---
title: harp — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «harp» in the school dictionary: A large musical instrument with many strings stretched on a tall frame, played by plucking with the fingers. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# harp

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Bible David, Harp, harmonica, She, David, Irish harp · **What happens:** stretch, play, pluck, write, mean, keep · **To what, where:** many strings, tall frame, harp, psalms, boring way, mouth harp · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A large musical instrument with many strings stretched on a tall frame, played by plucking with the fingers.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:harp:m1:1
# text = A large musical instrument with many strings stretched on a tall frame, played by plucking with the fingers.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	large	large	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	musical	musical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	instrument	instrument	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	strings	string	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	_
8	stretched	stretch	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	acl	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	tall	tall	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	frame	frame	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
14	played	play	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	parataxis	_	_
15	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
16	plucking	pluck	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	14	advcl	_	_
17	with	with	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	fingers	finger	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stretch** | participle |  | many strings *not said here* |  | a tall frame |  |  | vn bend-45.2 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **play** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn performance-26.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **pluck** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | with the fingers | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1-1 «NP V PP-Conative»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the Bible King David played the harp (lyre) and wrote psalms.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:harp:m2:1
# text = In the Bible King David played the harp (lyre) and wrote psalms.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
3	Bible	Bible	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
4	King	King	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nmod:desc	_	_
5	David	David	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	played	play	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	harp	harp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	lyre	lyre	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	10	punct	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	wrote	write	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
14	psalms	psalm	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **play** | past | the Bible David  King | the harp |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent harp=Theme |
| 2 | **write** | past | the Bible David  King *not said here* | psalms |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent psalm=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Harp on» means to keep talking about the same thing in a boring or annoying way.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:harp:m3:1
# text = «Harp on» means to keep talking about the same thing in a boring or annoying way.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Harp	harp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
5	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	keep	keep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	_
8	talking	talk	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	xcomp	_	_
9	about	about	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	same	same	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
15	boring	boring	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	annoying	annoying	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	conj	_	_
18	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Harp |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **keep** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | Harp *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **talk** | gerund | Harp *not said here* |  |  | a boring way |  | about the same thing | vn talk-37.5 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent about thing=Topic |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A harmonica, sometimes called a mouth harp or blues harp.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:harp:m4:1
# text = A harmonica, sometimes called a mouth harp or blues harp.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	harmonica	harmonica	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
4	sometimes	sometimes	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	5	advmod	_	_
5	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	mouth	mouth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	harp	harp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	xcomp	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
10	blues	blue	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	harp	harp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | participle | a harmonica *not said here* | a mouth harp |  |  |  | sometimes *property* | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **blue** | present | a harmonica | harp |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She plays the harp in the school orchestra.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:harp:x1:1
# text = She plays the harp in the school orchestra.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	plays	play	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	harp	harp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	orchestra	orchestra	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **play** | present | She | the harp |  | the school orchestra |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent harp=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The harp makes a soft, rippling sound.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:harp:x2:1
# text = The harp makes a soft, rippling sound.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	harp	harp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	makes	make	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
5	soft	soft	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
7	rippling	ripple	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	amod	_	_
8	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present | the harp | a soft rippling sound |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.material V NP»: agent=Material sound=Product |
| 2 | **ripple** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn entity\_specific\_modes\_being-47.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the Bible, David played the harp for King Saul.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:harp:x3:1
# text = In the Bible, David played the harp for King Saul.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	Bible	Bible	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	David	David	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	played	play	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	harp	harp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	King	King	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	Saul	Saul	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **play** | past | David | the harp |  | the Bible |  | for King Saul | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP PP.predicate»: agent=Agent harp=Theme for saul=Eventuality |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Irish harp is a symbol of Ireland.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:harp:x4:1
# text = The Irish harp is a symbol of Ireland.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	Irish	Irish	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	harp	harp	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	symbol	symbol	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	Ireland	Ireland	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the Irish harp | a symbol |  |  |  | of Ireland | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Stop harping on about your new trainers!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:harp:x5:1
# text = Stop harping on about your new trainers!
1	Stop	stop	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	harping	harp	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	1	xcomp	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	about	about	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
6	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	trainers	trainer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stop** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Affector clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **harp on** | gerund | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | about your new trainers | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Angels are often drawn with harps.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:harp:x6:1
# text = Angels are often drawn with harps.
1	Angels	angel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
3	often	often	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	drawn	draw	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	harps	harp	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **draw** | present · passive |  | Angels |  |  |  | with harps; often *property* | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
And the harp played a merry tune.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:harp:x7:1
# text = And the harp played a merry tune.
1	And	and	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	harp	harp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	played	play	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	merry	merry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	tune	tune	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **play** | past | the harp | a merry tune |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tune=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 -->
- ← previous: [harness](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/harness/)
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