---
title: happen — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «happen» in the school dictionary: To happen is to take place, to come about. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# happen

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** they, Something, I, you, we, Tom · **What happens:** happen, be, come about, go through, do, see · **To what, where:** thing, something, me, her, 2, school · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To happen is to take place, to come about.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:happen:m1:1
# text = To happen is to take place, to come about.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	happen	happen	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	take	take	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	place	place	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
10	about	about	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | take *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **come about** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | about *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- .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.

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What happened?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:happen:m1e:1
# text = What happened?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	2	nsubj	_	_
2	happened	happen	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | past |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To happen to someone is to be the thing they go through.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:happen:m2:1
# text = To happen to someone is to be the thing they go through.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	happen	happen	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	advcl	_	_
3	to	to	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obl	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
7	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	cop	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
10	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	go	go	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	acl:relcl	_	_
12	through	through	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | to someone | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **is a** | present |  | the thing |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **go through** | present | they | the thing *not said here* |  |  |  | through *property* | vn meander-47.7 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location thing=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Something funny happened to me.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:happen:m2e:1
# text = Something funny happened to me.
1	Something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	3	nsubj	_	_
2	funny	funny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	amod	_	_
3	happened	happen	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | past | Something |  | me |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To happen to do something is to do it by chance.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:happen:m3:1
# text = To happen to do something is to do it by chance.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	happen	happen	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	advcl	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	4	obj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	do	do	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	_
10	by	by	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	chance	chance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **do** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Eventuality |
| 3 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | by chance; do *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I happened to see her.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:happen:m3e:1
# text = I happened to see her.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	happened	happen	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | past | I |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **see** | to-infinitive | I *not said here* | her *= she* |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer she=Stimulus |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Not quite. Think: what happens to the groups? Here we multiply.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Not quite.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:happen:x1:1
# text = Not quite.
1	Not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	2	advmod	_	_
2	quite	quite	ADV	RB	_	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

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

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* Think: what happens to the groups?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:happen:x1:2
# text = Think: what happens to the groups?
1	Think	think	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	4	punct	_	_
3	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	nsubj	_	_
4	happens	happen	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	ccomp	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	groups	group	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **think** *speech: other* | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **happen** | present |  |  |  |  |  | to the groups | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 3:* Here we multiply.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:happen:x1:3
# text = Here we multiply.
1	Here	here	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	0	root	_	_
2	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	1	nsubj	_	_
3	multiply	multiply	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What happens to the apples when Tom eats 2?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:happen:x2:1
# text = What happens to the apples when Tom eats 2?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	2	nsubj	_	_
2	happens	happen	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	apples	apple	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
6	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	8	advmod	_	_
7	Tom	Tom	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	eats	eat	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
9	2	2	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | present |  |  |  |  |  | to the apples | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **eat** | present | Tom | 2 |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent 2=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What happened at school today?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:happen:x3:1
# text = What happened at school today?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	2	nsubj	_	_
2	happened	happen	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	at	at	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
5	today	today	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | past |  |  |  | school | today |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme at school=Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Accidents can happen, so be careful.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:happen:x4:1
# text = Accidents can happen, so be careful.
1	Accidents	accident	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	happen	happen	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
5	so	so	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
6	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	cop	_	_
7	careful	careful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | can | Accidents |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | infinitive | Accidents *not said here* |  |  |  |  | careful *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What happens if we put the ice in the sun?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:happen:x5:1
# text = What happens if we put the ice in the sun?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	2	nsubj	_	_
2	happens	happen	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
4	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	put	put	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	ice	ice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	sun	sun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **put** *a condition, not said to happen* | past | we | the ice |  | the sun |  |  | vn put-9.1-2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent ice=Theme in sun=Destination |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I happened to see your mum at the shop.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:happen:x6:1
# text = I happened to see your mum at the shop.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	happened	happen	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	at	at	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	shop	shop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | past | I |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **see** | to-infinitive | I *not said here* | your mum |  | the shop |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer mum=Stimulus |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Something strange happened in the night.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:happen:x7:1
# text = Something strange happened in the night.
1	Something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	3	nsubj	_	_
2	strange	strange	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	amod	_	_
3	happened	happen	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | past | Something |  |  |  | night |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
And then a strange thing happened.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:happen:x8:1
# text = And then a strange thing happened.
1	And	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
2	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	6	advmod	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	strange	strange	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	happened	happen	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | past | a strange thing |  |  |  | then |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- 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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