---
title: patter — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «patter» in the school dictionary: A quick, light, tapping sound, like rain or small feet. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# patter

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Chat, I, rain, We, paws, patter · **What happens:** tap, make, move, use, joke, get · **To what, where:** sound, Fast clever talk, great patter, patter, Little feet, us · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«patter» in the school dictionary: its 4 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: [patter in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/patter.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A quick, light, tapping sound, like rain or small feet.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patter:m1:1
# text = A quick, light, tapping sound, like rain or small feet.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
2	quick	quick	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	light	light	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	tapping	tap	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	amod	_	_
7	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
9	like	like	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	rain	rain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
12	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	feet	foot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tap** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn investigate-35.4 «NP V NP.location»: agent=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: verb — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To make that sound or move with quick light steps.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patter:m2:1
# text = To make that sound or move with quick light steps.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	make	make	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	4	det	_	_
4	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	move	move	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	quick	quick	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
9	light	light	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	steps	step	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | to-infinitive |  | that sound |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset sound=Product |
| 2 | **move** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | with quick light steps | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Fast, clever talk used by a salesperson, comedian or magician.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patter:m3:1
# text = Fast, clever talk used by a salesperson, comedian or magician.
1	Fast	fast	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	clever	clever	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	talk	talk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
6	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	salesperson	salesperson	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	comedian	comedian	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	magician	magician	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | participle |  | Fast clever talk *not said here* |  |  |  | by a salesperson and comedian or magician | vn eat-39.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Chat and jokes: «He's got great patter.».

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patter:m4:1
# text = Chat and jokes: «He's got great patter.».
1	Chat	chat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	jokes	joke	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	3	punct	_	_
5	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	got	get	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	3	ccomp	_	_
9	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	patter	patter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **joke** *speech: other* | present | Chat |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **get** *in a quote* | present · passive | Chat | great patter |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer patter=Stimulus |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I love the patter of rain on the roof.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patter:x1:1
# text = I love the patter of rain on the roof.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	love	love	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	patter	patter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	rain	rain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	roof	roof	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **love** | present | I | the patter of rain on the roof |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer patter=Stimulus |
| 2 | **patter** |  | rain on the roof |  |  |  |  |  | nom patter «communication intransitive»: of=agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We heard the patter of the cat's paws.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patter:x2:1
# text = We heard the patter of the cat's paws.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	heard	hear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	patter	patter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	's	's	PART	POS	_	7	case	_	_
9	paws	paw	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hear** | past | We | the patter of the cat's paws |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer patter=Stimulus |
| 2 | **patter** |  | the cat's paws |  |  |  |  |  | nom patter «communication intransitive»: of=agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Little feet pattered down the hall.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patter:x3:1
# text = Little feet pattered down the hall.
1	Little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	feet	foot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
3	pattered	patter	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	down	down	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	hall	hall	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **patter** | participle |  | Little feet *not said here* |  |  |  | down the hall | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The magician's patter kept us laughing.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patter:x4:1
# text = The magician's patter kept us laughing.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	magician	magician	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	patter	patter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	kept	keep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	_
7	laughing	laugh	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | past | the magician's patter | us |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **laugh** | gerund | us *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **patter** |  | the magician |  |  |  |  |  | nom patter «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Don't be fooled by the salesman's patter.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patter:x5:1
# text = Don't be fooled by the salesman's patter.
1	Do	do	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
3	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	fooled	fool	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	1	advcl	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	salesman	salesman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	's	's	PART	POS	_	7	case	_	_
9	patter	patter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **not** **fool** | infinitive · passive | the salesman's patter |  |  |  |  |  | vn trick-59.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **patter** |  | the salesman |  |  |  |  |  | nom patter «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My uncle in Glasgow has great patter.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patter:x6:1
# text = My uncle in Glasgow has great patter.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	uncle	uncle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	Glasgow	Glasgow	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	patter	patter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | My uncle in Glasgow | great patter |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent patter=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In a few minutes they heard the pattering of tiny feet, and many of the small gray mice came running up to her.

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patter:x7:1
# text = In a few minutes they heard the pattering of tiny feet, and many of the small gray mice came running up to her.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	few	few	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	minutes	minute	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	_
5	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	heard	hear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	pattering	pattering	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	tiny	tiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	feet	foot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
14	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	nsubj	_	_
15	of	of	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
17	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
18	gray	gray	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	compound	_	_
19	mice	mouse	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	nmod	_	_
20	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
21	running	run	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	20	advcl	_	_
22	up	up	ADP	RP	_	21	compound:prt	_	_
23	to	to	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
24	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	21	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hear** | past | they | the pattering of tiny feet |  |  | minute |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer pattering=Stimulus |
| 2 | **come** | past | many of the small gray mice |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **run up** | gerund | many of the small gray mice *not said here* |  | her *= she* |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.result»: agent=Theme to she=Result |

<!-- 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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