---
title: dubiously — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «dubiously» in the school dictionary: In a doubtful way, showing you are not sure something is true, good or safe. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# dubiously

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** doubtful way, you, something, that, people, Mia · **What happens:** show, not be, be, suspect, look, ask · **To what, where:** way, right way, Dad, new food, shiny new cart, ME · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In a doubtful way, showing you are not sure something is true, good or safe.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dubiously:m1:1
# text = In a doubtful way, showing you are not sure something is true, good or safe.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	doubtful	doubtful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
6	showing	show	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	acl	_	_
7	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
8	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
9	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	10	advmod	_	_
10	sure	sure	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	ccomp	_	_
11	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	13	nsubj	_	_
12	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	cop	_	_
13	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
15	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	conj	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	safe	safe	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | gerund | a doubtful way *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **not** **is** | present | you |  |  |  |  | sure *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | present | something |  |  |  |  | true *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **be** |  | something *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **be** |  | something *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- .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 -->
In a way that is not quite honest or that people suspect.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dubiously:m2:1
# text = In a way that is not quite honest or that people suspect.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
4	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
6	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	8	advmod	_	_
7	quite	quite	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	honest	honest	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
10	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
11	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nsubj	_	_
12	suspect	suspect	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is** | present | that |  |  | a way |  | honest *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **suspect** | present | people |  |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mia looked dubiously at the green soup.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dubiously:x1:1
# text = Mia looked dubiously at the green soup.
1	Mia	Mia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	looked	look	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	dubiously	dubiously	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	green	green	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	soup	soup	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 | **look** | past | Mia |  |  |  |  | at the green soup; dubiously *property* | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent at soup=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Are you sure this is the right way?» asked Dad dubiously.

<!-- fold The tree, 11 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dubiously:x2:1
# text = «Are you sure this is the right way?» asked Dad dubiously.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	sure	sure	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	this	this	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	9	nsubj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
12	asked	ask	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
13	Dad	Dad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	iobj	_	_
14	dubiously	dubiously	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | present | Dad |  |  |  |  | sure *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is a** *in a quote* | present | this | the right way |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past |  |  | Dad |  |  | dubiously *property* | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent dad=Recipient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cat sniffed the new food dubiously and walked away.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dubiously:x3:1
# text = The cat sniffed the new food dubiously and walked away.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	sniffed	sniff	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	dubiously	dubiously	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	walked	walk	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
10	away	away	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sniff** | past | the cat | the new food |  |  |  | dubiously *property* | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent food=Theme |
| 2 | **walk away** | past | the cat *not said here* |  |  |  |  | away *property* | vn resign-10.11-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Rat eyed Toad's shiny new cart dubiously.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dubiously:x4:1
# text = Rat eyed Toad's shiny new cart dubiously.
1	Rat	Rat	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	eyed	eye	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	Toad	Toad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	's	's	PART	POS	_	3	case	_	_
5	shiny	shiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
6	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	cart	cart	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
8	dubiously	dubiously	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **eye** | past | Rat | Toad's shiny new cart |  |  |  | dubiously *property* | vn sight-30.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer cart=Stimulus |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Alice looked dubiously at the bottle marked «DRINK ME».

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dubiously:x5:1
# text = Alice looked dubiously at the bottle marked «DRINK ME».
1	Alice	Alice	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	looked	look	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	dubiously	dubiously	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	at	at	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	bottle	bottle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	marked	mark	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
8	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	DRINK	drink	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	xcomp	_	_
10	ME	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **look** | past | Alice |  |  |  |  | dubiously *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |
| 2 | **mark** | past | the bottle |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **drink** *in a quote* | infinitive | the bottle *not said here* | ME |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent i=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He was dubiously quiet when Mum asked who had eaten the cake.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dubiously:x6:1
# text = He was dubiously quiet when Mum asked who had eaten the cake.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	dubiously	dubiously	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	quiet	quiet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	7	advmod	_	_
6	Mum	Mum	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	asked	ask	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
8	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
9	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	eaten	eat	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	7	ccomp	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	cake	cake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | He |  |  |  |  | dubiously, quiet *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | Mum |  |  |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **eat** | past · perfect |  | the cake |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cake=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The teacher dubiously accepted the excuse about the dog eating the homework.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dubiously:x7:1
# text = The teacher dubiously accepted the excuse about the dog eating the homework.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	dubiously	dubiously	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	accepted	accept	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	excuse	excuse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	about	about	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
10	eating	eat	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	9	acl	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	homework	homework	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **accept** | past | the teacher | the excuse |  |  |  | about the dog; dubiously *property* | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent excuse=Theme |
| 2 | **eat** | gerund | the dog *not said here* | the homework |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent homework=Patient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Well, no," replied the little boy, dubiously.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:dubiously:x8:1
# text = "Well, no," replied the little boy, dubiously.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Well	well	INTJ	UH	_	7	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	no	no	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Neg	2	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
7	replied	reply	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	dubiously	dubiously	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **reply** *speech: assert* | past | the little boy |  |  |  |  | dubiously *property* | vn respond-113 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- 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 -->

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