---
title: debate — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «debate» in the school dictionary: A debate is a formal discussion where people give arguments for and against an idea, often with rules and a vote at the end. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# debate

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** debate, people, class, two sides, lot, I · **What happens:** be, give, debate, think, make, hold · **To what, where:** formal discussion, arguments, Debate discussion, choice, debate, turns · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«debate» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 8 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: [debate in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/debate.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A debate is a formal discussion where people give arguments for and against an idea, often with rules and a vote at the end.

<!-- fold The tree, 24 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debate:m1:1
# text = A debate is a formal discussion where people give arguments for and against an idea, often with rules and a vote at the end.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	debate	debate	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	formal	formal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	discussion	discussion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	9	advmod	_	_
8	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
9	give	give	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
10	arguments	argument	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	_
11	for	for	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
13	against	against	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
17	often	often	ADV	RB	_	19	advmod	_	_
18	with	with	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
19	rules	rule	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	parataxis	_	_
20	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	22	cc	_	_
21	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	vote	vote	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	conj	_	_
23	at	at	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
24	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	25	det	_	_
25	end	end	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a debate | a formal discussion |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **give** | present | people | arguments |  |  |  | for a idea | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.asset»: agent=Agent argument=Theme for idea=Asset |

<!-- .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 -->
Debate is discussion and disagreement about something.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debate:m2:1
# text = Debate is discussion and disagreement about something.
1	Debate	debate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	discussion	discussion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	disagreement	disagreement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present |  | Debate discussion and disagreement about something |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To debate is to discuss something carefully, or to think hard about which choice to make.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debate:m3:1
# text = To debate is to discuss something carefully, or to think hard about which choice to make.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	debate	debate	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	csubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	discuss	discuss	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	obj	_	_
7	carefully	carefully	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	think	think	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
12	hard	hard	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	15	advmod	_	_
13	about	about	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	which	which	DET	WDT	PronType=Int	15	det	_	_
15	choice	choice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
16	to	to	PART	TO	_	17	mark	_	_
17	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	15	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **debate** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn battle-36.4-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **be** *speech: other* | present |  |  |  |  |  | carefully, discuss *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **think** *speech: other* | to-infinitive |  | which choice |  |  |  |  | vn wish-62 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot choice=Theme |
| 4 | **make** | to-infinitive |  | which choice *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our class held a debate about school uniform.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debate:x1:1
# text = Our class held a debate about school uniform.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	held	hold	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	debate	debate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	uniform	uniform	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold** | past | Our class | a debate |  |  |  | about school uniform | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent debate=Theme about uniform=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The two sides took turns in the debate.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debate:x2:1
# text = The two sides took turns in the debate.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	3	nummod	_	_
3	sides	side	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	took	take	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	turns	turn	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	debate	debate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | past | the two sides | turns |  | the debate |  |  | vn fit-54.3 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent turn=Value in debate=Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There is a lot of debate about the best way to learn.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debate:x3:1
# text = There is a lot of debate about the best way to learn.
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	2	expl	_	_
2	is	be	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	lot	lot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	debate	debate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
7	about	about	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	10	amod	_	_
10	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	learn	learn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** | present | a lot of debate about the best way |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **learn** | to-infinitive | a lot of debate about the best way *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The council debated the new park for hours.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debate:x4:1
# text = The council debated the new park for hours.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	council	council	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	debated	debate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	park	park	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	hours	hour	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **debate** | participle · passive |  | the council |  |  | hour |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I debated whether to have pizza or pasta.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debate:x5:1
# text = I debated whether to have pizza or pasta.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	debated	debate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
3	whether	whether	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	have	have	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
6	pizza	pizza	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	pasta	pasta	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **debate** | participle | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn battle-36.4-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **have** | to-infinitive | I *not said here* | pizza or pasta |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent pizza=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She joined the school debating team.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debate:x6:1
# text = She joined the school debating team.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	joined	join	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	debating	debate	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
6	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **join** | past | She | the school |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent school=Patient |
| 2 | **debate** | gerund | She *not said here* | team |  |  |  |  | vn battle-36.4-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent team=Co-Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Whether cats are better than dogs is open to debate.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debate:x7:1
# text = Whether cats are better than dogs is open to debate.
1	Whether	whether	SCONJ	IN	_	4	mark	_	_
2	cats	cat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	better	good	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	_
5	than	than	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
6	dogs	dog	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	open	open	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	advcl	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	debate	debate	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | cats |  |  |  |  | good *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | dogs |  |  |  |  | open *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **debate** | to-infinitive | dogs *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn battle-36.4-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
But when the Mice further debated who among them should thus “bell the Cat,” there was no one found to do it.

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debate:x8:1
# text = But when the Mice further debated who among them should thus “bell the Cat,” there was no one found to do it.
1	But	but	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
2	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	6	mark	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	Mice	Mouse	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
5	further	further	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	debated	debate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
7	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	13	nsubj	_	_
8	among	among	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obl	_	_
10	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
11	thus	thus	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
12	“	"	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	bell	bell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	acl:relcl	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	Cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	”	"	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
18	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	19	expl	_	_
19	was	be	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
20	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	21	det	_	_
21	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	nsubj	_	_
22	found	find	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	21	acl	_	_
23	to	to	PART	TO	_	24	mark	_	_
24	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	22	xcomp	_	_
25	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	24	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **debate** | participle | the Mice | the Cat |  |  |  | further *property* | vn battle-36.4-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cat=Co-Agent |
| 2 | **bell** *in a quote* | should |  |  |  |  |  | thus *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **be** | past | no one |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **find** | participle |  | no one *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn declare-29.4-1-1 «NP V what S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 5 | **do** | to-infinitive | no one *not said here* | Cat |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Eventuality |

<!-- 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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