---
title: fragment — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «fragment» in the school dictionary: A fragment is a small piece that has broken off something. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fragment/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [F](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/) / fragment

# fragment

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** fragment, that, sentence fragment, words, Archaeologists, I · **What happens:** be, break off, not be, find, hear, say · **To what, where:** small piece, something, small part, group, complete sentence, small pieces · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«fragment» in the school dictionary: its 4 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: [fragment in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/fragment.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A fragment is a small piece that has broken off something.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fragment:m1:1
# text = A fragment is a small piece that has broken off something.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fragment	fragment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	piece	piece	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
8	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
9	broken	break	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	6	parataxis	_	_
10	off	off	ADP	RP	_	9	compound:prt	_	_
11	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a fragment | a small piece |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **break off** | present · perfect | that | something |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer something=Patient |

<!-- .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 fragment is a small part of something, like a fragment of a song or a conversation.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fragment:m2:1
# text = A fragment is a small part of something, like a fragment of a song or a conversation.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fragment	fragment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	part	part	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	like	like	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	fragment	fragment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	appos	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	song	song	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	conversation	conversation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a fragment | a small part |  |  |  | of something | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A sentence fragment is a group of words that is not a complete sentence.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fragment:m3:1
# text = A sentence fragment is a group of words that is not a complete sentence.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	sentence	sentence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	fragment	fragment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	group	group	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	_
9	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	14	nsubj	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	cop	_	_
11	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	14	advmod	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	complete	complete	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	sentence	sentence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a sentence fragment | a group |  |  |  | of words | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **is a** | present | words | a complete sentence |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To fragment is to break into small pieces.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fragment:m4:1
# text = To fragment is to break into small pieces.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	fragment	fragment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	advcl	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	break	break	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	into	into	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	pieces	piece	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Archaeologists found fragments of an old pot.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fragment:x1:1
# text = Archaeologists found fragments of an old pot.
1	Archaeologists	archaeologist	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	found	find	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	fragments	fragment	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	pot	pot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **find** | past | Archaeologists | fragments of a old pot |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fragment=Topic |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A fragment of glass was stuck in my shoe.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fragment:x2:1
# text = A fragment of glass was stuck in my shoe.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fragment	fragment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	glass	glass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	stuck	stuck	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	shoe	shoe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | a fragment of glass |  |  | my shoe |  | stuck *property* | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I heard only a fragment of what they said.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fragment:x3:1
# text = I heard only a fragment of what they said.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	heard	hear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	only	only	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	fragment	fragment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	5	nmod	_	_
8	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hear** | past | I | a fragment |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer fragment=Stimulus |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | they |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Running down the hill.» is a sentence fragment.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fragment:x4:1
# text = «Running down the hill.» is a sentence fragment.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Running	run	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	11	csubj	_	_
3	down	down	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	hill	hill	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	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	sentence	sentence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	fragment	fragment	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 | **run down** *in a quote* | gerund |  | the hill |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme hill=Trajectory |
| 2 | **is a** | present | Running | a sentence fragment |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The meteor broke into tiny fragments.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fragment:x5:1
# text = The meteor broke into tiny fragments.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	meteor	meteor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	broke	break	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	into	into	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	tiny	tiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	fragments	fragment	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **break** | past | the meteor |  |  |  |  | into tiny fragments *result* | vn break-45.1 «NP V PP.result»: agent=Patient into fragment=Result |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Bone fragments told the scientists about the animal.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fragment:x6:1
# text = Bone fragments told the scientists about the animal.
1	Bone	bone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	fragments	fragment	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	told	tell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	scientists	scientist	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	iobj	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past | Bone fragments |  | the scientists about the animal |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent scientist=Recipient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The ice fragmented into floating chunks.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fragment:x7:1
# text = The ice fragmented into floating chunks.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	ice	ice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	fragmented	fragment	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	into	into	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	floating	float	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	amod	_	_
6	chunks	chunk	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fragment** | participle |  | the ice *not said here* |  |  |  | into floating chunks *result* | vn break-45.1 «NP V PP.result»: agent=Patient into chunk=Result |
| 2 | **float** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Every man may read in this book, but only in fragments.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fragment:x8:1
# text = Every man may read in this book, but only in fragments.
1	Every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	det	_	_
2	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	read	read	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	7	det	_	_
7	book	book	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
9	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
10	only	only	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	fragments	fragment	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **read** | may | every man |  |  | this book but fragments |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- 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 -->
- ← previous: [fragile](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fragile/)
- next →: [fragmentary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fragmentary/)
- ↑ back to [F in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/)