---
title: hearer — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «hearer» in the school dictionary: A person who hears or listens to something, especially a speech, a story or a sermon. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# hearer

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** person, storyteller, hearers, good speaker, hearer, Bible · **What happens:** hear, listen, oppose, hold, spellbind, think · **To what, where:** linguistics, doers, joke, turns, conversation, one · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A person who hears or listens to something, especially a speech, a story or a sermon.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hearer:m1:1
# text = A person who hears or listens to something, especially a speech, a story or a sermon.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
4	hears	hear	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	listens	listen	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
7	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	sermon	sermon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hear** | present | a person |  |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V PP.stimulus»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **listen** | present | a person *not said here* |  |  |  |  | to something | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent to something=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.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In linguistics, the listener in a conversation, as opposed to the speaker.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hearer:m2:1
# text = In linguistics, the listener in a conversation, as opposed to the speaker.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	linguistics	linguistic	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	listener	listener	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	conversation	conversation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
10	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
11	opposed	oppose	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
12	to	to	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	speaker	speaker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **oppose** | participle |  |  |  | linguistics and the listener in a conversation |  | to the speaker | vn amalgamate-22.2-3 «NP V ADVP-Middle»: agent=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The storyteller held all her hearers spellbound.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hearer:x1:1
# text = The storyteller held all her hearers spellbound.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	storyteller	storyteller	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	held	hold	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	all	all	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
5	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	hearers	hearer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
7	spellbound	spellbind	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold** | past | the storyteller |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **spellbind** | past | storyteller's hearers |  |  |  |  | all *property* | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A good speaker thinks about what the hearer needs to know.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hearer:x2:1
# text = A good speaker thinks about what the hearer needs to know.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	speaker	speaker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	thinks	think	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	about	about	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	4	obl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	hearer	hearer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	needs	need	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	know	know	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **think** *speech: other* | present | a good speaker |  |  |  |  |  | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent about what=Topic |
| 2 | **need** | present | the hearer |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 3 | **know** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the hearer *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Bible says to be «doers of the word, and not hearers only».

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hearer:x3:1
# text = The Bible says to be «doers of the word, and not hearers only».
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Bible	Bible	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	cop	_	_
6	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	doers	doer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	ccomp	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
13	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	14	advmod	_	_
14	hearers	hearer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	appos	_	_
15	only	only	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | the Bible |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** *in a quote* | to-infinitive |  | doers |  |  |  | of the word | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Every hearer laughed at the joke.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hearer:x4:1
# text = Every hearer laughed at the joke.
1	Every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	det	_	_
2	hearer	hearer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	laughed	laugh	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	joke	joke	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 | **laugh** | past | every hearer |  |  | the joke |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In a conversation, the hearer and speaker take turns.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hearer:x5:1
# text = In a conversation, the hearer and speaker take turns.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	conversation	conversation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	hearer	hearer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	speaker	speaker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
9	take	take	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	turns	turn	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | present | the hearer and speaker | turns |  | a conversation |  |  | vn fit-54.3 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent turn=Value in conversation=Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"No need of witnesses," said one of the hearers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hearer:x6:1
# text = "No need of witnesses," said one of the hearers.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	No	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	3	det	_	_
3	need	need	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	witnesses	witness	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
8	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	obj	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	hearers	hearer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | no need of witnesses | one of the hearers |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent one=Topic |
| 2 | **need** *in a quote* |  |  | witnesses |  |  |  |  | nom need «state transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- 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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