---
title: indirect — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «indirect» in the school dictionary: Not going straight: an indirect route. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# indirect

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Indirect speech, someone, indirect object, object, their, We · **What happens:** not go, not say, happen, report, say, receive · **To what, where:** indirect route, thing, book, me, park, indirect answer · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Not going straight: an indirect route.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:indirect:m1:1
# text = Not going straight: an indirect route.
1	Not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	2	advmod	_	_
2	going	go	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
3	straight	straight	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	2	punct	_	_
5	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	indirect	indirect	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	route	route	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **go** | gerund |  | a indirect route |  |  |  | straight *property* | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=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}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Not said openly or plainly: an indirect answer.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:indirect:m2:1
# text = Not said openly or plainly: an indirect answer.
1	Not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	2	advmod	_	_
2	said	say	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
3	openly	openly	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	plainly	plainly	ADV	RB	_	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	9	punct	_	_
7	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	indirect	indirect	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **say** *speech: assert* | participle |  |  |  |  |  | openly *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Happening as a side result rather than directly: an indirect cause.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:indirect:m3:1
# text = Happening as a side result rather than directly: an indirect cause.
1	Happening	happen	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	12	csubj	_	_
2	as	as	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	side	side	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	result	result	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
6	rather	rather	ADV	RB	ExtPos=CCONJ	8	cc	_	_
7	than	than	ADP	IN	_	6	fixed	_	_
8	directly	directly	ADV	RB	_	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	12	punct	_	_
10	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	indirect	indirect	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	cause	cause	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | as a side result | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Indirect speech reports what someone said without their exact words; an indirect object receives the thing given (She gave me a book: me).

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:indirect:m4:1
# text = Indirect speech reports what someone said without their exact words; an indirect object receives the thing given (She gave me a book: me).
1	Indirect	indirect	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	reports	report	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	6	obj	_	_
5	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	nsubj	_	_
6	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
7	without	without	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
9	exact	exact	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	15	punct	_	_
12	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	indirect	indirect	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	object	object	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nsubj	_	_
15	receives	receive	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obj	_	_
18	given	give	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	17	acl	_	_
19	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	21	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	21	nsubj	_	_
21	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	conj	_	_
22	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	21	iobj	_	_
23	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
24	book	book	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	26	punct	_	_
26	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	15	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **report** | present | Indirect speech |  |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-2 «NP V whether/if S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | someone |  |  |  |  | without their exact words | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |
| 3 | **receive** | present | a indirect object | the thing |  |  |  |  | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent thing=Theme |
| 4 | **give** | participle |  | the thing *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn break\_down-45.8 «NP V»: agent=Patient |
| 5 | **give** | past | object | a book | me |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent i=Recipient book=Theme |
| 6 | **word** |  | their *= they* |  |  |  |  |  | nom word «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We took an indirect route through the park.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:indirect:x1:1
# text = We took an indirect route through the park.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	took	take	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	indirect	indirect	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	route	route	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	through	through	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	park	park	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 | **take** | past | We | a indirect route |  | the park |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent route=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He gave an indirect answer and didn't say yes or no.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:indirect:x2:1
# text = He gave an indirect answer and didn't say yes or no.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	indirect	indirect	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
7	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	conj	_	_
10	yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	9	obj	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	no.	no.	NOUN	NN	Abbr=Yes|Number=Sing	10	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | He | a indirect answer |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent answer=Theme |
| 2 | **not** **say** *speech: assert* | past · do-support | He *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent yes=Topic |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Direct speech: Tom said, I am hungry. Indirect speech: Tom said he was hungry.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Direct speech: Tom said, I am hungry.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:indirect:x3:1
# text = Direct speech: Tom said, I am hungry.
1	Direct	direct	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	2	punct	_	_
4	Tom	Tom	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
7	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	am	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	hungry	hungry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Direct speech |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | I |  |  |  |  | hungry *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* Indirect speech: Tom said he was hungry.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:indirect:x3:2
# text = Indirect speech: Tom said he was hungry.
1	Indirect	indirect	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	2	punct	_	_
4	Tom	Tom	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	hungry	hungry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Indirect speech |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | past | Tom |  |  |  |  | hungry *property* | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In She gave me a pen, me is the indirect object.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:indirect:x4:1
# text = In She gave me a pen, me is the indirect object.
1	In	in	SCONJ	IN	_	3	mark	_	_
2	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	iobj	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	pen	pen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
8	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	indirect	indirect	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	object	object	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | She | a pen | me |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent i=Recipient pen=Theme |
| 2 | **is a** | present | me | the indirect object |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Some plants like indirect sunlight.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:indirect:x5:1
# text = Some plants like indirect sunlight.
1	Some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	2	det	_	_
2	plants	plant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	like	like	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	indirect	indirect	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	sunlight	sunlight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **like** | present | some plants | indirect sunlight |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot sunlight=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Smoking is an indirect cause of many illnesses.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:indirect:x6:1
# text = Smoking is an indirect cause of many illnesses.
1	Smoking	smoking	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	indirect	indirect	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	cause	cause	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	illnesses	illness	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Smoking | a indirect cause |  |  |  | of many illnesses | tree rules |

<!-- 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 -->
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