---
title: merely — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «merely» in the school dictionary: Merely means only or just, showing that something is small or not important. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# merely

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** something, It, He, I, wolf, dog · **What happens:** mean, show, be, not be, shrug, walk away · **To what, where:** nothing, joke, scratch, question, sorry, cake · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«merely» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 9 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: [merely in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/merely.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Merely means only or just, showing that something is small or not important.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merely:m1:1
# text = Merely means only or just, showing that something is small or not important.
1	Merely	merely	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	only	only	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
5	just	just	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	showing	show	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	xcomp	_	_
8	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
9	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	11	nsubj	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
11	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	ccomp	_	_
12	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
13	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	14	advmod	_	_
14	important	important	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  | merely *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **show** *not said to happen* | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is** | present | something |  |  |  |  | small *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **not** **be** |  | something *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- .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 -->
Merely can mean nothing more than.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merely:m2:1
# text = Merely can mean nothing more than.
1	Merely	merely	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	3	obj	_	_
5	more	more	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	4	amod	_	_
6	than	than	ADP	IN	_	5	fixed	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can |  | nothing |  |  |  | merely *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent nothing=Topic |

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"It was merely a joke".

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merely:m2e:1
# text = "It was merely a joke".
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	merely	merely	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	joke	joke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** *in a quote* | past | It | a joke |  |  |  | merely *property* | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It was merely a scratch, not a big cut.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merely:x1:1
# text = It was merely a scratch, not a big cut.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	merely	merely	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	scratch	scratch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
7	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	10	advmod	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	cut	cut	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | It | a scratch and a big cut |  |  |  | merely *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He merely shrugged and walked away.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merely:x2:1
# text = He merely shrugged and walked away.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	merely	merely	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	shrugged	shrug	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	walked	walk	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
6	away	away	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **shrug** | past | He |  |  |  |  | merely *property* | vn wink-40.3.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **walk away** | past | He *not said here* |  |  |  |  | away *property* | vn resign-10.11-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I was merely asking a question.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merely:x3:1
# text = I was merely asking a question.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	merely	merely	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	asking	ask	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	question	question	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 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past · progressive | I | a question |  |  |  | merely *property* | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent question=Recipient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Merely 2 of the 30 pupils were late.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merely:x4:1
# text = Merely 2 of the 30 pupils were late.
1	Merely	merely	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	2	2	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	30	30	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	pupils	pupil	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
7	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	late	late	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past |  |  |  |  |  | of the 30 pupils; late *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The wolf was not merely hungry, but starving.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merely:x5:1
# text = The wolf was not merely hungry, but starving.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	wolf	wolf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
5	merely	merely	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	hungry	hungry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	starving	starve	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is** | past | the wolf |  |  |  |  | hungry, merely *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **starve** | gerund | the wolf *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The dog is merely playing; it won't bite.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merely:x6:1
# text = The dog is merely playing; it won't bite.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	merely	merely	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	playing	play	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
8	wo	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	10	advmod	_	_
10	bite	bite	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **play** | present · progressive | the dog |  |  |  |  | merely *property* | vn performance-26.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **not** **bite** | future | dog |  |  |  |  |  | vn swat-18.2 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Saying sorry is not merely polite, it is kind.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merely:x7:1
# text = Saying sorry is not merely polite, it is kind.
1	Saying	say	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	csubj	_	_
2	sorry	sorry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	obj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
5	merely	merely	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	polite	polite	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	kind	kind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | gerund |  | sorry |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent sorry=Topic |
| 2 | **not** **is** | present | Saying |  |  |  |  | merely, polite *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | present | it |  |  |  |  | kind *property* | tree rules |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She merely looked at the cake, but did not eat it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merely:x8:1
# text = She merely looked at the cake, but did not eat it.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	merely	merely	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	looked	look	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	cake	cake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
8	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
9	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
10	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
11	eat	eat	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
12	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **look** | past | She |  |  |  |  | at the cake; merely *property* | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent at cake=Theme |
| 2 | **not** **eat** | past · do-support | She *not said here* | cake |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Patient |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
And the man replied, ‘Why, I’ve merely been gathering a handful of brushwood.’

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merely:x9:1
# text = And the man replied, ‘Why, I’ve merely been gathering a handful of brushwood.’
1	And	and	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	replied	reply	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
6	‘	'	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
9	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	’ve	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
11	merely	merely	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
12	been	be	AUX	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	13	aux	_	_
13	gathering	gather	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	advcl	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	handful	handful	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obj	_	_
16	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	brushwood	brushwood	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	’	'	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **reply** *speech: assert* | past | the man |  |  |  |  |  | vn respond-113 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **gather** | present · perfect · progressive | I | a handful of brushwood |  |  |  | merely *property* | vn deduce-97.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent handful=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 -->
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