---
title: former — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «former» in the school dictionary: Former means earlier, from before but not now: «the former head teacher», «a former champion». Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# former

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Former, two things, second, form, schools, former teacher · **What happens:** mean, mention, be, call, come, visit · **To what, where:** first, class, pupil, former Olympic champion, former, former British colony · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Former means earlier, from before but not now: «the former head teacher», «a former champion».

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:former:m1:1
# text = Former means earlier, from before but not now: «the former head teacher», «a former champion».
1	Former	former	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	earlier	early	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	before	before	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
7	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	now	now	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	15	punct	_	_
11	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
13	former	former	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
14	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	compound	_	_
15	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
18	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	21	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
20	former	former	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	21	amod	_	_
21	champion	champion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	21	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Former |  |  |  |  | before, early *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=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 -->
The former means the first of two things just mentioned; the second is «the latter».

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:former:m2:1
# text = The former means the first of two things just mentioned; the second is «the latter».
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	former	former	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	nsubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	first	first	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing|NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	3	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	_
9	just	just	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	mentioned	mention	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	second	second	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nsubj	_	_
14	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	17	cop	_	_
15	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	latter	latter	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | the former | the first of two things |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **mention** *speech: other* | past | two things *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is** *in a quote* | present | the second |  |  |  |  | latter *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: UK schools, old — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A form is a class, and some schools call a pupil «a sixth-former».

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:former:m3:1
# text = A form is a class, and some schools call a pupil «a sixth-former».
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	form	form	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
8	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	9	det	_	_
9	schools	school	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
10	call	call	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	pupil	pupil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
13	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
15	sixth	sixth	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	former	former	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a form | a class |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **call** | present | some schools | a class *not said here* | a pupil |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent pupil=Recipient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our former teacher came to visit.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:former:x1:1
# text = Our former teacher came to visit.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	former	former	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	visit	visit	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | past | Our former teacher |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **visit** | to-infinitive | Our former teacher *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn meet-36.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He is a former Olympic champion.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:former:x2:1
# text = He is a former Olympic champion.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
4	former	former	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
5	Olympic	olympic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	champion	champion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | He | a former Olympic champion |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tea and coffee? I prefer the former, so tea please.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Tea and coffee?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:former:x3:1
# text = Tea and coffee?
1	Tea	tea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	coffee	coffee	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

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

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* I prefer the former, so tea please.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:former:x3:2
# text = I prefer the former, so tea please.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	prefer	prefer	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	former	former	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
6	so	so	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	tea	tea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
8	please	please	INTJ	UH	_	2	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **prefer** | present | I | the former |  |  |  | tea *obl* | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer former=Stimulus |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Kenya is a former British colony.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:former:x4:1
# text = Kenya is a former British colony.
1	Kenya	kenya	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
4	former	former	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
5	British	British	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	colony	colony	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Kenya | a former British colony |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The castle is a shadow of its former self.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:former:x5:1
# text = The castle is a shadow of its former self.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	castle	castle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	shadow	shadow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
8	former	former	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	self	self	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the castle | a shadow |  |  |  | of castle's former self | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In former times, children worked in factories.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:former:x6:1
# text = In former times, children worked in factories.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	former	former	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	times	time	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
6	worked	work	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	factories	factory	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | past | children |  |  |  | time | in factories | vn employment-95.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent in factory=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My sister is a sixth-former.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:former:x7:1
# text = My sister is a sixth-former.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	sister	sister	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
5	sixth	sixth	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	former	former	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | My sister |  |  |  |  | former *property* | tree rules |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The poor Jackdaw returned sadly to his former companions.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:former:x8:1
# text = The poor Jackdaw returned sadly to his former companions.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	poor	poor	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	Jackdaw	Jackdaw	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	returned	return	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	sadly	sadly	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
8	former	former	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	companions	companion	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **return** | past | the poor Jackdaw |  |  |  |  | to Jackdaw's former companions *result*; sadly *property* | vn convert-26.6.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Patient to companion=Result |

<!-- 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 -->
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