---
title: discourse — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «discourse» in the school dictionary: Serious talk or discussion between people; the way people talk and write about a subject: «public discourse». Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# discourse

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** people, He, professor, Polite discourse, Grandad, discourse · **What happens:** talk, write, speak, discourse, connect, give · **To what, where:** way, writing, length, stars, long discourse, volcanoes · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Serious talk or discussion between people; the way people talk and write about a subject: «public discourse».

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:discourse:m1:1
# text = Serious talk or discussion between people; the way people talk and write about a subject: «public discourse».
1	Serious	serious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	talk	talk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	discussion	discussion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
5	between	between	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	9	punct	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	appos	_	_
10	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nsubj	_	_
11	talk	talk	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	acl:relcl	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	write	write	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	conj	_	_
14	about	about	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	subject	subject	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	20	punct	_	_
18	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	20	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	public	public	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	amod	_	_
20	discourse	discourse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	20	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **talk** | present | people | the way *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn compel-59.1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent way=Patient |
| 2 | **write** | present | people *not said here* |  |  |  |  | about a subject | vn lecture-37.11-1 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent about subject=Topic |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A long, serious speech or piece of writing on a subject, such as a sermon.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:discourse:m2:1
# text = A long, serious speech or piece of writing on a subject, such as a sermon.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
2	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	serious	serious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	piece	piece	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	writing	writing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
10	on	on	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	subject	subject	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
14	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=ADP	17	case	_	_
15	as	as	ADP	IN	_	14	fixed	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	sermon	sermon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **speak** |  |  | writing on a subject and a sermon |  |  |  |  | nom speech «communication transitive»: of=patient |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To talk or write at length about something: «He discoursed on the stars».

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:discourse:m3:1
# text = To talk or write at length about something: «He discoursed on the stars».
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	talk	talk	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	write	write	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	length	length	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
7	about	about	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	12	punct	_	_
10	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
12	discoursed	discourse	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	_
13	on	on	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	stars	star	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **talk** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **write** | infinitive |  |  |  | length about something |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **discourse** *in a quote* | past | He |  |  | the stars |  |  | tree rules |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Any stretch of language longer than a sentence: conversation or connected text.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:discourse:m4:1
# text = Any stretch of language longer than a sentence: conversation or connected text.
1	Any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	2	det	_	_
2	stretch	stretch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	language	language	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	longer	long	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	_
6	than	than	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	sentence	sentence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
10	conversation	conversation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	appos	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
12	connected	connect	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	13	amod	_	_
13	text	text	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **connect** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The professor gave a long discourse on volcanoes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:discourse:x1:1
# text = The professor gave a long discourse on volcanoes.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	professor	professor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	gave	give	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	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	discourse	discourse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	volcanoes	volcano	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 | **give** | past | the professor | a long discourse |  | volcanoes |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient PP.asset»: agent=Agent discourse=Theme on volcano=Asset |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Polite discourse means listening as well as talking.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:discourse:x2:1
# text = Polite discourse means listening as well as talking.
1	Polite	polite	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	discourse	discourse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	listening	listen	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	xcomp	_	_
5	as	as	ADV	RB	ExtPos=CCONJ	8	cc	_	_
6	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	5	fixed	_	_
7	as	as	ADP	IN	_	5	fixed	_	_
8	talking	talk	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Polite discourse |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **listen** *not said to happen* | gerund | Polite discourse *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **talk** | gerund | Polite discourse *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandad discoursed on the old days for an hour.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:discourse:x3:1
# text = Grandad discoursed on the old days for an hour.
1	Grandad	Grandad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	discoursed	discourse	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	days	day	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	hour	hour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **discourse** | past | Grandad |  |  |  | day; hour |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the Gospel, Jesus' discourse at the Last Supper is long and tender.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:discourse:x4:1
# text = In the Gospel, Jesus' discourse at the Last Supper is long and tender.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	Gospel	Gospel	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	Jesus	Jesus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	'	's	PART	POS	_	5	case	_	_
7	discourse	discourse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
8	at	at	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	Last	Last	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	flat	_	_
11	Supper	Supper	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
12	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	cop	_	_
13	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	tender	tender	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Jesus's discourse at the Last Supper |  |  | the Gospel |  | long *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  | Jesus's discourse at the Last Supper *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **discourse** |  | Jesus |  |  | the Last Supper |  |  | nom discourse «communication transitive»: poss=agent at=place |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Bad language has no place in classroom discourse.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:discourse:x5:1
# text = Bad language has no place in classroom discourse.
1	Bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	language	language	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	5	det	_	_
5	place	place	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	classroom	classroom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	discourse	discourse	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 | **have** | present | Bad language | no place |  | classroom discourse |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent place=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The book is a discourse on kindness.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:discourse:x6:1
# text = The book is a discourse on kindness.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	book	book	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	discourse	discourse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	kindness	kindness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Oh no," replied the counsellor; "I can only discourse on topics which every one should understand."

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:discourse:x7:1
# text = "Oh no," replied the counsellor; "I can only discourse on topics which every one should understand."
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Oh	oh	INTJ	UH	_	6	discourse	_	_
3	no	no	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Neg	2	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
6	replied	reply	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	counsellor	counsellor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
10	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
12	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
13	only	only	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
14	discourse	discourse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
15	on	on	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	topics	topic	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	nmod	_	_
17	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	21	obj	_	_
18	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	19	det	_	_
19	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	nsubj	_	_
20	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	21	aux	_	_
21	understand	understand	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **reply** *speech: assert* | past | the counsellor |  |  |  |  |  | vn respond-113 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **discourse** *in a quote* | can | the counsellor *= counsellor* |  |  | topics |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **understand** *in a quote* | should | every one | topics |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer which=Stimulus |

<!-- 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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