---
title: literally — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «literally» in the school dictionary: Literally means exactly as the words say, not as a figure of speech. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# literally

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** words, people, something, talk, translation, sign · **What happens:** mean, say, figure, make, sound, not be · **To what, where:** speech, everyday talk, something, word, horse, hungry · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Literally means exactly as the words say, not as a figure of speech.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:literally:m1:1
# text = Literally means exactly as the words say, not as a figure of speech.
1	Literally	literally	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	exactly	exactly	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
4	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
7	say	say	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
9	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	12	advmod	_	_
10	as	as	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	figure	figure	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	ccomp	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  | literally *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | the words |  |  |  |  | exactly *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **figure** |  |  | speech |  |  |  |  | nom figure «communication transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .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 -->
In everyday talk, people often say "literally" just to make something sound stronger, even when it is not really true.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:literally:m2:1
# text = In everyday talk, people often say "literally" just to make something sound stronger, even when it is not really true.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	everyday	everyday	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	talk	talk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
6	often	often	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	say	say	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	literally	literally	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	_
11	just	just	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
12	to	to	PART	TO	_	13	mark	_	_
13	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	ccomp	_	_
14	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	13	obj	_	_
15	sound	sound	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	xcomp	_	_
16	stronger	strong	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	15	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
18	even	even	ADV	RB	_	24	advmod	_	_
19	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	24	advmod	_	_
20	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	24	nsubj	_	_
21	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	24	cop	_	_
22	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	24	advmod	_	_
23	really	really	ADV	RB	_	24	advmod	_	_
24	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | people |  |  | everyday talk |  | often *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **make** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  | literally *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **sound** | infinitive | something *not said here* |  |  |  |  | strong *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |
| 4 | **not** **is** | present | talk |  |  |  |  | true *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Literally can mean word for word, as in a translation that follows each word.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:literally:m3:1
# text = Literally can mean word for word, as in a translation that follows each word.
1	Literally	literally	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
8	as	as	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	translation	translation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	appos	_	_
12	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	13	nsubj	_	_
13	follows	follow	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	acl:relcl	_	_
14	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	15	det	_	_
15	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can |  | word |  |  |  | for word; literally *property* | vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Pivot word=Theme for word=Attribute |
| 2 | **follow** | present | a translation | each word |  |  |  |  | vn chase-51.6 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent word=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The sign literally said "Do not touch", so we didn't.

<!-- fold The tree, 11 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:literally:x1:1
# text = The sign literally said "Do not touch", so we didn't.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sign	sign	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	literally	literally	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
7	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	8	advmod	_	_
8	touch	touch	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
11	so	so	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
12	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
13	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	13	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | the sign |  |  |  |  | literally *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **not** **touch** *in a quote* | infinitive · do-support |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **not** **do** | past | we |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"I'm so hungry I could eat a horse" is not meant literally.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:literally:x2:1
# text = "I'm so hungry I could eat a horse" is not meant literally.
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	14	nsubj:pass	_	_
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	14	aux:pass	_	_
13	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	14	advmod	_	_
14	meant	mean	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
15	literally	literally	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	14	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 | **not** **mean** | present · passive |  | hungry |  |  |  | literally *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Topic |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My little brother took the joke literally.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:literally:x3:1
# text = My little brother took the joke literally.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	took	take	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	joke	joke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	literally	literally	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | past | My little brother | the joke |  |  |  | literally *property* | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent joke=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The word "breakfast" literally means breaking a fast.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:literally:x4:1
# text = The word "breakfast" literally means breaking a fast.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	breakfast	breakfast	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
6	literally	literally	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	breaking	break	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	xcomp	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	fast	fast	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | the word |  |  |  |  | literally *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **break** *not said to happen* | gerund | the word *not said here* | a fast |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer fast=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I literally ran all the way to school.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:literally:x5:1
# text = I literally ran all the way to school.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	literally	literally	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	ran	run	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	6	det:predet	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **run** | past | I | all way |  | school |  | literally *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V NP PP.trajectory»: agent=Agent way=Theme to school=Trajectory |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The French phrase, translated literally, means "the cat's ears".

<!-- fold The tree, 10 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:literally:x6:1
# text = The French phrase, translated literally, means "the cat's ears".
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	French	French	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	phrase	phrase	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	translated	translate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
6	literally	literally	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
8	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	's	's	PART	POS	_	11	case	_	_
13	ears	ear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **translate** | participle |  | the French phrase *not said here* |  |  |  | literally *property* | vn turn-26.6.1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **mean** | present | the French phrase |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She was literally shaking with cold.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:literally:x7:1
# text = She was literally shaking with cold.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	literally	literally	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	shaking	shake	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	cold	cold	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **shake** | past · progressive | She |  |  |  |  | with cold; literally *property* | vn shake-22.3-2 «NP V NP PP»: agent=Agent with cold=Co-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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