---
title: patronising — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «patronising» in the school dictionary: Talking to someone or treating them as if they were less clever or less important than you, in a kind-seeming but rude way. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# patronising

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** they, I, patronising smile, His, She, girl · **What happens:** talk, treat, be, not patronis, tie, patronis · **To what, where:** them, regular customer, own shoes, her, it, patronising way · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«patronising» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 6 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: [patronising in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/patronising.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Talking to someone or treating them as if they were less clever or less important than you, in a kind-seeming but rude way.

<!-- fold The tree, 24 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patronising:m1:1
# text = Talking to someone or treating them as if they were less clever or less important than you, in a kind-seeming but rude way.
1	Talking	talk	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	23	csubj	_	_
2	to	to	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	1	obl	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	treating	treat	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	1	conj	_	_
6	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	_
7	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
8	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
9	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
10	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
11	less	less	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	12	advmod	_	_
12	clever	clever	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	advcl	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
14	less	less	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	15	advmod	_	_
15	important	important	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	conj	_	_
16	than	than	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	15	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	23	punct	_	_
19	in	in	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
20	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
21	kind	kind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	21	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	seeming	seeming	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
24	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	26	cc	_	_
25	rude	rude	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	26	amod	_	_
26	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	23	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **talk** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | to someone | vn talk-37.5 «NP V PP.co-agent»: agent=Agent to someone=Co-Agent |
| 2 | **treat** | gerund |  | them *= they* |  |  |  |  | vn equip-13.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent they=Recipient |
| 3 | **is** | past | they |  |  |  |  | clever, less *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **be** |  | they *not said here* |  |  |  |  | than you; less *property* | 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.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
verb form.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patronising:m2:1
# text = verb form.
1	verb	verb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	form	form	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

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

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Being a regular customer of a shop or business (formal).

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patronising:m2e:1
# text = Being a regular customer of a shop or business (formal).
1	Being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	cop	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	regular	regular	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	customer	customer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	shop	shop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	business	business	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	_
10	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	formal	formal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | gerund |  | a regular customer |  |  |  | of a shop or business | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Don't be patronising; I can tie my own shoes!"

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patronising:x1:1
# text = "Don't be patronising; I can tie my own shoes!"
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	aux	_	_
5	patronising	patronis	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
7	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
9	tie	tie	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
10	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
11	own	own	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	shoes	shoe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **patronis** *in a quote* | infinitive · progressive · do-support |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **tie** *in a quote* | can | I | my own shoes |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent shoe=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
His patronising smile made her angry.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patronising:x2:1
# text = His patronising smile made her angry.
1	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	patronising	patronis	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	amod	_	_
3	smile	smile	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obj	_	_
6	angry	angry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **patronis** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **make** | past | His patronising smile | her *= she* |  |  |  | angry *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset she=Product |
| 3 | **smile** |  | His *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom smile «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The waiter's patronising voice annoyed Grandad.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patronising:x3:1
# text = The waiter's patronising voice annoyed Grandad.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	waiter	waiter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	patronising	patronis	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	amod	_	_
5	voice	voice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	annoyed	annoyed	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	Grandad	Grandad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **patronis** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She explained it slowly in a patronising way.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patronising:x4:1
# text = She explained it slowly in a patronising way.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	explained	explain	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	slowly	slowly	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	patronising	patronis	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	amod	_	_
8	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **explain** *speech: assert* | past | She | it |  | a patronising way |  | slowly *property* | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Topic |
| 2 | **patronis** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Speaking to the new girl as if she were a baby was patronising.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patronising:x5:1
# text = Speaking to the new girl as if she were a baby was patronising.
1	Speaking	speak	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
2	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	girl	girl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
6	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
7	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
8	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
9	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	baby	baby	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
12	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
13	patronising	patronis	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	1	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **speak** *speech: other* | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | to the new girl | vn talk-37.5 «NP V PP.co-agent»: agent=Agent to girl=Co-Agent |
| 2 | **patronis** | past · progressive | girl |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Many families have been patronising the corner shop for years.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patronising:x6:1
# text = Many families have been patronising the corner shop for years.
1	Many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	families	family	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
3	have	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	been	be	AUX	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	5	aux	_	_
5	patronising	patronis	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	corner	corner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	shop	shop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **patronis** | present · perfect · progressive | Many families | the corner shop |  |  | year |  | tree rules |

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**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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