---
title: persecute — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «persecute» in the school dictionary: To persecute people is to treat them cruelly and unfairly for a long time, especially because of their religion, race, beliefs or who they are. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# persecute

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** people, Many families, Bible, Saul, Roman emperors, Refugees · **What happens:** persecute, be, mean, keep, bother, flee · **To what, where:** people, religion, someone, them, country, families · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«persecute» in the school dictionary: its 2 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: [persecute in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/persecute.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To persecute people is to treat them cruelly and unfairly for a long time, especially because of their religion, race, beliefs or who they are.

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persecute:m1:1
# text = To persecute people is to treat them cruelly and unfairly for a long time, especially because of their religion, race, beliefs or who they are.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	persecute	persecute	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	advcl	_	_
3	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	treat	treat	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	cruelly	cruelly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	unfairly	unfairly	ADV	RB	_	8	conj	_	_
11	for	for	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
16	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	20	advmod	_	_
17	because	because	ADP	IN	ExtPos=ADP	20	case	_	_
18	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	fixed	_	_
19	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	20	nmod:poss	_	_
20	religion	religion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
22	race	race	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
24	beliefs	belief	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	20	conj	_	_
25	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	26	cc	_	_
26	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	24	conj	_	_
27	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	26	nsubj	_	_
28	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	26	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **persecute** | to-infinitive |  | people |  |  |  |  | vn prosecute-33.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent people=Patient |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  | time | cruelly, treat *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is a** | present | people | people's religion and race and beliefs |  |  |  |  | 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 -->
To persecute someone can also mean to keep annoying or bothering them.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persecute:m2:1
# text = To persecute someone can also mean to keep annoying or bothering them.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	persecute	persecute	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	csubj	_	_
3	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
5	also	also	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	keep	keep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	_
9	annoying	annoying	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	xcomp	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	bothering	bother	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	9	conj	_	_
12	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **persecute** | to-infinitive |  | someone |  |  |  |  | vn prosecute-33.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent someone=Patient |
| 2 | **mean** | can |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **keep** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | annoying *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **bother** | gerund |  | them *= they* |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus they=Experiencer |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Many families fled their country because they were persecuted for their religion.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persecute:x1:1
# text = Many families fled their country because they were persecuted for their religion.
1	Many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	families	family	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	fled	flee	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	country	country	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
7	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj:pass	_	_
8	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux:pass	_	_
9	persecuted	persecute	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	advcl	_	_
10	for	for	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	religion	religion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **flee** | past | Many families | families's country |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme country=Initial\_Location |
| 2 | **persecute** | past · passive |  | families *= family* |  |  |  | for families's religion | vn prosecute-33.2-1 «NP V NP PP.theme»: subject=Patient for religion=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
(Bible) Before he became Paul, Saul persecuted the followers of Jesus.

<!-- fold The tree, 11 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persecute:x2:1
# text = (Bible) Before he became Paul, Saul persecuted the followers of Jesus.
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Bible	Bible	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	2	punct	_	_
4	Before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
5	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	became	become	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	Paul	Paul	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
9	Saul	Saul	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	persecuted	persecute	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	followers	follower	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	Jesus	Jesus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **become** | past | Bible |  |  |  |  |  | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **persecute** | past | Saul | the followers of Jesus |  |  |  |  | vn prosecute-33.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent follower=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The early Christians were persecuted by Roman emperors.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persecute:x3:1
# text = The early Christians were persecuted by Roman emperors.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	early	early	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	Christians	Christian	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	persecuted	persecute	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	Roman	roman	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	emperors	emperor	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **persecute** | past · passive | Roman emperors | the early Christians |  |  |  |  | vn prosecute-33.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
People should never be persecuted for the colour of their skin.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persecute:x4:1
# text = People should never be persecuted for the colour of their skin.
1	People	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
2	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
3	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	persecuted	persecute	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	colour	colour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	skin	skin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **persecute** | should · passive |  | People |  |  |  | for the colour of People's skin | vn prosecute-33.2-1 «NP V NP PP.theme»: subject=Patient for colour=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Refugees often escape from being persecuted.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persecute:x5:1
# text = Refugees often escape from being persecuted.
1	Refugees	refugee	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	often	often	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	escape	escape	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	from	from	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
5	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	aux:pass	_	_
6	persecuted	persecute	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **escape** | present | Refugees |  |  |  |  | often *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **persecute** | gerund · passive | Refugees *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn prosecute-33.2-1 «NP V NP» |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The bullies persecuted him with nasty messages for weeks.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persecute:x6:1
# text = The bullies persecuted him with nasty messages for weeks.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	bullies	bully	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	persecuted	persecute	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	nasty	nasty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	messages	message	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	weeks	week	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **persecute** | past | the bullies | him *= he* |  |  | week | with nasty messages | vn prosecute-33.2-1 «NP V NP PP.theme PP.attribute»: agent=Agent he=Patient with message=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nevertheless, he does not cease to persecute me and to kill my subjects.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persecute:x7:1
# text = Nevertheless, he does not cease to persecute me and to kill my subjects.
1	Nevertheless	nevertheless	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
4	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
5	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	cease	cease	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	persecute	persecute	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	_
9	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	kill	kill	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	conj	_	_
13	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	14	nmod:poss	_	_
14	subjects	subject	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **cease** | present · do-support | he |  |  |  |  | nevertheless *property* | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Affector clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **persecute** | to-infinitive | he *not said here* | me |  |  |  |  | vn prosecute-33.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent i=Patient |
| 3 | **kill** | to-infinitive | he *not said here* | my subjects |  |  |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Theme |

<!-- 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [perplexity](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/perplexity/)
- next →: [persecution](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/persecution/)
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