn:x5:1
# text = Dawn broke over the mountains.
1	Dawn	Dawn	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	broke	break	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	over	over	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	mountains	mountain	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **break** | past | Dawn |  |  | the mountains |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme over mountain=Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We set off at the crack of dawn.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dawn:x6:1
# text = We set off at the crack of dawn.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	set	set	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	off	off	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	crack	crack	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	dawn	dawn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **set off** | past | We |  |  | the crack of dawn |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
People gathered for the Anzac Day dawn service.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dawn:x7:1
# text = People gathered for the Anzac Day dawn service.
1	People	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	gathered	gather	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
5	Anzac	Anzac	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	Day	Day	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
7	dawn	dawn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	service	service	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 | **gather** | past | People |  |  |  |  | for the Day dawn service | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent for service=Beneficiary |

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