---
title: misunderstanding — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «misunderstanding» in the school dictionary: A failure to understand something correctly: «There was a misunderstanding about the time». Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# misunderstanding

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** failure, We, misunderstanding, I, whole argument, Texts · **What happens:** understand, be, cause, not understand, have, say · **To what, where:** something, misunderstanding, small disagreement, each, little misunderstanding, three o'clock · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«misunderstanding» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 8 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: [misunderstanding in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/misunderstanding.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A failure to understand something correctly: «There was a misunderstanding about the time».

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:misunderstanding:m1:1
# text = A failure to understand something correctly: «There was a misunderstanding about the time».
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	failure	failure	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	understand	understand	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	acl	_	_
5	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	4	obj	_	_
6	correctly	correctly	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
8	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	10	expl	_	_
10	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	misunderstanding	misunderstanding	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
13	about	about	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **understand** | to-infinitive | a failure *not said here* | something |  |  |  | correctly *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer something=Stimulus |
| 2 | **is a** *in a quote* | past | a failure | a misunderstanding |  |  | time |  | 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 -->
A small disagreement or argument, often caused by not understanding each other: «We had a little misunderstanding».

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:misunderstanding:m2:1
# text = A small disagreement or argument, often caused by not understanding each other: «We had a little misunderstanding».
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	disagreement	disagreement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	argument	argument	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	often	often	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	caused	cause	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
9	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
10	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
11	understanding	understand	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	advcl	_	_
12	each	each	DET	DT	ExtPos=PRON|PronType=Rcp	11	obj	_	_
13	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	fixed	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	17	punct	_	_
15	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
17	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	conj	_	_
18	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
19	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	amod	_	_
20	misunderstanding	misunderstanding	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cause** | participle · passive |  | a small disagreement or argument |  |  |  | often *property* | vn engender-27.1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |
| 2 | **not** **understand** | gerund |  | each |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer each=Stimulus |
| 3 | **have** *in a quote* | past | We | a little misunderstanding |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent misunderstanding=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There must be a misunderstanding – I said three o'clock, not two.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:misunderstanding:x1:1
# text = There must be a misunderstanding – I said three o'clock, not two.
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	3	expl	_	_
2	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	be	be	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	parataxis	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	misunderstanding	misunderstanding	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
6	–	-	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	10	nummod	_	_
10	o'clock	o'clock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
12	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	13	advmod	_	_
13	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	10	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** | must | a misunderstanding |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | I | three o'clock |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent o'clock=Topic |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We cleared up the misunderstanding by talking.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:misunderstanding:x2:1
# text = We cleared up the misunderstanding by talking.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	cleared	clear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	up	up	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	misunderstanding	misunderstanding	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
7	talking	talk	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **clear up** | past | We | the misunderstanding |  |  |  |  | vn clear-10.3-1 «NP V NP.source»: agent=Agent misunderstanding=Source |
| 2 | **talk** | gerund | We *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The whole argument was a misunderstanding.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:misunderstanding:x3:1
# text = The whole argument was a misunderstanding.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	argument	argument	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	misunderstanding	misunderstanding	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** | past | the whole argument | a misunderstanding |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A misunderstanding over the rules ended the game early.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:misunderstanding:x4:1
# text = A misunderstanding over the rules ended the game early.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	misunderstanding	misunderstanding	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	over	over	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	rules	rule	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
6	ended	end	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	early	early	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **end** | past | a misunderstanding over the rules | the game |  |  |  | early *property* | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Subeventuality game=Eventuality |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Texts can lead to misunderstandings because you can't hear the voice.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:misunderstanding:x5:1
# text = Texts can lead to misunderstandings because you can't hear the voice.
1	Texts	text	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	lead	lead	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	misunderstandings	misunderstanding	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
6	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
7	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
8	ca	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	10	advmod	_	_
10	hear	hear	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	voice	voice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lead** | can | Texts |  |  |  |  | to misunderstandings | vn result-27.2 «NP V PP»: agent=Precondition to misunderstanding=Patient |
| 2 | **not** **hear** | can | you | the voice |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer voice=Stimulus |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The comedy is full of misunderstandings and mixed-up identities.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:misunderstanding:x6:1
# text = The comedy is full of misunderstandings and mixed-up identities.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	comedy	comedy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	misunderstandings	misunderstanding	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
8	mixed	mix	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	11	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	up	up	ADP	RP	_	8	compound:prt	_	_
11	identities	identity	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the comedy |  |  |  |  | of misunderstandings and mixed identities; full *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **mix up** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Sorry, I think we had a misunderstanding.»

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:misunderstanding:x7:1
# text = «Sorry, I think we had a misunderstanding.»
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Sorry	sorry	INTJ	UH	_	5	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	think	think	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	ccomp	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	misunderstanding	misunderstanding	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **think** *speech: other* *in a quote* | present | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **have** *in a quote* | past | we | a misunderstanding |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent misunderstanding=Patient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A misunderstanding in maths: he thought «product» meant add, not multiply.

<!-- fold The tree, 11 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:misunderstanding:x8:1
# text = A misunderstanding in maths: he thought «product» meant add, not multiply.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	misunderstanding	misunderstanding	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	maths	math	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	7	punct	_	_
6	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	thought	think	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	product	product	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	_
11	meant	mean	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	ccomp	_	_
12	add	add	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
14	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	15	advmod	_	_
15	multiply	multiply	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **think** *speech: other* | past | a misunderstanding in maths |  |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **mean** | past | product |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **add** *speech: assert* *not said to happen* | infinitive | product *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2 «NP V ADVP-Middle»: agent=Patient |
| 4 | **not** **multiply** | infinitive | product *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- 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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