---
title: formulate — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «formulate» in the school dictionary: To formulate a plan, idea or rule is to think it out carefully and put it together in detail. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# formulate

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** plan, you, team, She, her, Scientists · **What happens:** formulate, be, put, start, raise, take · **To what, where:** rule, detail, something, words, medicine, particular mixture · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To formulate a plan, idea or rule is to think it out carefully and put it together in detail.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:formulate:m1:1
# text = To formulate a plan, idea or rule is to think it out carefully and put it together in detail.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	formulate	formulate	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	plan	plan	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	appos	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	rule	rule	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	think	think	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	ccomp	_	_
12	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	_
13	out	out	ADP	RP	_	11	compound:prt	_	_
14	carefully	carefully	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	put	put	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	conj	_	_
17	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	obj	_	_
18	together	together	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	_
19	in	in	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
20	detail	detail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **formulate** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | a plan or rule |  |  |  |  | carefully, think *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **put** | infinitive | a plan or rule *not said here* | rule |  | detail |  | together *property* | vn put-9.1-2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent it=Theme in detail=Destination |

<!-- .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 formulate something is to express it clearly in words or symbols.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:formulate:m2:1
# text = To formulate something is to express it clearly in words or symbols.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	formulate	formulate	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	express	express	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	clearly	clearly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	symbols	symbol	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **formulate** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Product |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  | words or symbols |  | clearly, express *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To formulate a medicine, food or product is to make it from a particular mixture.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:formulate:m3:1
# text = To formulate a medicine, food or product is to make it from a particular mixture.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	formulate	formulate	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	advcl	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	medicine	medicine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	product	product	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	make	make	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
12	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	_
13	from	from	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
15	particular	particular	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	mixture	mixture	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **formulate** | to-infinitive |  | a medicine and food or product |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent medicine=Product |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  | a particular mixture |  | make *property* | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Formulate a hypothesis before you start the experiment.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:formulate:x1:1
# text = Formulate a hypothesis before you start the experiment.
1	Formulate	formulate	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	hypothesis	hypothesis	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
5	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	start	start	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	advcl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	experiment	experiment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **formulate** | imperative | you *not said here* | a hypothesis |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hypothesis=Product |
| 2 | **start** | present | you | the experiment |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent experiment=Eventuality |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The team formulated a plan to raise money for the trip.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:formulate:x2:1
# text = The team formulated a plan to raise money for the trip.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	formulated	formulate	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	plan	plan	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	raise	raise	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	acl	_	_
8	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	trip	trip	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **formulate** | past | the team | a plan |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent plan=Product |
| 2 | **raise** | to-infinitive | the team *not said here* | money |  |  |  | for the trip | vn put\_direction-9.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent money=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She took a moment to formulate her answer.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:formulate:x3:1
# text = She took a moment to formulate her answer.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	took	take	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	formulate	formulate	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
7	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	answer	answer	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 | **take** | past | She |  |  |  | moment |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **formulate** | to-infinitive | She *not said here* | her answer |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent answer=Product |
| 3 | **answer** |  | her *= she* |  |  |  |  |  | nom answer «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Can you formulate the word problem as an equation?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:formulate:x4:1
# text = Can you formulate the word problem as an equation?
1	Can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
2	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	formulate	formulate	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	problem	problem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	as	as	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	equation	equation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **formulate** | can | you | the word problem |  |  |  | as a equation | vn create-26.4 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Agent problem=Result as equation=Attribute |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cream is formulated for sensitive skin.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:formulate:x5:1
# text = The cream is formulated for sensitive skin.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cream	cream	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	formulated	formulate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	sensitive	sensitive	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	skin	skin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **formulate** | present · passive |  | the cream |  |  |  | for sensitive skin | vn build-26.1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: subject=Material for skin=Beneficiary |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Scientists formulate rules from many observations.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:formulate:x6:1
# text = Scientists formulate rules from many observations.
1	Scientists	scientist	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	formulate	formulate	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	rules	rule	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	observations	observation	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **formulate** | present | Scientists | rules |  | many observations |  |  | vn build-26.1 «NP V NP.product PP.material»: agent=Agent rule=Product from observation=Material |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Her heart gave a great throb, and she prepared to speak at once and in great volume before he could formulate any question.

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:formulate:x7:1
# text = Her heart gave a great throb, and she prepared to speak at once and in great volume before he could formulate any question.
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	heart	heart	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	throb	throb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	prepared	prepare	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	speak	speak	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	xcomp	_	_
13	at	at	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	12	obl	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
16	in	in	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	volume	volume	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	_
19	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	22	mark	_	_
20	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	22	nsubj	_	_
21	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	22	aux	_	_
22	formulate	formulate	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	advcl	_	_
23	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	24	det	_	_
24	question	question	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | Her heart | a great throb |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent throb=Theme |
| 2 | **prepare** | past | heart |  |  |  |  |  | vn hire-13.5.3 «NP V NP to be NP»: agent=Agent clause=Attribute |
| 3 | **speak** *speech: other* *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | heart *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **formulate** | could | he | any question |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent question=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 -->

<!-- pn -->
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