---
title: groan — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «groan» in the school dictionary: To groan is to make a long, low sound because you are in pain, unhappy, bored or annoyed. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# groan

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** you, groan, Something, it, class, teacher · **What happens:** groan, be, make, creak, give, hold · **To what, where:** pain, sound, creaking sound, extra homework, sore ankle, old wooden stairs

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To groan is to make a long, low sound because you are in pain, unhappy, bored or annoyed.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:groan:m1:1
# text = To groan is to make a long, low sound because you are in pain, unhappy, bored or annoyed.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	groan	groan	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	csubj	_	_
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	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
7	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
9	low	low	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
11	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
12	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
13	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
14	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	pain	pain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
17	unhappy	unhappy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
19	bored	bored	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	conj	_	_
20	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
21	annoyed	annoyed	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **groan** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | make *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | present | you |  |  | pain |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- .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 groan is that sound.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:groan:m2:1
# text = A groan is that sound.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	groan	groan	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	5	det	_	_
5	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

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

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Something heavy can groan when it makes a creaking sound, like an old floor or a table full of food.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:groan:m3:1
# text = Something heavy can groan when it makes a creaking sound, like an old floor or a table full of food.
1	Something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	4	nsubj	_	_
2	heavy	heavy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	amod	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	groan	groan	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	7	advmod	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	makes	make	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	ccomp	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	creaking	creak	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	10	amod	_	_
10	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
12	like	like	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
13	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	floor	floor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	parataxis	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	table	table	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	conj	_	_
19	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
20	of	of	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
21	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **groan** | can | Something |  |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **make** | present | it | a creaking sound |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.material V NP»: agent=Material sound=Product |
| 3 | **creak** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The class groaned when the teacher gave extra homework.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:groan:x1:1
# text = The class groaned when the teacher gave extra homework.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	groaned	groan	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	7	advmod	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
8	extra	extra	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	homework	homework	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **groan** | past | the class |  |  |  |  |  | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **give** | past | the teacher | extra homework |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent homework=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He groaned and held his sore ankle.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:groan:x2:1
# text = He groaned and held his sore ankle.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	groaned	groan	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	held	hold	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
5	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
6	sore	sore	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	ankle	ankle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **groan** | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **hold** | past | He *not said here* | his sore ankle |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ankle=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dad's joke was so bad that we all groaned.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:groan:x3:1
# text = Dad's joke was so bad that we all groaned.
1	Dad	dad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	's	PART	POS	_	1	case	_	_
3	joke	joke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	so	so	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
7	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
8	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
9	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	8	det	_	_
10	groaned	groan	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | Dad's joke |  |  |  |  | bad *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **groan** | past | we |  |  |  |  |  | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **joke** |  | Dad |  |  |  |  |  | nom joke «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The old wooden stairs groaned under our feet.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:groan:x4:1
# text = The old wooden stairs groaned under our feet.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	wooden	wooden	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	stairs	stair	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
5	groaned	groan	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
6	under	under	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	feet	foot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **groan** | participle |  | the old wooden stairs *not said here* |  | our feet |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme under foot=Location |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Let out a groan if you hate Mondays!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:groan:x5:1
# text = Let out a groan if you hate Mondays!
1	Let	let	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	out	out	ADP	RP	_	1	compound:prt	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	groan	groan	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	hate	hate	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	advcl	_	_
8	Mondays	monday	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **let out** | imperative | you *not said here* | a groan |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent groan=Theme |
| 2 | **hate** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | you | Mondays |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer monday=Stimulus |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I heard a groan from under the bike and ran to help.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:groan:x6:1
# text = I heard a groan from under the bike and ran to help.
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	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	groan	groan	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	under	under	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	bike	bike	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	ran	run	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	help	help	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hear** | past | I | a groan |  | the bike |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent groan=Topic from bike=Source |
| 2 | **run** | past | I *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 3 | **help** | to-infinitive | I *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
“Our last romp!” Mr. Darling groaned.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* “Our last romp!”

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:groan:x7:1
# text = “Our last romp!”
1	“	"	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
3	last	last	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	romp	romp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	”	"	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **romp** *in a quote* |  | Our |  |  |  |  |  | nom romp «event intransitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* Mr. Darling groaned.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:groan:x7:2
# text = Mr. Darling groaned.
1	Mr.	Mr.	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nmod:desc	_	_
2	Darling	Darling	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	groaned	groan	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **groan** | past | Darling  Mr. |  |  |  |  |  | vn animal\_sounds-38 «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 -->

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