---
title: nun — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «nun» in the school dictionary: A nun is a woman who has promised to give her life to God and lives in a religious community called a convent, following rules of prayer and work. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# nun

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** nun, woman, religious community, prayer, Buddhist, nuns · **What happens:** be, promise, give, live, call, follow · **To what, where:** woman, life, God, religious community, convent, nuns · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A nun is a woman who has promised to give her life to God and lives in a religious community called a convent, following rules of prayer and work.

<!-- fold The tree, 29 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nun:m1:1
# text = A nun is a woman who has promised to give her life to God and lives in a religious community called a convent, following rules of prayer and work.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	nun	nun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	woman	woman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
7	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	promised	promise	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	5	acl:relcl	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	give	give	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	xcomp	_	_
11	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
13	to	to	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	God	God	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	lives	live	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	conj	_	_
17	in	in	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
18	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
19	religious	religious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	amod	_	_
20	community	community	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obl	_	_
21	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	20	acl	_	_
22	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
23	convent	convent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	26	punct	_	_
25	following	follow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	26	amod	_	_
26	rules	rule	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	conj	_	_
27	of	of	ADP	IN	_	28	case	_	_
28	prayer	prayer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	nmod	_	_
29	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	30	cc	_	_
30	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	28	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
31	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a nun | a woman and following rules of prayer and work |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **promise** *speech: promise* | present · perfect | a woman and following rules of prayer and work |  |  |  |  |  | vn promise-37.13 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **give** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | a woman and following rules of prayer and work *not said here* | nun's life | God |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent life=Theme to god=Recipient |
| 4 | **live** | present | a woman and following rules of prayer and work *not said here* |  |  | a religious community |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in community=Location |
| 5 | **call** | participle | a religious community *not said here* | a convent |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent convent=Recipient |
| 6 | **follow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 7 | **rule** |  | prayer and work |  |  |  |  |  | nom rule «cognition intransitive»: of=agent |

<!-- .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}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Buddhist and some other religious traditions also have nuns.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nun:m2:1
# text = Buddhist and some other religious traditions also have nuns.
1	Buddhist	Buddhist	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
2	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
3	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	6	det	_	_
4	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
5	religious	religious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	traditions	tradition	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	conj	_	_
7	also	also	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	nuns	nun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Buddhist and some other religious traditions | nuns |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent nun=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The nuns ran a school for girls.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nun:x1:1
# text = The nuns ran a school for girls.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	nuns	nun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	ran	run	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	girls	girl	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **run** | past | the nuns | a school |  |  |  | for girls | vn preparing-26.3-1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent school=Product for girl=Beneficiary |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A nun is often called «Sister».

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nun:x2:1
# text = A nun is often called «Sister».
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	nun	nun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
4	often	often	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	Sister	sister	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mother Teresa was a nun who cared for the poor in India.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nun:x3:1
# text = Mother Teresa was a nun who cared for the poor in India.
1	Mother	mother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	Teresa	Teresa	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	nun	nun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	cared	care	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	poor	poor	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	obl	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	India	India	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | Mother | a nun |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **care** | past | a nun |  |  | India |  | for the poor | vn caring-75.2-2 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent for poor=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Some nuns wear a black and white habit.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nun:x4:1
# text = Some nuns wear a black and white habit.
1	Some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	2	det	_	_
2	nuns	nun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	wear	wear	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
5	black	black	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	_
8	habit	habit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wear** | present | some nuns | a black habit |  |  |  |  | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1-1 «NP V NP.source»: agent=Agent habit=Source |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The nuns pray together many times each day.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nun:x5:1
# text = The nuns pray together many times each day.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	nuns	nun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	pray	pray	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	together	together	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	times	time	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl:unmarked	_	_
7	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	8	det	_	_
8	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pray** | present | the nuns |  |  |  | time | together *property* | vn long-32.2 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Pivot |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My great-aunt became a nun when she was young.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nun:x6:1
# text = My great-aunt became a nun when she was young.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
2	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	aunt	aunt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	became	become	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	nun	nun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	xcomp	_	_
8	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	11	advmod	_	_
9	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
10	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
11	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **become** | past | My great aunt | a nun |  |  |  |  | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **is** | past | aunt |  |  |  |  | young *property* | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Buddhist nuns shave their heads and wear robes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nun:x7:1
# text = Buddhist nuns shave their heads and wear robes.
1	Buddhist	buddhist	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	nuns	nun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	shave	shave	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	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	wear	wear	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
8	robes	robe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **shave** | present | Buddhist nuns | nuns's heads |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent head=Patient |
| 2 | **wear** | present | Buddhist nuns *not said here* | robes |  |  |  |  | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1-1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent robe=Theme |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
On the brow of the mountain yonder is perched, like a swallow's nest, a lonely convent of nuns.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nun:x8:1
# text = On the brow of the mountain yonder is perched, like a swallow's nest, a lonely convent of nuns.
1	On	on	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	brow	brow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	mountain	mountain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	yonder	yonder	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux:pass	_	_
9	perched	perch	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
11	like	like	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	swallow	swallow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	's	's	PART	POS	_	13	case	_	_
15	nest	nest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
18	lonely	lonely	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	convent	convent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	appos	_	_
20	of	of	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
21	nuns	nun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	19	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **perch** | present · passive |  |  |  | the brow of the mountain |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: on brow=Location |

<!-- 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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