---
title: gradual — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «gradual» in the school dictionary: Happening slowly and little by little over time, not suddenly. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# gradual

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** slope, gradual change, path, reading, Her, river · **What happens:** happen, rise, fall, be, have, walk up · **To what, where:** gradual slope, gradual improvement, term, gradual erosion, bank, snow

<!-- .vabout -->
«gradual» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 6 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: [gradual in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/gradual.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Happening slowly and little by little over time, not suddenly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:gradual:m1:1
# text = Happening slowly and little by little over time, not suddenly.
1	Happening	happen	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
2	slowly	slowly	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	conj	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	little	little	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	1	obl	_	_
7	over	over	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
11	suddenly	suddenly	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | gerund |  |  |  |  | time | slowly, suddenly *property* | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme by little=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 -->
Of a slope: rising or falling gently, not steeply.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:gradual:m2:1
# text = Of a slope: rising or falling gently, not steeply.
1	Of	of	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	slope	slope	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	5	punct	_	_
5	rising	rise	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	acl	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	falling	fall	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	conj	_	_
8	gently	gently	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
11	steeply	steeply	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **rise** | gerund | a slope *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **fall** | gerund | a slope *not said here* |  |  |  |  | gently, steeply *property* | vn occur-48.3 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There was a gradual change in the colour of the leaves.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:gradual:x1:1
# text = There was a gradual change in the colour of the leaves.
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	2	expl	_	_
2	was	be	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	gradual	gradual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	change	change	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	colour	colour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	leaves	leaf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** | past | a gradual change in the colour of the leaves |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The path has a gradual slope, so it is easy to walk up.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:gradual:x2:1
# text = The path has a gradual slope, so it is easy to walk up.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	path	path	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	gradual	gradual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	slope	slope	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
8	so	so	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	expl	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
11	easy	easy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	parataxis	_	_
12	to	to	PART	TO	_	13	mark	_	_
13	walk	walk	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	xcomp	_	_
14	up	up	ADP	RP	_	13	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | the path | a gradual slope |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent slope=Patient |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | easy *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **walk up** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Her reading showed gradual improvement over the term.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:gradual:x3:1
# text = Her reading showed gradual improvement over the term.
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	reading	reading	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	showed	show	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	gradual	gradual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	improvement	improvement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	over	over	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	term	term	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | past | Her reading | gradual improvement |  | the term |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent improvement=Recipient |
| 2 | **read** |  | Her *= she* |  |  |  |  |  | nom reading «cognition transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The river caused gradual erosion of the bank.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:gradual:x4:1
# text = The river caused gradual erosion of the bank.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	river	river	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	caused	cause	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	gradual	gradual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	erosion	erosion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	bank	bank	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 | **cause** | past | the river | gradual erosion of the bank |  |  |  |  | vn engender-27.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition erosion=Patient |
| 2 | **erode** |  |  | the bank |  |  |  |  | nom erosion «process transitive»: of=patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The gradual rise in temperature melted the snow.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:gradual:x5:1
# text = The gradual rise in temperature melted the snow.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	gradual	gradual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	rise	rise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	temperature	temperature	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
6	melted	melt	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	snow	snow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **melt** | past | the gradual rise in temperature | the snow |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4-1 «NP V NP ADJ»: agent=Patient snow=Result |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Learning to swim is a gradual process.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:gradual:x6:1
# text = Learning to swim is a gradual process.
1	Learning	learn	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	csubj	_	_
2	to	to	PART	TO	_	3	mark	_	_
3	swim	swim	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	xcomp	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	gradual	gradual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	process	process	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **learn** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **swim** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **is a** | present | Learning | a gradual process |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- 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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