---
title: palaver — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «palaver» in the school dictionary: A lot of fuss and bother about something unimportant: what a palaver! Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# palaver

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** long meeting, palaver, Mum, school concert, you, chiefs · **What happens:** bother, talk, get, say, be, stop · **To what, where:** lot, dog, car, palaver, shoes, long palaver · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A lot of fuss and bother about something unimportant: what a palaver!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:palaver:m1:1
# text = A lot of fuss and bother about something unimportant: what a palaver!
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	lot	lot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl:unmarked	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	fuss	fuss	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	bother	bother	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	about	about	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	obl	_	_
9	unimportant	unimportant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	11	punct	_	_
11	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	6	parataxis	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	palaver	palaver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bother** | present |  | a lot of fuss |  |  |  | about something | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |

<!-- .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: old — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Long talk or chatter.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:palaver:m2:1
# text = Long talk or chatter.
1	Long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	talk	talk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	chatter	chatter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A long meeting or talk between groups of people, especially between traders and local people long ago.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:palaver:m3:1
# text = A long meeting or talk between groups of people, especially between traders and local people long ago.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	meeting	meeting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	talk	talk	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	between	between	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	groups	group	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
11	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
12	between	between	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	traders	trader	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
15	local	local	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	conj	_	_
17	long	long	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	18	advmod	_	_
18	ago	ago	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **talk** | infinitive | a long meeting |  |  |  |  | between groups of people; between traders and local people; ago *property* | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What a palaver getting the dog into the car!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:palaver:x1:1
# text = What a palaver getting the dog into the car!
1	What	what	DET	WDT	PronType=Int	3	det:predet	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	palaver	palaver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	getting	get	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	acl	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	into	into	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	car	car	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 | **get** | gerund | what palaver *not said here* | the dog |  | the car |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer dog=Stimulus |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum said the school concert was a lot of palaver.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:palaver:x2:1
# text = Mum said the school concert was a lot of palaver.
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	concert	concert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
6	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	lot	lot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	ccomp	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	palaver	palaver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Mum |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | past | the school concert | a lot |  |  |  | of palaver | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Stop all this palaver and get your shoes on!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:palaver:x3:1
# text = Stop all this palaver and get your shoes on!
1	Stop	stop	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	4	det:predet	_	_
3	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	4	det	_	_
4	palaver	palaver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	get	get	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	1	conj	_	_
7	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	shoes	shoe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	RP	_	6	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stop** | imperative | you *not said here* | all palaver |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Subeventuality palaver=Eventuality |
| 2 | **get on** | infinitive | you *not said here* | your shoes |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer shoe=Stimulus |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The chiefs held a long palaver by the river.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:palaver:x4:1
# text = The chiefs held a long palaver by the river.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	chiefs	chief	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	held	hold	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	palaver	palaver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	by	by	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	river	river	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold** | past | the chiefs | a long palaver |  |  |  | by the river | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent palaver=Theme by river=Location |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There was a great palaver over who sat where.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:palaver:x5:1
# text = There was a great palaver over who sat where.
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	2	expl	_	_
2	was	be	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	palaver	palaver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
6	over	over	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
7	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
8	sat	sit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
9	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** | past | a great palaver |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **sit** | past | a great palaver |  |  |  |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It's too much palaver to bake bread every day.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:palaver:x6:1
# text = It's too much palaver to bake bread every day.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	too	too	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	much	much	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	palaver	palaver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	bake	bake	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	acl	_	_
8	bread	bread	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
9	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	10	det	_	_
10	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | much palaver |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **bake** | to-infinitive |  | bread |  |  | day |  | vn build-26.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bread=Product |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Den, atter some mo' palaver, Brer Fox make a bargain dat Mr. Buzzard wuz ter watch de hole, en keep Brer Rabbit dar wiles Brer Fox went atter his axe.

<!-- fold The tree, 31 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:palaver:x7:1
# text = "Den, atter some mo' palaver, Brer Fox make a bargain dat Mr. Buzzard wuz ter watch de hole, en keep Brer Rabbit dar wiles Brer Fox went atter his axe.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Den	Den	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	atter	atter	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	6	det	_	_
6	mo	mo	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	'	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	palaver	palaver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	Brer	Brer	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	Fox	fox	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	_
12	make	make	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	bargain	bargain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	compound	_	_
15	dat	dat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nsubj	_	_
16	Mr.	Mr.	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	17	nmod:desc	_	_
17	Buzzard	Buzzard	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	19	compound	_	_
18	wuz	wuz	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	compound	_	_
19	ter	ter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nsubj	_	_
20	watch	watch	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	parataxis	_	_
21	de	de	X	FW	Foreign=Yes	22	compound	_	_
22	hole	hole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
24	en	en	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	conj	_	_
25	keep	keep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	20	conj	_	_
26	Brer	Brer	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	29	compound	_	_
27	Rabbit	Rabbit	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	26	flat	_	_
28	dar	dar	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	29	amod	_	_
29	wiles	wile	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	25	obj	_	_
30	Brer	Brer	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	31	compound	_	_
31	Fox	fox	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	32	nsubj	_	_
32	went	go	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	29	acl:relcl	_	_
33	atter	atter	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	32	xcomp	_	_
34	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	35	nmod:poss	_	_
35	axe	axe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	33	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
36	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **atter** *in a quote* | present | Den |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **make** *in a quote* | present | some mo's palaver and Brer Fox |  |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |
| 3 | **watch** *in a quote* | present | a bargain dat | de hole and en |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hole=Theme |
| 4 | **keep** *in a quote* | infinitive | a bargain dat *not said here* | Brer dar wiles |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent wile=Theme |
| 5 | **go** *in a quote* | past | Brer Fox | Brer dar wiles *not said here* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 6 | **atter** *in a quote* | infinitive | Brer Fox *not said here* | Fox's axe |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 7 | **palaver** *in a quote* |  | some mo |  |  |  |  |  | nom palaver «communication transitive»: poss=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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