---
title: dent — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «dent» in the school dictionary: A small hollow made in a hard surface when something hits or presses it: «a dent in the car door». Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# dent

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** something, reduction, someone, ball, you, He · **What happens:** make, hit, press, make in, mean, reduce · **To what, where:** small hollow, hard surface, surface, dent, something, car door · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A small hollow made in a hard surface when something hits or presses it: «a dent in the car door».

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dent:m1:1
# text = A small hollow made in a hard surface when something hits or presses it: «a dent in the car door».
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	hollow	hollow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	surface	surface	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
9	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	11	mark	_	_
10	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	11	nsubj	_	_
11	hits	hit	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
12	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	presses	press	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	conj	_	_
14	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	18	punct	_	_
16	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	dent	dent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	_
19	in	in	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
20	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
21	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	compound	_	_
22	door	door	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | participle |  | a small hollow *not said here* |  | a hard surface |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |
| 2 | **hit** | present | something |  |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **press** | present | something *not said here* | surface |  |  |  | a dent in the car door *obl* | vn push-12-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |

<!-- .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: verb — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To make a dent in something.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dent:m2:1
# text = To make a dent in something.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	make	make	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	dent	dent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | to-infinitive |  | a dent |  | something |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset dent=Product |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A reduction: «make a dent in» means reduce something a bit.

<!-- fold The tree, 11 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dent:m3:1
# text = A reduction: «make a dent in» means reduce something a bit.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	reduction	reduction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	5	punct	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	make	make	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	parataxis	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	dent	dent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
10	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	reduce	reduce	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	ccomp	_	_
12	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	11	obj	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	bit	bit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make in** *in a quote* | infinitive |  | a dent |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset dent=Product |
| 2 | **mean** | present | a reduction |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **reduce** | infinitive |  | something |  |  |  | a bit *obl:unmarked* | vn limit-76 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer something=Patient |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To harm or weaken, such as someone's confidence or pride.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dent:m4:1
# text = To harm or weaken, such as someone's confidence or pride.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	harm	harm	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	weaken	weaken	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
6	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=ADP	10	case	_	_
7	as	as	ADP	IN	_	6	fixed	_	_
8	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	10	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	's	PART	POS	_	8	case	_	_
10	confidence	confidence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	pride	pride	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **harm** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **weaken** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | such someone's confidence or pride | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **confide** |  | someone |  |  |  |  |  | nom confidence «cognition transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The ball left a dent in the car door.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dent:x1:1
# text = The ball left a dent in the car door.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	ball	ball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	left	leave	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	dent	dent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	door	door	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **leave** | past | the ball | a dent |  | the car door |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent dent=Theme in door=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Don't buy the tin with the big dent.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dent:x2:1
# text = Don't buy the tin with the big dent.
1	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	buy	buy	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	tin	tin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	dent	dent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **buy** | imperative · do-support | you *not said here* | the tin |  |  |  | with the big dent | vn accept-77.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tin=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He dented his bike when he fell off.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dent:x3:1
# text = He dented his bike when he fell off.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	dented	dent	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	bike	bike	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	7	advmod	_	_
6	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	fell	fall	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
8	off	off	ADP	RP	_	7	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dent** | past | He | his bike |  |  |  |  | vn carve-21.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bike=Patient |
| 2 | **fall off** | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1-1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We've barely made a dent in this huge pizza.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dent:x4:1
# text = We've barely made a dent in this huge pizza.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	've	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	barely	barely	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	dent	dent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	10	det	_	_
9	huge	huge	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	pizza	pizza	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present · perfect | We | a dent |  | this huge pizza |  | barely *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent dent=Product |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Losing the match dented their confidence.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dent:x5:1
# text = Losing the match dented their confidence.
1	Losing	lose	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	punct	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	match	match	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	dented	dent	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	confidence	confidence	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 | **lose** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **dent** | past | the match | their confidence |  |  |  |  | vn carve-21.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent confidence=Patient |
| 3 | **confide** |  | their *= they* |  |  |  |  |  | nom confidence «cognition transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The savings made a big dent in the cost of the holiday.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dent:x6:1
# text = The savings made a big dent in the cost of the holiday.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	savings	savings	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	3	nsubj	_	_
3	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	dent	dent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	cost	cost	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	holiday	holiday	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | the savings | a big dent |  | the cost of the holiday |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset dent=Product |
| 2 | **cost** |  |  | the holiday |  |  |  |  | nom cost «possession transitive»: of=patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There's a dent in my water bottle from when I dropped it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dent:x7:1
# text = There's a dent in my water bottle from when I dropped it.
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	2	expl	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	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	dent	dent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
7	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	bottle	bottle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
9	from	from	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	12	advmod	_	_
11	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
12	dropped	drop	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** | present | a dent |  |  | my water bottle; there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in bottle=Location |
| 2 | **drop** | past | I | dent |  |  |  |  | vn put\_direction-9.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=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 -->

<!-- pn -->
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