---
title: early — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «early» in the school dictionary: Before the usual or expected time: «The bus came early». Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/early/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [E](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/) / early

# early

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** bus, I, train, We, early bird, Early people · **What happens:** expect, come, begin, happen, get up, watch · **To what, where:** day, early humans, worm, tools, stone, 8:45

<!-- .vabout -->
«early» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 9 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: [early in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/early.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Before the usual or expected time: «The bus came early».

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:early:m1:1
# text = Before the usual or expected time: «The bus came early».
1	Before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	3	mark	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	usual	usual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	advcl	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	expected	expect	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	conj	_	_
6	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	3	punct	_	_
8	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	bus	bus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
11	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
12	early	early	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	11	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **expect** | participle | the bus *not said here* |  |  |  | time |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **come** *in a quote* | past | the bus |  |  |  |  | early *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=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}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Near the beginning of a day, a period or an event: early morning, early in the year.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:early:m2:1
# text = Near the beginning of a day, a period or an event: early morning, early in the year.
1	Near	near	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	beginning	beginning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	period	period	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
11	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	event	event	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	15	punct	_	_
14	early	early	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	morning	morning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
17	early	early	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	20	advmod	_	_
18	in	in	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	year	year	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** |  |  | a day |  |  |  |  | nom beginning «event transitive»: of=patient |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Happening long ago or first: early humans, early cars.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:early:m3:1
# text = Happening long ago or first: early humans, early cars.
1	Happening	happen	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
2	long	long	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	3	advmod	_	_
3	ago	ago	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	8	punct	_	_
7	early	early	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	humans	human	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	early	early	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	cars	car	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | gerund |  | early humans and early cars |  |  |  | ago *property* | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I got up early to watch the sunrise.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:early:x1:1
# text = I got up early to watch the sunrise.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	got	get	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	up	up	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	early	early	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	2	advmod	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	watch	watch	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	sunrise	sunrise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get up** | past | I |  |  |  |  | early *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **watch** | to-infinitive | I *not said here* |  |  |  | sunrise |  | vn search-35.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The train arrived ten minutes early.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:early:x2:1
# text = The train arrived ten minutes early.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	train	train	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	arrived	arrive	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	ten	ten	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	minutes	minute	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl:unmarked	_	_
6	early	early	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **arrive** | past | the train |  |  |  |  | early *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We had an early night before the trip.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:early:x3:1
# text = We had an early night before the trip.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	early	early	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	before	before	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	trip	trip	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 | **have** | past | We |  |  |  | before the trip; night |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The early bird catches the worm.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:early:x4:1
# text = The early bird catches the worm.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	early	early	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	catches	catch	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	worm	worm	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 | **catch** | present | the early bird | the worm |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent worm=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Early people made tools from stone.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:early:x5:1
# text = Early people made tools from stone.
1	Early	early	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	tools	tool	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	stone	stone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | Early people | tools |  | stone |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP.product PP.material»: agent=Agent tool=Product from stone=Material |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Spring flowers bloom early in the year.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:early:x6:1
# text = Spring flowers bloom early in the year.
1	Spring	spring	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	flowers	flower	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	bloom	bloom	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	early	early	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	3	advmod	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	year	year	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bloom** | present | Spring flowers |  |  |  | year | early *property* | vn entity\_specific\_modes\_being-47.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Come earlier next time.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:early:x7:1
# text = Come earlier next time.
1	Come	come	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	earlier	early	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	1	advmod	_	_
3	next	next	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  | time | early *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
If school starts at 8:45 and you arrive at 8:30, you are 15 minutes early.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:early:x8:1
# text = If school starts at 8:45 and you arrive at 8:30, you are 15 minutes early.
1	If	if	SCONJ	IN	_	3	mark	_	_
2	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	starts	start	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	8:45	8:45	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	3	obl	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
7	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	arrive	arrive	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
9	at	at	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	8:30	8:30	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
12	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
13	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
14	15	15	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	15	nummod	_	_
15	minutes	minute	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl:unmarked	_	_
16	early	early	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	15	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **start** | present | school |  |  | 8:45 |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 2 | **arrive** | present | you |  |  | 8:30 |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **is a** | present | you | 15 minutes |  |  |  | early *property* | tree rules |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
‘Whither away so early, Little Red-Cap?’

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:early:x9:1
# text = ‘Whither away so early, Little Red-Cap?’
1	‘	'	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Whither	whither	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	3	advmod	_	_
3	away	away	ADV	RB	_	0	root	_	_
4	so	so	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	early	early	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
7	Little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
8	Red	Red	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	Cap	Cap	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	’	'	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
```

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

<!-- 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 -->
- ← previous: [earlobe](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/earlobe/)
- next →: [earmark](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/earmark/)
- ↑ back to [E in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/E/)