---
title: hyperbole — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «hyperbole» in the school dictionary: Hyperbole is a huge exaggeration that is not meant to be taken literally, used to make a point or be funny, like «I've told you a million times». Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# hyperbole

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Hyperbole, I, hungry, poet, you, claim · **What happens:** be, not mean, take, use, make, tell · **To what, where:** huge exaggeration, point, you, horse, hyperbole, example · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Hyperbole is a huge exaggeration that is not meant to be taken literally, used to make a point or be funny, like «I've told you a million times».

<!-- fold The tree, 29 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hyperbole:m1:1
# text = Hyperbole is a huge exaggeration that is not meant to be taken literally, used to make a point or be funny, like «I've told you a million times».
1	Hyperbole	hyperbole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	huge	huge	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	exaggeration	exaggeration	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj:pass	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux:pass	_	_
8	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	meant	mean	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl:relcl	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
11	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	aux:pass	_	_
12	taken	take	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	9	xcomp	_	_
13	literally	literally	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
15	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	28	advcl	_	_
16	to	to	PART	TO	_	17	mark	_	_
17	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	15	advcl	_	_
18	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	point	point	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	_
20	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	22	cc	_	_
21	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	22	cop	_	_
22	funny	funny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	28	punct	_	_
24	like	like	SCONJ	IN	_	28	mark	_	_
25	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	28	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	28	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	've	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	28	aux	_	_
28	told	tell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	9	conj	_	_
29	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	28	iobj	_	_
30	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	31	det	_	_
31	million	million	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	32	nummod	_	_
32	times	time	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	28	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
34	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Hyperbole | a huge exaggeration |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **mean** | present · passive |  | a huge exaggeration |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **take** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive · passive |  |  |  |  |  | literally *property* | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP» |
| 4 | **use** | participle | I *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 5 | **make** | to-infinitive | I *not said here* | a point |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset point=Product |
| 6 | **is** | infinitive | I *not said here* |  |  |  |  | funny *property* | tree rules |
| 7 | **tell** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | present · perfect | I |  | you |  | time |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent you=Recipient |

<!-- .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.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«I'm so hungry I could eat a horse» is hyperbole.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hyperbole:x1:1
# text = «I'm so hungry I could eat a horse» is hyperbole.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	'm	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	so	so	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	hungry	hungry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	nsubj	_	_
6	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
7	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	eat	eat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	ccomp	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	horse	horse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
12	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	cop	_	_
13	hyperbole	hyperbole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | present | I |  |  |  |  | hungry *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **eat** *in a quote* | could | I | a horse |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent horse=Patient |
| 3 | **is a** | present | hungry | hyperbole |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«I've told you a million times» is an example of hyperbole.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hyperbole:x2:1
# text = «I've told you a million times» is an example of hyperbole.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	've	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	told	tell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	12	csubj:pass	_	_
5	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	4	iobj	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	million	million	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	times	time	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
11	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	example	example	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	hyperbole	hyperbole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | present · perfect | I |  | you |  | time |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent you=Recipient |
| 2 | **is a** | present |  | a example |  |  |  | of hyperbole | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The poet used hyperbole to show how much she loved him.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hyperbole:x3:1
# text = The poet used hyperbole to show how much she loved him.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	poet	poet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	amod	_	_
4	hyperbole	hyperbole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	show	show	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	acl	_	_
7	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	8	advmod	_	_
8	much	much	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
9	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	loved	love	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	ccomp	_	_
11	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **show** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **love** | past | poet | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer he=Stimulus |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Find the hyperbole in the paragraph.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hyperbole:x4:1
# text = Find the hyperbole in the paragraph.
1	Find	find	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	hyperbole	hyperbole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	paragraph	paragraph	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **find** | imperative | you *not said here* | the hyperbole |  | the paragraph |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hyperbole=Topic |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The advert's claim to be «the best in the universe» is hyperbole.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hyperbole:x5:1
# text = The advert's claim to be «the best in the universe» is hyperbole.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	advert	advert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	claim	claim	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nsubj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
6	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	cop	_	_
7	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	4	nmod	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	universe	universe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	_
14	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
15	hyperbole	hyperbole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	15	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | to-infinitive |  |  |  | the universe |  | good *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is a** | present | the advert's claim | hyperbole |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **claim** |  | the advert |  |  |  |  |  | nom claim «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«This bag weighs a ton!» she said, using hyperbole.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:hyperbole:x6:1
# text = «This bag weighs a ton!» she said, using hyperbole.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	This	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	3	det	_	_
3	bag	bag	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	weighs	weigh	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	advcl	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	ton	ton	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
9	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	using	use	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	advcl	_	_
13	hyperbole	hyperbole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **weigh** *in a quote* | present | this bag | a ton |  |  |  |  | vn register-54.1-2-1 «NP V NP.value»: agent=Theme ton=Value |
| 2 | **say** *speech: express* | past | she |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **use** | gerund | she *not said here* | hyperbole |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hyperbole=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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