---
title: foretell — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «foretell» in the school dictionary: To foretell something is to say what will happen in the future, often by magic, prophecy or special knowledge. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# foretell

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** old woman, oracle, hero, Bible Christians, prophets, Dark clouds · **What happens:** foretell, be, happen, mean, come, claim · **To what, where:** something, future, sign, journey, myth, prophets · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To foretell something is to say what will happen in the future, often by magic, prophecy or special knowledge.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:foretell:m1:1
# text = To foretell something is to say what will happen in the future, often by magic, prophecy or special knowledge.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	foretell	foretell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	advcl	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	say	say	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	9	nsubj	_	_
8	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
9	happen	happen	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	ccomp	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	future	future	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
14	often	often	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	_
15	by	by	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	magic	magic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
18	prophecy	prophecy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	conj	_	_
19	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
20	special	special	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	21	amod	_	_
21	knowledge	knowledge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **foretell** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Theme |
| 2 | **be** *speech: assert* | present |  |  |  |  |  | say *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **happen** | future |  |  |  | the future |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme in future=Location |

<!-- .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 -->
To foretell can also mean to be a sign of something to come.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:foretell:m2:1
# text = To foretell can also mean to be a sign of something to come.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	foretell	foretell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	csubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
7	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	cop	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	sign	sign	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	ccomp	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	9	nmod	_	_
12	to	to	PART	TO	_	13	mark	_	_
13	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **foretell** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **mean** | can |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is a** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | a sign |  |  |  | of something | tree rules |
| 4 | **come** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The old woman claimed to foretell the future.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:foretell:x1:1
# text = The old woman claimed to foretell the future.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	woman	woman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	claimed	claim	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	foretell	foretell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	future	future	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **claim** *speech: other* | past | the old woman |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **foretell** | to-infinitive | the old woman *not said here* | the future |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent future=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the myth, the oracle foretold the hero's journey.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:foretell:x2:1
# text = In the myth, the oracle foretold the hero's journey.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	myth	myth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	oracle	oracle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	foretold	foretell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	hero	hero	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	's	's	PART	POS	_	9	case	_	_
11	journey	journey	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **foretell** | participle | the oracle | the hero's journey |  | the myth |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent journey=Theme |
| 2 | **journey** |  | the hero |  |  |  |  |  | nom journey «act transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
(Bible) Christians believe the prophets foretold the birth of Jesus.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:foretell:x3:1
# text = (Bible) Christians believe the prophets foretold the birth of Jesus.
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Bible	Bible	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	2	punct	_	_
4	Christians	Christian	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
5	believe	believe	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	prophets	prophet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
8	foretold	foretell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	acl	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	birth	birth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	Jesus	Jesus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **believe** | present | Bible Christians | the prophets |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer prophet=Stimulus |
| 2 | **foretell** | participle | the prophets *not said here* | the birth of Jesus |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent birth=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dark clouds foretell rain.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:foretell:x4:1
# text = Dark clouds foretell rain.
1	Dark	dark	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	clouds	cloud	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	foretell	foretell	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	rain	rain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **foretell** | present | Dark clouds | rain |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent rain=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nobody can foretell exactly who will win.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:foretell:x5:1
# text = Nobody can foretell exactly who will win.
1	Nobody	nobody	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	foretell	foretell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	exactly	exactly	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
5	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
6	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	win	win	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **foretell** | can | Nobody |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **win** | future |  |  |  |  |  | exactly *property* | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The legend foretold that a child would pull the sword from the stone.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:foretell:x6:1
# text = The legend foretold that a child would pull the sword from the stone.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	legend	legend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	foretold	foretell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	child	child	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	advcl	_	_
7	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	pull	pull	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	sword	sword	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	from	from	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	stone	stone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **foretell** | participle |  | the legend *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **pull** | would | the legend | the sword |  | the stone |  |  | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP PP.initial\_location»: agent=Agent sword=Theme from stone=Initial\_Location |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A neighbor saw him running and said, “Oh! you fellow there! you say you can foretell the fortunes of others; how is it you did not foresee your own?”

<!-- fold The tree, 29 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:foretell:x7:1
# text = A neighbor saw him running and said, “Oh! you fellow there! you say you can foretell the fortunes of others; how is it you did not foresee your own?”
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	neighbor	neighbor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	saw	see	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	running	run	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	xcomp	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
9	“	"	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	Oh	oh	INTJ	UH	_	13	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
12	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
13	fellow	fellow	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	ccomp	_	_
14	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	13	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	17	punct	_	_
16	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
17	say	say	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	conj	_	_
18	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	20	nsubj	_	_
19	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	20	aux	_	_
20	foretell	foretell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	17	ccomp	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	fortunes	fortune	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	20	obj	_	_
23	of	of	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
24	others	other	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	22	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	32	punct	_	_
26	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	32	advmod	_	_
27	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	26	cop	_	_
28	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	26	nsubj	_	_
29	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	32	nsubj	_	_
30	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	32	aux	_	_
31	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	32	advmod	_	_
32	foresee	foresee	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	parataxis	_	_
33	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	34	nmod:poss	_	_
34	own	own	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	32	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
35	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	32	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
36	”	"	PUNCT	''	_	32	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **see** | past | a neighbor | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **run** | gerund | him *= he* *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **say** *speech: ask* | past | a neighbor *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 4 | **fellow** *in a quote* | present | you |  |  | there |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **say** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | present | you |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 6 | **foretell** *in a quote* | can | you | the fortunes of others |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fortune=Theme |
| 7 | **is** *in a quote* | present | neighbor |  |  |  |  | how *property* | tree rules |
| 8 | **not** **foresee** *in a quote* | past · do-support | you | your own |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent own=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 -->

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