---
title: disturbance — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «disturbance» in the school dictionary: Something that interrupts you or stops you resting or working, like a noise. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# disturbance

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** you, I, barking dog, Building work, Forecasters, We · **What happens:** interrupt, stop, rest, work, be, call · **To what, where:** you, police, disturbance, pen, big disturbance, tropical disturbance · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«disturbance» in the school dictionary: its 3 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: [disturbance in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/disturbance.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Something that interrupts you or stops you resting or working, like a noise.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:disturbance:m1:1
# text = Something that interrupts you or stops you resting or working, like a noise.
1	Something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	0	root	_	_
2	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	3	nsubj	_	_
3	interrupts	interrupt	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	acl:relcl	_	_
4	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	stops	stop	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
7	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	resting	rest	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	xcomp	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	working	work	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
12	like	like	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	noise	noise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **interrupt** | present |  | you |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **stop** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Affector clause=Eventuality |
| 3 | **rest** | gerund | you |  |  |  |  | like a noise | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **work** | gerund | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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 -->
Trouble or fighting in a public place.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:disturbance:m2:1
# text = Trouble or fighting in a public place.
1	Trouble	trouble	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	fighting	fighting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	conj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	public	public	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	place	place	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The police were called to a disturbance.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:disturbance:m2e:1
# text = The police were called to a disturbance.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	disturbance	disturbance	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 | **call** | past · passive |  | the police | a disturbance |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: subject=Topic to disturbance=Recipient |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A change or upset in something that was calm or normal: a disturbance in the weather; a sleep disturbance.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:disturbance:m3:1
# text = A change or upset in something that was calm or normal: a disturbance in the weather; a sleep disturbance.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	change	change	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	upset	upset	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	conj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	4	obl	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
8	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	calm	calm	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	acl:relcl	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	normal	normal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	14	punct	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	disturbance	disturbance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
15	in	in	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	weather	weather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	21	punct	_	_
19	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
20	sleep	sleep	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	compound	_	_
21	disturbance	disturbance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	14	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past |  |  |  |  |  | calm *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sorry for the disturbance, but can I borrow a pen?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:disturbance:x1:1
# text = Sorry for the disturbance, but can I borrow a pen?
1	Sorry	sorry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
2	for	for	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	disturbance	disturbance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
6	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
7	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
8	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	borrow	borrow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	parataxis	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	pen	pen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **borrow** | can | I | a pen |  |  |  |  | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent pen=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The barking dog caused a disturbance at night.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:disturbance:x2:1
# text = The barking dog caused a disturbance at night.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	barking	barking	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	caused	cause	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	disturbance	disturbance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	night	night	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 | **cause** | past | the barking dog | a disturbance |  |  | night |  | vn engender-27.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition disturbance=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Police were called to a disturbance outside the shop.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:disturbance:x3:1
# text = Police were called to a disturbance outside the shop.
1	Police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	disturbance	disturbance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	outside	outside	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	shop	shop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | past · passive |  | Police | a disturbance outside the shop |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: subject=Topic to disturbance=Recipient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Building work is a big disturbance for the neighbours.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:disturbance:x4:1
# text = Building work is a big disturbance for the neighbours.
1	Building	building	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	work	work	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	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	disturbance	disturbance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	neighbours	neighbour	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Building work | a big disturbance |  |  |  | for the neighbours | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Forecasters watched a tropical disturbance over the sea.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:disturbance:x5:1
# text = Forecasters watched a tropical disturbance over the sea.
1	Forecasters	forecaster	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	watched	watch	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	tropical	tropical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	disturbance	disturbance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	over	over	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	sea	sea	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 | **watch** | past | Forecasters | a tropical disturbance |  | the sea |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent disturbance=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We worked in silence without any disturbance.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:disturbance:x6:1
# text = We worked in silence without any disturbance.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	worked	work	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	silence	silence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
5	without	without	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	7	det	_	_
7	disturbance	disturbance	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 | **work** | past | We |  |  |  |  | without any disturbance; in silence | vn employment-95.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent in silence=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
From words they came to blows, and the women, frightened at the disturbance, pelted Tephany with insulting names.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:disturbance:x7:1
# text = From words they came to blows, and the women, frightened at the disturbance, pelted Tephany with insulting names.
1	From	from	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
3	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	blows	blow	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	women	woman	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	frightened	frighten	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	acl	_	_
13	at	at	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	disturbance	disturbance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
17	pelted	pelt	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
18	Tephany	Tephany	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	_
19	with	with	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
20	insulting	insulting	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	21	amod	_	_
21	names	name	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | past | words *= word* |  |  | words |  | to blows | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location PP.destination»: agent=Theme from word=Initial\_Location to blow=Destination |
| 2 | **frighten** | participle |  | the women *not said here* |  | the disturbance |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 3 | **pelt** | past | the women |  | Tephany |  |  | with insulting names | vn pelt-17.2 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent tephany=Destination with name=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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