---
title: detonate — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «detonate» in the school dictionary: To make a bomb or explosive go off on purpose. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# detonate

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** explosive, bomb squad, Engineers, mine, soldiers, hero · **What happens:** make, go off, explode, detonate, knock down, not detonate · **To what, where:** bomb, purpose, old shell, empty field, fireworks, river · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«detonate» in the school dictionary: its 2 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: [detonate in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/detonate.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To make a bomb or explosive go off on purpose.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detonate:m1:1
# text = To make a bomb or explosive go off on purpose.
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	bomb	bomb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
6	explosive	explosive	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	nsubj	_	_
7	go	go	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
8	off	off	ADP	RP	_	7	compound:prt	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	purpose	purpose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | to-infinitive |  | a bomb |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset bomb=Product |
| 2 | **go off** | present | explosive |  |  | purpose |  |  | vn occur-48.3-2 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme on purpose=Location |

<!-- .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 -->
To explode suddenly with a loud bang.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detonate:m2:1
# text = To explode suddenly with a loud bang.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	explode	explode	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	suddenly	suddenly	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	loud	loud	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	bang	bang	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **explode** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | with a loud bang; suddenly *property* | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP.location V PP.theme»: agent=Location with bang=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The bomb squad detonated the old shell in an empty field.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detonate:x1:1
# text = The bomb squad detonated the old shell in an empty field.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	bomb	bomb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	squad	squad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	detonated	detonate	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	shell	shell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	empty	empty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	field	field	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **detonate** | past | the bomb squad | the old shell |  | a empty field |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent shell=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The fireworks detonated high above the river.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detonate:x2:1
# text = The fireworks detonated high above the river.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fireworks	firework	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
3	detonated	detonate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	high	high	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	3	advmod	_	_
5	above	above	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	river	river	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **detonate** | participle |  | the fireworks *not said here* |  | the river |  | high *property* | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Engineers detonate explosives to knock down old towers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detonate:x3:1
# text = Engineers detonate explosives to knock down old towers.
1	Engineers	engineer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	detonate	detonate	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	explosives	explosive	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	knock	knock	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
6	down	down	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	_
7	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	towers	tower	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **detonate** | present | Engineers | explosives |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent explosive=Patient |
| 2 | **knock down** | to-infinitive | Engineers *not said here* | old towers |  |  |  |  | vn split-23.2 «NP V NP apart»: agent=Agent tower=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The mine did not detonate, so the soldiers marked it with a flag.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detonate:x4:1
# text = The mine did not detonate, so the soldiers marked it with a flag.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	mine	my	PRON	PRP	Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
3	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	detonate	detonate	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
7	so	so	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	soldiers	soldier	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
10	marked	mark	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	obj	_	_
12	with	with	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	flag	flag	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **detonate** | past · do-support | mine |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **mark** | past | the soldiers | it |  |  |  | with a flag | vn image\_impression-25.1 «NP V NP.destination PP.theme»: agent=Agent it=Destination with flag=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the film, the hero cut the red wire before the bomb could detonate.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detonate:x5:1
# text = In the film, the hero cut the red wire before the bomb could detonate.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	film	film	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	hero	hero	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	cut	cut	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	red	red	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	wire	wire	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
11	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	bomb	bomb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nsubj	_	_
14	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	15	aux	_	_
15	detonate	detonate	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cut** | past | the hero | the red wire |  | the film |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset wire=Product |
| 2 | **detonate** | could | the bomb |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Scientists showed how a tiny spark can detonate a gas cloud.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detonate:x6:1
# text = Scientists showed how a tiny spark can detonate a gas cloud.
1	Scientists	scientist	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	showed	show	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	8	advmod	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	tiny	tiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	spark	spark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
7	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	detonate	detonate	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	ccomp	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	gas	gas	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	cloud	cloud	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | past | Scientists |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **detonate** | can | a tiny spark | a gas cloud |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent cloud=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A wartime bomb found on a building site in London was safely detonated.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:detonate:x7:1
# text = A wartime bomb found on a building site in London was safely detonated.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	wartime	wartime	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	bomb	bomb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	found	find	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	building	building	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	site	site	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	London	London	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
11	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux:pass	_	_
12	safely	safely	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
13	detonated	detonate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **find** | participle |  | a wartime bomb *not said here* |  | a building site in London |  |  | vn declare-29.4-1-1 «NP V what S\_INF»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **detonate** | past · passive |  | a wartime bomb |  |  |  | safely *property* | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: subject=Patient |

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<!-- /div -->

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