---
title: imitate — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «imitate» in the school dictionary: To copy the way someone speaks, moves or behaves. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# imitate

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** someone, you, Parrots, brother, us, Young children · **What happens:** copy, speak, move, behave, make, look · **To what, where:** way, something, someone, heroes, human voices, voice · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To copy the way someone speaks, moves or behaves.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:imitate:m1:1
# text = To copy the way someone speaks, moves or behaves.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	copy	copy	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	nsubj	_	_
6	speaks	speak	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
8	moves	move	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	behaves	behave	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **copy** | to-infinitive |  | the way |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent way=Theme |
| 2 | **speak** *speech: other* | present | someone | the way *not said here* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **move** | present | someone *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **behave** | present | someone *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn masquerade-29.6-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: 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}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To make something look or sound like something else.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:imitate:m2:1
# text = To make something look or sound like something else.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	look	look	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	sound	sound	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
7	like	like	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	obl	_	_
9	else	else	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* | something |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset something=Product |
| 2 | **look** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |
| 3 | **sound** | infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | like something | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To follow someone as an example: «imitate your heroes».

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:imitate:m3:1
# text = To follow someone as an example: «imitate your heroes».
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	follow	follow	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	as	as	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	example	example	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	9	punct	_	_
8	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	imitate	imitate	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
10	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	heroes	hero	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | to-infinitive |  | someone |  |  |  | as a example | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP PP.value»: agent=Agent someone=Theme as example=Value |
| 2 | **imitate** *in a quote* | infinitive |  | your heroes |  |  |  |  | vn patent-101 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hero=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Parrots can imitate human voices.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:imitate:x1:1
# text = Parrots can imitate human voices.
1	Parrots	parrot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	imitate	imitate	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	human	human	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	voices	voice	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **imitate** | can | Parrots | human voices |  |  |  |  | vn patent-101 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent voice=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My brother imitates the teacher's voice to make us laugh.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:imitate:x2:1
# text = My brother imitates the teacher's voice to make us laugh.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	imitates	imitate	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	's	's	PART	POS	_	5	case	_	_
7	voice	voice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
10	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	_
11	laugh	laugh	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **imitate** | present | My brother | the teacher's voice |  |  |  |  | vn patent-101 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent voice=Theme |
| 2 | **make** | to-infinitive | My brother *not said here* | us |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **laugh** | infinitive | us *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Young children imitate what they see adults do.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:imitate:x3:1
# text = Young children imitate what they see adults do.
1	Young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	imitate	imitate	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	6	obj	_	_
5	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	see	see	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
7	adults	adult	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
8	do	do	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **imitate** | present | Young children |  |  |  |  |  | vn patent-101 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **see** | present | children *= child* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **do** | present | adults |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Some harmless flies imitate wasps to scare off birds.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:imitate:x4:1
# text = Some harmless flies imitate wasps to scare off birds.
1	Some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	3	det	_	_
2	harmless	harmless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	flies	fly	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	imitate	imitate	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	wasps	wasp	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	scare	scare	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
8	off	off	ADP	RP	_	7	compound:prt	_	_
9	birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **imitate** | present | some harmless flies | wasps |  |  |  |  | vn patent-101 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent wasp=Theme |
| 2 | **scare off** | to-infinitive | some harmless flies *not said here* | birds |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus bird=Experiencer |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The clarinet imitates the cuckoo in this piece of music.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:imitate:x5:1
# text = The clarinet imitates the cuckoo in this piece of music.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	clarinet	clarinet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	imitates	imitate	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	cuckoo	cuckoo	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	8	det	_	_
8	piece	piece	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	music	music	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **imitate** | present | the clarinet | the cuckoo |  | this piece of music |  |  | vn patent-101 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cuckoo=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Christians try to imitate Jesus in kindness.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:imitate:x6:1
# text = Christians try to imitate Jesus in kindness.
1	Christians	Christian	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	try	try	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	imitate	imitate	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	Jesus	Jesus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	kindness	kindness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **try** | present | Christians |  |  |  |  |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **imitate** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | Christians *not said here* | Jesus |  | kindness |  |  | vn patent-101 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent jesus=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"How should I?" I replied, resolved to imitate the princess in her fidelity.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* "How should I?"

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:imitate:x7:1
# text = "How should I?"
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	How	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	3	advmod	_	_
3	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
```

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

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* I replied, resolved to imitate the princess in her fidelity.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:imitate:x7:2
# text = I replied, resolved to imitate the princess in her fidelity.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	replied	reply	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
4	resolved	resolve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	imitate	imitate	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	princess	princess	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	fidelity	fidelity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **reply** *speech: assert* | past | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn respond-113 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **resolve** | past | I *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **imitate** | to-infinitive | I *not said here* | the princess |  | princess's fidelity |  |  | vn patent-101 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent princess=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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