---
title: investigate — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «investigate» in the school dictionary: To try to find out the facts about something, especially a crime or problem. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/investigate/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [I](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/) / investigate

# investigate

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** you, ball, police, We, plants, Mum · **What happens:** try, find out, study, test, learn, investigate · **To what, where:** facts, something, burglary, dark, pattern, times tables

<!-- .vabout -->
«investigate» in the school dictionary: its 2 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: [investigate in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/investigate.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To try to find out the facts about something, especially a crime or problem.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:investigate:m1:1
# text = To try to find out the facts about something, especially a crime or problem.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	try	try	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	find	find	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	out	out	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	facts	fact	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
8	about	about	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
11	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	crime	crime	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	appos	_	_
14	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	problem	problem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **try** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **find out** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | the facts |  |  |  | about something | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fact=Topic |

<!-- .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: science, maths — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To study or test something carefully to learn about it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:investigate:m2:1
# text = To study or test something carefully to learn about it.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	study	study	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	test	test	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
5	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	4	obj	_	_
6	carefully	carefully	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	learn	learn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
9	about	about	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **study** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **test** | infinitive |  | something |  |  |  | carefully *property* | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Theme |
| 3 | **learn** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | about it | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent about it=Topic |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Investigate which ball bounces highest.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:investigate:x1:1
# text = Investigate which ball bounces highest.
1	Investigate	investigate	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	which	which	DET	WDT	PronType=Int	3	det	_	_
3	ball	ball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	bounces	bounce	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	ccomp	_	_
5	highest	high	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	4	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **investigate** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **bounce** | present | which ball |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The police are investigating the burglary.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:investigate:x2:1
# text = The police are investigating the burglary.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	investigating	investigate	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	burglary	burglary	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **investigate** | present · progressive | the police | the burglary |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent burglary=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We investigated how plants grow in the dark.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:investigate:x3:1
# text = We investigated how plants grow in the dark.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	investigated	investigate	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	5	advmod	_	_
4	plants	plant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
5	grow	grow	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	dark	dark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **investigate** | past | We |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **grow** | present | plants |  |  | the dark |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in dark=Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Investigate the pattern in the times tables.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:investigate:x4:1
# text = Investigate the pattern in the times tables.
1	Investigate	investigate	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	pattern	pattern	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	times	time	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	compound	_	_
7	tables	table	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **investigate** | imperative | you *not said here* | the pattern |  | the times tables |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent pattern=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum went to investigate the strange noise.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:investigate:x5:1
# text = Mum went to investigate the strange noise.
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	went	go	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	investigate	investigate	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	strange	strange	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	noise	noise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go** | past | Mum |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7 «NP V S-Quote»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **investigate** | to-infinitive | Mum *not said here* | the strange noise |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent noise=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The detective investigated every clue.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:investigate:x6:1
# text = The detective investigated every clue.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	detective	detective	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	investigated	investigate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	5	det	_	_
5	clue	clue	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **investigate** | participle | the detective *not said here* | every clue |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent clue=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Let the facts of the case be thoroughly investigated.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:investigate:x7:1
# text = Let the facts of the case be thoroughly investigated.
1	Let	let	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	facts	fact	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	case	case	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	aux:pass	_	_
8	thoroughly	thoroughly	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	investigated	investigate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	1	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **let** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **investigate** | infinitive · passive |  | the facts of the case |  |  |  | thoroughly *property* | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: subject=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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [invest](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/invest/)
- next →: [investigation](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/investigation/)
- ↑ back to [I in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/I/)