---
title: perpetrator — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «perpetrator» in the school dictionary: A perpetrator is a person who does something wrong or harmful, especially a crime. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# perpetrator

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** perpetrator, person, Police, detective, Bullying · **What happens:** be, do, search, own up, find, hurt · **To what, where:** person, something, perpetrator, victim, perpetrators, prison

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A perpetrator is a person who does something wrong or harmful, especially a crime.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:perpetrator:m1:1
# text = A perpetrator is a person who does something wrong or harmful, especially a crime.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	perpetrator	perpetrator	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	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	does	do	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	7	obj	_	_
9	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	harmful	harmful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
13	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	crime	crime	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a perpetrator | a person and a crime |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **do** | present | a person and a crime | something |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Eventuality |

<!-- .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.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Police are searching for the perpetrator.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:perpetrator:x1:1
# text = Police are searching for the perpetrator.
1	Police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	searching	search	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	perpetrator	perpetrator	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **search** | present · progressive | Police |  |  |  |  | for the perpetrator | vn search-35.2 «NP V PP.theme NP.location»: agent=Agent for perpetrator=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The perpetrator of the prank owned up.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:perpetrator:x2:1
# text = The perpetrator of the prank owned up.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	perpetrator	perpetrator	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	prank	prank	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	owned	own	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	up	up	ADP	RP	_	6	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **own up** | past | the perpetrator of the prank |  |  |  |  |  | vn own-100.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Who was the perpetrator of this mess?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:perpetrator:x3:1
# text = Who was the perpetrator of this mess?
1	Who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	perpetrator	perpetrator	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	7	det	_	_
7	mess	mess	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past |  | the perpetrator |  |  |  | of this mess | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The detective found the perpetrator.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:perpetrator:x4:1
# text = The detective found the perpetrator.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	detective	detective	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	found	find	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	perpetrator	perpetrator	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **find** | past | the detective | the perpetrator |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent perpetrator=Topic |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Bullying hurts both the victim and, in the long run, the perpetrator.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:perpetrator:x5:1
# text = Bullying hurts both the victim and, in the long run, the perpetrator.
1	Bullying	bullying	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	hurts	hurt	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	both	both	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc:preconj	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	victim	victim	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	run	run	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	perpetrator	perpetrator	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hurt** | present | Bullying | the victim and the long run |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer victim=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The perpetrators were sent to prison.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:perpetrator:x6:1
# text = The perpetrators were sent to prison.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	perpetrators	perpetrator	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	sent	send	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	prison	prison	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **send** | past · passive |  | the perpetrators |  | prison |  |  | vn confine-92-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: subject=Theme to prison=Destination |

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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.

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