---
title: nodding — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «nodding» in the school dictionary: Nodding is moving your head up and down, usually to say yes, to agree or to greet someone. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# nodding

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Nodding, Nodding flowers, She, Grandpa, pupils, teacher · **What happens:** move, say, agree, greet, nod off, mean · **To what, where:** head, someone, heads, chair, music · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nodding is moving your head up and down, usually to say yes, to agree or to greet someone.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nodding:m1:1
# text = Nodding is moving your head up and down, usually to say yes, to agree or to greet someone.
1	Nodding	nodding	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	moving	move	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	up	up	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	down	down	ADV	RB	_	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	usually	usually	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	say	say	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
13	yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	agree	agree	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	12	parataxis	_	_
17	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
18	to	to	PART	TO	_	19	mark	_	_
19	greet	greet	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	16	conj	_	_
20	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	19	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **move** | present · progressive | Nodding | your head |  |  |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent head=Theme |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | usually *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent yes=Topic |
| 3 | **agree** *speech: agree* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **greet** *speech: greet* | to-infinitive |  | someone |  |  |  |  | vn judgment-33.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent someone=Theme |

<!-- .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 -->
Nodding off means falling asleep, often by accident.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nodding:m2:1
# text = Nodding off means falling asleep, often by accident.
1	Nodding	nod	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	csubj	_	_
2	off	off	ADP	RP	_	1	compound:prt	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	falling	fall	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	xcomp	_	_
5	asleep	asleep	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
7	often	often	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
8	by	by	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	accident	accident	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **nod off** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn change\_bodily\_state-40.8.4 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **mean** | present | Nodding |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **fall** *not said to happen* | gerund | Nodding *not said here* |  |  |  |  | by accident; asleep *property* | vn occur-48.3 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme by accident=Location |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nodding flowers hang their heads down.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nodding:m3:1
# text = Nodding flowers hang their heads down.
1	Nodding	nodding	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	flowers	flower	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	hang	hang	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	heads	head	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	down	down	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hang down** | present | Nodding flowers | flowers's heads |  |  |  | down *property* | vn poison-42.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent head=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She was nodding to show she agreed.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nodding:x1:1
# text = She was nodding to show she agreed.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	nodding	nod	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	show	show	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
6	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	agreed	agree	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **nod** | past · progressive | She |  |  |  |  |  | vn wink-40.3.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **show** | to-infinitive | She *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **agree** *speech: agree* | past | she |  |  |  |  |  | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandpa was nodding off in his chair.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nodding:x2:1
# text = Grandpa was nodding off in his chair.
1	Grandpa	Grandpa	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	nodding	nod	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	off	off	ADP	RP	_	3	compound:prt	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	chair	chair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **nod off** | past · progressive | Grandpa |  |  | Grandpa's chair |  |  | vn change\_bodily\_state-40.8.4 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The pupils sat nodding as the teacher explained.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nodding:x3:1
# text = The pupils sat nodding as the teacher explained.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	pupils	pupil	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	sat	sit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	nodding	nod	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	_
5	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	explained	explain	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sit** | past | the pupils |  |  |  |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **nod** | gerund | the pupils *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn wink-40.3.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **explain** *speech: assert* | past | the teacher |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He kept nodding along to the music.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nodding:x4:1
# text = He kept nodding along to the music.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	kept	keep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	nodding	nod	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	xcomp	_	_
4	along	along	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	music	music	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **nod** | gerund | He *not said here* |  | the music |  |  | along *property* | vn wink-40.3.1 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent to music=Recipient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Daffodils have nodding heads.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nodding:x5:1
# text = Daffodils have nodding heads.
1	Daffodils	daffodil	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	nodding	nod	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	xcomp	_	_
4	heads	head	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Daffodils |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **nod** | gerund | Daffodils *not said here* | heads |  |  |  |  | vn wink-40.3.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent head=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I asked if she was ready and she nodded.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nodding:x6:1
# text = I asked if she was ready and she nodded.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	asked	ask	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
4	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	ready	ready	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	ccomp	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	nodded	nod	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** *a condition, not said to happen* | past | she |  |  |  |  | ready *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **nod** | past | she |  |  |  |  |  | vn wink-40.3.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Yes," she said, nodding her head.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nodding:x7:1
# text = "Yes," she said, nodding her head.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	6	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	_
5	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
8	nodding	nod	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	advcl	_	_
9	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | she |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **nod** | gerund | she *not said here* | her head |  |  |  |  | vn wink-40.3.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent head=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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