---
title: excavation — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «excavation» in the school dictionary: Digging in the ground, especially carefully to find old things such as bones, pots and buildings. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# excavation

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** excavation, Archaeologists, We, you, sides, museum · **What happens:** dig, find, do, uncover, spend, visit · **To what, where:** ground, old things, place, big hole, Roman mosaic floor, excavation

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Digging in the ground, especially carefully to find old things such as bones, pots and buildings.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:excavation:m1:1
# text = Digging in the ground, especially carefully to find old things such as bones, pots and buildings.
1	Digging	dig	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
2	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	ground	ground	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
6	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	carefully	carefully	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	find	find	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	advcl	_	_
10	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	_
12	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=ADP	14	case	_	_
13	as	as	ADP	IN	_	12	fixed	_	_
14	bones	bone	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
16	pots	pot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	conj	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
18	buildings	building	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dig** | gerund |  |  |  | the ground |  | carefully *property* | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V PP.theme PP.location»: agent=Agent in ground=Location |
| 2 | **find** | to-infinitive |  | old things |  |  |  | such bones and pots and buildings | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent thing=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}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A place where such digging is done; a dig.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:excavation:m2:1
# text = A place where such digging is done; a dig.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	place	place	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	7	advmod	_	_
4	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	digging	digging	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj:pass	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux:pass	_	_
7	done	do	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	7	punct	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	dig	dig	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | present · passive |  | a place |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Digging a big hole for building, for example for a basement or tunnel.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:excavation:m3:1
# text = Digging a big hole for building, for example for a basement or tunnel.
1	Digging	dig	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	hole	hole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	building	building	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	example	example	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
10	for	for	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	basement	basement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	tunnel	tunnel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dig** | gerund |  | a big hole |  |  |  | for building; for example; for a basement or tunnel | vn create-26.4-1-1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent hole=Result for example=Beneficiary |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The excavation uncovered a Roman mosaic floor.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:excavation:x1:1
# text = The excavation uncovered a Roman mosaic floor.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	excavation	excavation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	uncovered	uncover	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
5	Roman	roman	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
6	mosaic	mosaic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	floor	floor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **uncover** | past | the excavation | a Roman mosaic floor |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Archaeologists spent months on the excavation.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:excavation:x2:1
# text = Archaeologists spent months on the excavation.
1	Archaeologists	archaeologist	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	spent	spend	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	months	month	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	excavation	excavation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spend** | past | Archaeologists |  |  |  | month | on the excavation *goal* | vn consume-66-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent on excavation=Goal |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We visited an excavation where dinosaur bones were found.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:excavation:x3:1
# text = We visited an excavation where dinosaur bones were found.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	visited	visit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	excavation	excavation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	9	advmod	_	_
6	dinosaur	dinosaur	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	bones	bone	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj:pass	_	_
8	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux:pass	_	_
9	found	find	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **visit** | past | We | a excavation |  |  |  |  | vn meet-36.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent excavation=Co-Agent |
| 2 | **find** | past · passive |  | dinosaur bones |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: subject=Topic |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Keep away from the excavation — the sides may fall in.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:excavation:x4:1
# text = Keep away from the excavation — the sides may fall in.
1	Keep	keep	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	away	away	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
3	from	from	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	excavation	excavation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
6	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	sides	side	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
9	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	fall	fall	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	advcl	_	_
11	in	in	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep away** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  | the excavation |  | away *property* | vn forbid-64.4 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Causer from excavation=Eventuality |
| 2 | **fall in** | may | the sides |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Excavation for the new car park begins next week.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:excavation:x5:1
# text = Excavation for the new car park begins next week.
1	Excavation	excavation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
2	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
4	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
5	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	park	park	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
7	begins	begin	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	next	next	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	week	week	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | present | Excavation for the new car park |  |  |  | week |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The museum shows objects from the excavation.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:excavation:x6:1
# text = The museum shows objects from the excavation.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	museum	museum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	shows	show	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	objects	object	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	excavation	excavation	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 | **show** | present | the museum | objects |  | the excavation |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent object=Recipient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The excavation was carefully mapped in squares.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:excavation:x7:1
# text = The excavation was carefully mapped in squares.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	excavation	excavation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
4	carefully	carefully	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	mapped	map	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	squares	square	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **map** | past · passive |  | the excavation |  | squares |  | carefully *property* | tree rules |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The wonderful excavations in Olympia, to which allusion has already been made, have brought to light an exquisite marble group of Hermes and the infant Bacchus, by Praxiteles.

<!-- fold The tree, 28 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:excavation:x8:1
# text = The wonderful excavations in Olympia, to which allusion has already been made, have brought to light an exquisite marble group of Hermes and the infant Bacchus, by Praxiteles.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	wonderful	wonderful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	excavations	excavation	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	Olympia	Olympia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
7	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	13	obl	_	_
9	allusion	allusion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj:pass	_	_
10	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
11	already	already	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
12	been	be	AUX	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	13	aux:pass	_	_
13	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
15	have	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	aux	_	_
16	brought	bring	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
17	to	to	PART	TO	_	18	mark	_	_
18	light	light	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	xcomp	_	_
19	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
20	exquisite	exquisite	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	22	amod	_	_
21	marble	marble	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	compound	_	_
22	group	group	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obj	_	_
23	of	of	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
24	Hermes	Hermes	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	22	nmod	_	_
25	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	28	cc	_	_
26	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	28	det	_	_
27	infant	infant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	28	amod	_	_
28	Bacchus	Bacchus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	24	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	31	punct	_	_
30	by	by	ADP	IN	_	31	case	_	_
31	Praxiteles	Praxiteles	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	18	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
32	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	16	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present · perfect · passive |  | allusion |  |  |  | to the wonderful excavations in Olympia | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: subject=Product |
| 2 | **bring** | present · perfect · passive |  | the wonderful excavations in Olympia |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **light** | to-infinitive |  | a exquisite marble group of Hermes and the infant Bacchus |  |  |  | by Praxiteles | vn preparing-26.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent group=Product |

<!-- 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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