---
title: fable — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «fable» in the school dictionary: A short story, often with animals that talk, that teaches a lesson called a moral, like Aesop's «The Tortoise and the Hare». Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# fable

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** animals, short story, lesson, story, lie, Tortoise · **What happens:** talk, teach, call, not be, make up, be · **To what, where:** lesson, moral, pure fable, famous fable, many fables, own fable · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A short story, often with animals that talk, that teaches a lesson called a moral, like Aesop's «The Tortoise and the Hare».

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fable:m1:1
# text = A short story, often with animals that talk, that teaches a lesson called a moral, like Aesop's «The Tortoise and the Hare».
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
5	often	often	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	appos	_	_
8	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	talk	talk	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
11	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	12	nsubj	_	_
12	teaches	teach	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	lesson	lesson	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	_
15	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	14	acl	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	moral	moral	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
19	like	like	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
20	Aesop	Aesop	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	24	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	's	's	PART	POS	_	20	case	_	_
22	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	24	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
24	Tortoise	Tortoise	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	parataxis	_	_
25	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	27	cc	_	_
26	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	27	det	_	_
27	Hare	Hare	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	24	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	24	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **talk** | present | animals |  |  |  |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **teach** *speech: other* | present | a short story | a lesson |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S»: agent=Agent lesson=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 3 | **call** | participle | a lesson *not said here* | a moral |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «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 -->
A story that is not true, a myth or legend.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fable:m2:1
# text = A story that is not true, a myth or legend.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	6	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	myth	myth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	parataxis	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	legend	legend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is** | present | a story |  |  |  |  | true *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A lie or made-up claim: «His story about the shark was pure fable.».

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fable:m3:1
# text = A lie or made-up claim: «His story about the shark was pure fable.».
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	lie	lie	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nsubj	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
4	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	up	up	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	_
7	claim	claim	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	11	punct	_	_
9	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
12	about	about	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	shark	shark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	_
15	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	17	cop	_	_
16	pure	pure	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
17	fable	fable	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	17	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make up** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprise-107.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **is a** *in a quote* | past | a lie or made claim and His story about the shark | pure fable |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«The Tortoise and the Hare» is a famous fable.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fable:x1:1
# text = «The Tortoise and the Hare» is a famous fable.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	Tortoise	Tortoise	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	Hare	Hare	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	famous	famous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	fable	fable	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the Tortoise and the Hare | a famous fable |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The moral of the fable is «Don't tell lies».

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fable:x2:1
# text = The moral of the fable is «Don't tell lies».
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	moral	moral	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	fable	fable	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
7	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	Do	do	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	10	advmod	_	_
10	tell	tell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
11	lies	lie	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is** *in a quote* | present · do-support | the moral of the fable |  |  |  |  | tell *property* | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Aesop wrote many fables about animals.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fable:x3:1
# text = Aesop wrote many fables about animals.
1	Aesop	Aesop	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wrote	write	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	fables	fable	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	about	about	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write** | past | Aesop | many fables |  |  |  | about animals | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent fable=Recipient about animal=Topic |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We wrote our own fable about a greedy fox.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fable:x4:1
# text = We wrote our own fable about a greedy fox.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wrote	write	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
4	own	own	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	fable	fable	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	greedy	greedy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	fox	fox	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 | **write** | past | We | our own fable |  |  |  | about a greedy fox | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent fable=Recipient about fox=Topic |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the fable, the ant works hard while the grasshopper plays.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fable:x5:1
# text = In the fable, the ant works hard while the grasshopper plays.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	fable	fable	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	ant	ant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	works	work	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	hard	hard	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	7	advmod	_	_
9	while	while	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	grasshopper	grasshopper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
12	plays	play	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | present | the ant |  |  |  |  | in the fable; hard *property* | vn employment-95.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent in fable=Theme |
| 2 | **play** | present | the grasshopper |  |  |  |  |  | vn performance-26.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
His tale of seeing a dragon was just a fable.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fable:x6:1
# text = His tale of seeing a dragon was just a fable.
1	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	tale	tale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	4	mark	_	_
4	seeing	see	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	acl	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	dragon	dragon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
8	just	just	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	fable	fable	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **see** | gerund | His tale *not said here* | a dragon |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer dragon=Stimulus |
| 2 | **is a** | past | His tale | a fable |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **tell** |  | His *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom tale «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It has no correspondence with the pure Æsopian fable.\]

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fable:x7:1
# text = It has no correspondence with the pure Æsopian fable.]
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	4	det	_	_
4	correspondence	correspondence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
7	pure	pure	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
8	Æsopian	æsopian	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	fable	fable	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	]	]	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | It | no correspondence |  |  |  | with the pure Æsopian fable | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent correspondence=Patient |

<!-- 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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