---
title: opal — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «opal» in the school dictionary: An opal is a precious stone that shows flashing rainbow colours when you move it in the light. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# opal

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** opal, precious stone, you, hardened silica, Nan, opal ring · **What happens:** be, show, flash, move, harden, contain · **To what, where:** precious stone, flashing rainbow colours, opal, light, material, water

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An opal is a precious stone that shows flashing rainbow colours when you move it in the light.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:opal:m1:1
# text = An opal is a precious stone that shows flashing rainbow colours when you move it in the light.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	opal	opal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	precious	precious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	stone	stone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
8	shows	show	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
9	flashing	flash	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	11	amod	_	_
10	rainbow	rainbow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	colours	colour	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	_
12	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	14	advmod	_	_
13	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
14	move	move	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	advcl	_	_
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	obj	_	_
16	in	in	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	light	light	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a opal | a precious stone |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **show** | present | a precious stone | flashing rainbow colours |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent colour=Recipient |
| 3 | **flash** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn light\_emission-43.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **move** | present | you | opal |  | the light |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent it=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 -->
Opal is the material itself, a kind of hardened silica that contains water.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:opal:m2:1
# text = Opal is the material itself, a kind of hardened silica that contains water.
1	Opal	opal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	material	material	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	itself	itself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Emp|Reflex=Yes	4	nmod:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	kind	kind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	appos	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	hardened	harden	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	11	amod	_	_
11	silica	silica	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
12	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	13	nsubj	_	_
13	contains	contain	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	acl:relcl	_	_
14	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Opal | the material |  |  |  | Opal *nmod:unmarked* | tree rules |
| 2 | **harden** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **contain** | present | hardened silica | water |  |  |  |  | vn comprise-107.2-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot water=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Opal is also a milky, pale colour.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:opal:m3:1
# text = Opal is also a milky, pale colour.
1	Opal	opal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
3	also	also	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
5	milky	milky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
7	pale	pale	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	colour	colour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Opal | a milky pale colour |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nan has an opal ring that sparkles blue and green.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:opal:x1:1
# text = Nan has an opal ring that sparkles blue and green.
1	Nan	Nan	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	opal	opal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	ring	ring	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	sparkles	sparkle	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	blue	blue	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	xcomp	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	green	green	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Nan | a opal ring |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ring=Patient |
| 2 | **sparkle** | present | a opal ring |  |  |  |  | blue *property* | vn light\_emission-43.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Most of the world's opals come from Australia.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:opal:x2:1
# text = Most of the world's opals come from Australia.
1	Most	most	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	7	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	world	world	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	opals	opal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	nmod	_	_
7	come	come	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	from	from	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	Australia	Australia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | present | Most of the world's opals |  |  | Australia |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from australia=Initial\_Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In Coober Pedy, miners dig for opal and some families live in underground houses.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:opal:x3:1
# text = In Coober Pedy, miners dig for opal and some families live in underground houses.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	Coober	Coober	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
3	Pedy	Pedy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
5	miners	miner	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
6	dig	dig	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	opal	opal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
10	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	11	det	_	_
11	families	family	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nsubj	_	_
12	live	live	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	underground	underground	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	houses	house	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dig** | present | miners |  |  | Coober |  | for opal | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V PP.theme PP.location»: agent=Agent in coober=Location for opal=Theme |
| 2 | **live** | present | some families |  |  | underground houses |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in house=Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The black opal is Australia's national gemstone.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:opal:x4:1
# text = The black opal is Australia's national gemstone.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	black	black	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	opal	opal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
5	Australia	Australia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	's	's	PART	POS	_	5	case	_	_
7	national	national	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	gemstone	gemstone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the black opal | Australia's national gemstone |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
When I tilted the opal, colours flashed like a tiny rainbow.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:opal:x5:1
# text = When I tilted the opal, colours flashed like a tiny rainbow.
1	When	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	3	advmod	_	_
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	tilted	tilt	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	opal	opal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	colours	colour	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	conj	_	_
8	flashed	flash	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	acl	_	_
9	like	like	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	tiny	tiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	rainbow	rainbow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tilt** | past | I | the opal and colours |  |  |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location opal=Theme |
| 2 | **flash** | participle |  | colours *not said here* |  |  |  | like a tiny rainbow | vn light\_emission-43.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Opals contain water, so they can crack if they dry out.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:opal:x6:1
# text = Opals contain water, so they can crack if they dry out.
1	Opals	opal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	contain	contain	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
5	so	so	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
6	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
7	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	crack	crack	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	conj	_	_
9	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
10	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	dry	dry	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	advcl	_	_
12	out	out	ADP	RP	_	11	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **contain** | present | Opals | water |  |  |  |  | vn comprise-107.2-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot water=Theme |
| 2 | **crack** | can | Opals *= opal* |  |  |  |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **dry out** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | Opals *= opal* |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4-1 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The bathroom glass had a milky opal colour.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:opal:x7:1
# text = The bathroom glass had a milky opal colour.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	bathroom	bathroom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	glass	glass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
6	milky	milky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
7	opal	opal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	colour	colour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | the bathroom glass | a milky opal colour |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent colour=Patient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is more precious than emeralds, and dearer than fine opals.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:opal:x8:1
# text = It is more precious than emeralds, and dearer than fine opals.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	more	more	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	4	advmod	_	_
4	precious	precious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	than	than	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	emeralds	emerald	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	dearer	dear	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	4	conj	_	_
10	than	than	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	fine	fine	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	opals	opal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | It |  |  |  |  | than emeralds; precious *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  |  |  |  |  |  | than fine opals | tree rules |

<!-- 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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