---
title: lapdog — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «lapdog» in the school dictionary: A lapdog is a small pet dog that likes to sit on people's laps. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# lapdog

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** lapdog, small pet dog, person, Pekingese, People, big dog · **What happens:** be, like, sit, obey, think, sleep · **To what, where:** small pet dog, laps, person, powerful person, knee, typical lapdog · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A lapdog is a small pet dog that likes to sit on people's laps.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lapdog:m1:1
# text = A lapdog is a small pet dog that likes to sit on people's laps.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	lapdog	lapdog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
5	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
6	pet	pet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	likes	like	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	sit	sit	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	_
12	on	on	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
13	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	's	's	PART	POS	_	13	case	_	_
15	laps	lap	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a lapdog | a small pet dog |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **like** | present | a small pet dog |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 3 | **sit** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | a small pet dog *not said here* |  |  | people's laps |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent on lap=Location |

<!-- .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: informal, insult — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A lapdog is a person who always obeys a more powerful person without thinking.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lapdog:m2:1
# text = A lapdog is a person who always obeys a more powerful person without thinking.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	lapdog	lapdog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
7	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	8	advmod	_	_
8	obeys	obey	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
10	more	more	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	11	advmod	_	_
11	powerful	powerful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
13	without	without	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
14	thinking	think	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a lapdog | a person |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **obey** | present | a person | a powerful person |  |  |  | always *property* | vn abide\_by-93.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent person=Theme |
| 3 | **think** *speech: other* | gerund | a person *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandma's lapdog sleeps on her knee.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lapdog:x1:1
# text = Grandma's lapdog sleeps on her knee.
1	Grandma	grandma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	's	PART	POS	_	1	case	_	_
3	lapdog	lapdog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	sleeps	sleep	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	knee	knee	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sleep** | present | Grandma's lapdog |  |  | lapdog's knee |  |  | vn snooze-40.4-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A Pekingese is a typical lapdog.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lapdog:x2:1
# text = A Pekingese is a typical lapdog.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Pekingese	pekingese	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	typical	typical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	lapdog	lapdog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a Pekingese | a typical lapdog |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The lapdog yapped at the postman.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lapdog:x3:1
# text = The lapdog yapped at the postman.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	lapdog	lapdog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	yapped	yap	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	postman	postman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **yap** | past | the lapdog |  |  |  |  | at the postman | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V PP.stimulus»: agent=Agent at postman=Stimulus |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
People called the minister the president's lapdog.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lapdog:x4:1
# text = People called the minister the president's lapdog.
1	People	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	called	call	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	minister	minister	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	president	president	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	lapdog	lapdog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | past | People | the minister |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent minister=Recipient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My big dog thinks he is a lapdog.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lapdog:x5:1
# text = My big dog thinks he is a lapdog.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	thinks	think	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	lapdog	lapdog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **think** *speech: other* | present | My big dog |  |  |  |  |  | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | present | dog | a lapdog |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Lapdogs were popular with rich ladies long ago.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lapdog:x6:1
# text = Lapdogs were popular with rich ladies long ago.
1	Lapdogs	lapdog	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	popular	popular	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	rich	rich	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	ladies	lady	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
7	long	long	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	8	advmod	_	_
8	ago	ago	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | Lapdogs |  |  |  |  | with rich ladies; ago, popular *property* | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He touched the dog too, and it became a little silky lapdog that could nestle in your palm.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lapdog:x7:1
# text = He touched the dog too, and it became a little silky lapdog that could nestle in your palm.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	touched	touch	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	too	too	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	became	become	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
11	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
12	silky	silky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	lapdog	lapdog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	xcomp	_	_
14	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	16	nsubj	_	_
15	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	16	aux	_	_
16	nestle	nestle	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	acl:relcl	_	_
17	in	in	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	19	nmod:poss	_	_
19	palm	palm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **touch** | past | He | the dog |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme dog=Co-Theme |
| 2 | **become** | past | dog | a little silky lapdog |  |  |  |  | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **nestle** | could | a little silky lapdog |  |  | your palm |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in palm=Location |

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**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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