---
title: heckle — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «heckle» in the school dictionary: To heckle means to shout rude or annoying comments at someone who is speaking or performing in public, to interrupt them. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# heckle

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** heckle, Someone, comedian, It, fans, Hecklers · **What happens:** heckle, mean, shout, speak, perform, interrupt · **To what, where:** rude comments, someone, public, comments, one, wooden comb · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To heckle means to shout rude or annoying comments at someone who is speaking or performing in public, to interrupt them.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:heckle:m1:1
# text = To heckle means to shout rude or annoying comments at someone who is speaking or performing in public, to interrupt them.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	heckle	heckle	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	csubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	shout	shout	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	rude	rude	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	annoying	annoying	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	_
9	comments	comment	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
10	at	at	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	obl	_	_
12	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	14	nsubj	_	_
13	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
14	speaking	speak	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	11	acl:relcl	_	_
15	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	performing	perform	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	14	conj	_	_
17	in	in	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	public	public	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
20	to	to	PART	TO	_	21	mark	_	_
21	interrupt	interrupt	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
22	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	21	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **heckle** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **shout** *speech: express* *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | rude comments |  | someone |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent comment=Topic |
| 4 | **speak** *speech: other* | present · progressive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 5 | **perform** | gerund |  |  |  | public |  |  | vn performance-26.7 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 6 | **interrupt** | to-infinitive |  | comments *= comment* |  |  |  |  | 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 heckle is one of those shouted comments.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:heckle:m2:1
# text = A heckle is one of those shouted comments.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	heckle	heckle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	those	that	DET	DT	Number=Plur|PronType=Dem	8	det	_	_
7	shouted	shout	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	amod	_	_
8	comments	comment	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a heckle | one |  |  |  | of that shouted comments | tree rules |
| 2 | **shout** *speech: express* | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A heckle is also a wooden comb with metal teeth, used to comb flax or hemp into fibres.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:heckle:m3:1
# text = A heckle is also a wooden comb with metal teeth, used to comb flax or hemp into fibres.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	heckle	heckle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	wooden	wooden	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	comb	comb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	metal	metal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	parataxis	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	comb	comb	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	xcomp	_	_
15	flax	flax	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	hemp	hemp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	conj	_	_
18	into	into	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
19	fibres	fibre	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a heckle | a wooden comb |  |  |  | with metal teeth | tree rules |
| 2 | **use** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 3 | **comb** | to-infinitive |  | flax or hemp |  | fibres |  |  | vn wipe\_instr-10.4.2-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent flax=Theme into fibre=Destination |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Someone in the crowd heckled the politician.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:heckle:x1:1
# text = Someone in the crowd heckled the politician.
1	Someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	nsubj	_	_
2	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	crowd	crowd	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
5	heckled	heckle	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	politician	politician	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **heckle** | past | Someone | the politician |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The comedian had a funny answer for every heckle.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:heckle:x2:1
# text = The comedian had a funny answer for every heckle.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	comedian	comedian	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	funny	funny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	9	det	_	_
9	heckle	heckle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | the comedian | a funny answer |  |  |  | for every heckle | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent answer=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is rude to heckle a speaker at assembly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:heckle:x3:1
# text = It is rude to heckle a speaker at assembly.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	rude	rude	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	heckle	heckle	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	speaker	speaker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	at	at	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	assembly	assembly	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | It |  |  |  |  | rude *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **heckle** | to-infinitive |  | a speaker |  | assembly |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The fans heckled the referee all game.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:heckle:x4:1
# text = The fans heckled the referee all game.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fans	fan	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	heckled	heckle	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	referee	referee	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	7	det	_	_
7	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **heckle** | past | the fans | the referee |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Hecklers kept shouting during the speech.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:heckle:x5:1
# text = Hecklers kept shouting during the speech.
1	Hecklers	heckler	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	kept	keep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	shouting	shout	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	xcomp	_	_
4	during	during	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | past | Hecklers |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **shout** *speech: express* | gerund | Hecklers *not said here* |  |  |  | during the speech |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She kept calm even when they heckled her.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:heckle:x6:1
# text = She kept calm even when they heckled her.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	kept	keep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	calm	calm	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
4	even	even	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
5	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	7	advmod	_	_
6	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	heckled	heckle	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
8	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | past | She |  |  |  |  | calm *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **heckle** | past | they | her *= she* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Heckling is combing it with a heckle or wooden comb; binnings are halters for cattle made of sprit or rushes.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:heckle:x7:1
# text = Heckling is combing it with a heckle or wooden comb; binnings are halters for cattle made of sprit or rushes.
1	Heckling	heckling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	combing	comb	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	heckle	heckle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	wooden	wooden	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	comb	comb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
12	binnings	binning	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	nsubj	_	_
13	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	cop	_	_
14	halters	halter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
15	for	for	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	cattle	cattle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	nmod	_	_
17	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	16	acl	_	_
18	of	of	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
19	sprit	sprit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obl	_	_
20	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
21	rushes	rush	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **comb** | present · progressive | Heckling | it |  |  |  | with a heckle or wooden comb | vn braid-41.2.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Patient |
| 2 | **is a** | present | binnings | halters |  |  |  | for cattle | tree rules |
| 3 | **make** | participle |  | cattle *not said here* |  |  |  | of sprit | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |
| 4 | **rush** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «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 -->

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