---
title: debt — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «debt» in the school dictionary: A debt is money that you owe to someone. 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/debt/)

<!-- 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/) / debt

# debt

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** debt, you, state, their, He, It · **What happens:** be, owe, help, pay back, borrow, take · **To what, where:** money, someone, state, debt, feeling, someone thanks · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A debt is money that you owe to someone.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debt:m1:1
# text = A debt is money that you owe to someone.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	debt	debt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	7	obj	_	_
6	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	owe	owe	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
8	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a debt | money |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **owe** | present | you | money | someone |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP PP.goal»: agent=Agent that=Theme to someone=Goal |

<!-- .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 -->
Debt is the state of owing money (be in debt).

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debt:m2:1
# text = Debt is the state of owing money (be in debt).
1	Debt	debt	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	state	state	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
6	owing	owe	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	acl	_	_
7	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
8	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	cop	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	debt	debt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Debt | the state |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **owe** | gerund | the state *not said here* | money |  |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent money=Theme |
| 3 | **is** | infinitive |  |  |  | debt |  |  | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A debt of gratitude is a feeling that you owe someone thanks for their help.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debt:m3:1
# text = A debt of gratitude is a feeling that you owe someone thanks for their help.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	debt	debt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	gratitude	gratitude	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	feeling	feeling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
9	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	owe	owe	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	advcl	_	_
11	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	12	compound	_	_
12	thanks	thanks	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
13	for	for	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
15	help	help	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a debt of gratitude | a feeling |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **owe** | present | you | someone thanks for their help |  |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **help** |  | their *= they* |  |  |  |  |  | nom help «act transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He paid back his debt to his sister.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debt:x1:1
# text = He paid back his debt to his sister.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	paid	pay	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	back	back	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	debt	debt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	sister	sister	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 | **pay back** | past | He | his debt |  |  |  | to his sister | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent debt=Asset |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
If you borrow money, you are in debt.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debt:x2:1
# text = If you borrow money, you are in debt.
1	If	if	SCONJ	IN	_	3	mark	_	_
2	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	borrow	borrow	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	advcl	_	_
4	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
6	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
7	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	debt	debt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **borrow** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | you | money |  |  |  |  | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent money=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | present | you |  |  | debt |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It took them years to get out of debt.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debt:x3:1
# text = It took them years to get out of debt.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	took	take	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	get	get	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
7	out	out	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	debt	debt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | past | It | them *= they* |  |  | year |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=Theme |
| 2 | **get out** | to-infinitive |  | debt |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I owe you a debt of gratitude for helping me.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debt:x4:1
# text = I owe you a debt of gratitude for helping me.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	owe	owe	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	debt	debt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	gratitude	gratitude	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
8	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
9	helping	help	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	acl	_	_
10	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **owe** | present | I | a debt of gratitude | you |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.goal NP»: agent=Agent you=Goal debt=Theme |
| 2 | **help** | gerund | gratitude *not said here* |  | me |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent i=Beneficiary |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
If I have £2 and owe £5, my debt is £3.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debt:x5:1
# text = If I have £2 and owe £5, my debt is £3.
1	If	if	SCONJ	IN	_	3	mark	_	_
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	advcl	_	_
4	£	£	SYM	$	_	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	2	2	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	4	nummod	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	owe	owe	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
8	£	£	SYM	$	_	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	5	5	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
11	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	debt	debt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
13	is	be	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
14	£	£	SYM	$	_	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	3	3	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	14	nummod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent £=Patient |
| 2 | **owe** | infinitive | I *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent £=Theme |
| 3 | **be** | present | my debt |  |  |  |  |  | vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot £=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Credit cards can lead people into debt.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debt:x6:1
# text = Credit cards can lead people into debt.
1	Credit	credit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	cards	card	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	lead	lead	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
6	into	into	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	debt	debt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lead** | can | Credit cards | people |  | debt |  |  | vn accompany-51.7 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent people=Theme into debt=Destination |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The company had huge debts.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debt:x7:1
# text = The company had huge debts.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	company	company	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	huge	huge	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	debts	debt	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | the company | huge debts |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent debt=Patient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
“We will pay your debts,” they said.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:debt:x8:1
# text = “We will pay your debts,” they said.
1	“	"	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
3	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	pay	pay	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	ccomp	_	_
5	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	debts	debt	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	”	"	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
9	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pay** *in a quote* | future | We | your debts |  |  |  |  | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent debt=Asset |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | debts *= debt* |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=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 -->
- ← previous: [debris](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debris/)
- next →: [debtor](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/debtor/)
- ↑ back to [D in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/D/)