---
title: moment — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «moment» in the school dictionary: A moment is a very short time. «Wait a moment» means wait a little. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# moment

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** moment, Ben, you, I, 20 birds, Winning · **What happens:** be, wait, mean, call, have, count · **To what, where:** short time, little, one exact point, important time, 6 apples, race · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«moment» in the school dictionary: its 3 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: [moment in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/moment.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A moment is a very short time. «Wait a moment» means wait a little.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A moment is a very short time.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moment:m1:1
# text = A moment is a very short time.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	moment	moment	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	very	very	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a moment | a short 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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* «Wait a moment» means wait a little.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moment:m1:2
# text = «Wait a moment» means wait a little.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Wait	wait	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	csubj	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
6	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	wait	wait	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	ccomp	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wait** *in a quote* | infinitive |  |  |  |  | moment |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **wait** | infinitive |  | a little |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A moment is also one exact point in time: «at that moment».

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moment:m2:1
# text = A moment is also one exact point in time: «at that moment».
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
5	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	7	nummod	_	_
6	exact	exact	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	point	point	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	14	punct	_	_
11	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	at	at	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	14	det	_	_
14	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	14	punct	_	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 moment | one exact point |  |  | time |  | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An important time can be called a moment: a big moment, a proud moment.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moment:m3:1
# text = An important time can be called a moment: a big moment, a proud moment.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	important	important	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	aux:pass	_	_
6	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	12	punct	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
15	proud	proud	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | can · passive |  | a important time |  |  | moment |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: subject=Recipient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
At that moment, Ben had 6 apples.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moment:x1:1
# text = At that moment, Ben had 6 apples.
1	At	at	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	3	det	_	_
3	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	Ben	Ben	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	6	6	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	apples	apple	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | Ben | 6 apples |  |  | moment |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent apple=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Wait a moment while I count.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moment:x2:1
# text = Wait a moment while I count.
1	Wait	wait	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	while	while	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
5	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	count	count	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wait** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  | moment |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **count** | present | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn matter-91 «NP V»: agent=Stimulus |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
At the moment, there are 20 birds on the tree.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moment:x3:1
# text = At the moment, there are 20 birds on the tree.
1	At	at	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	6	expl	_	_
6	are	be	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	20	20	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	tree	tree	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **does** | present | 20 birds on the tree |  |  | there | moment |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I'll be there in a moment.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moment:x4:1
# text = I'll be there in a moment.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	'll	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	cop	_	_
4	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	moment	moment	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 | **is** | future | I |  |  |  | moment | there *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Winning the race was her proudest moment.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moment:x5:1
# text = Winning the race was her proudest moment.
1	Winning	win	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	7	csubj	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	race	race	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
6	proudest	proud	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	7	amod	_	_
7	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **win** | gerund |  | the race |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent race=Eventuality |
| 2 | **is a** | past | Winning | her proudest moment |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The moment the bell rang, everyone ran outside.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moment:x6:1
# text = The moment the bell rang, everyone ran outside.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	bell	bell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	rang	ring	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	everyone	everyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	8	nsubj	_	_
8	ran	run	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
9	outside	outside	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ring** | past | the moment |  |  |  |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **run** | past | everyone |  |  |  |  | outside *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Just a moment, I'm on the phone.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moment:x7:1
# text = Just a moment, I'm on the phone.
1	Just	just	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
5	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	'm	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	phone	phone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | I |  |  | the phone |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
For a moment, nobody spoke.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moment:x8:1
# text = For a moment, nobody spoke.
1	For	for	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	nobody	nobody	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	6	nsubj	_	_
6	spoke	speak	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **speak** *speech: other* | past | nobody |  |  |  | moment |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
At that moment my dishes disappeared!"

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moment:x9:1
# text = At that moment my dishes disappeared!"
1	At	at	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	3	det	_	_
3	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
4	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	dishes	dish	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
6	disappeared	disappear	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	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 | **disappear** | participle | my dishes |  |  |  | moment |  | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=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 -->

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