---
title: personify — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «personify» in the school dictionary: To describe a thing, animal or idea as if it were a person, with human feelings or actions. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/personify/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [P](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/) / personify

# personify

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** idea, wind, She, Poets, writer, Grandma · **What happens:** describe, be, howl, personify, mean, become · **To what, where:** thing, perfect example, kindness, moon, weather, angry storm

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To describe a thing, animal or idea as if it were a person, with human feelings or actions.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:personify:m1:1
# text = To describe a thing, animal or idea as if it were a person, with human feelings or actions.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	describe	describe	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	appos	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
9	as	as	ADP	IN	ExtPos=ADP	14	case	_	_
10	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	9	fixed	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
12	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	14	cop	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
16	with	with	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	human	human	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	feelings	feeling	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
19	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	actions	action	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **describe** | to-infinitive |  | a thing or idea |  |  |  | with human feelings or actions | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent thing=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | past | idea |  |  |  |  | as a person | 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.

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"The wind howled angrily."

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:personify:m1e:1
# text = "The wind howled angrily."
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	wind	wind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	howled	howl	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	angrily	angrily	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **howl** *in a quote* | past | the wind |  |  |  |  | angrily *property* | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To be a perfect example of a quality.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:personify:m2:1
# text = To be a perfect example of a quality.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
2	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	perfect	perfect	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	example	example	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	quality	quality	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | to-infinitive |  | a perfect example |  |  |  | of a quality | tree rules |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"She personifies kindness."

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:personify:m2e:1
# text = "She personifies kindness."
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	personifies	personify	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	kindness	kindness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **personify** *in a quote* | present | She | kindness |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Poets often personify the moon as a lady.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:personify:x1:1
# text = Poets often personify the moon as a lady.
1	Poets	poet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	often	often	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	personify	personify	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	moon	moon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	as	as	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	lady	lady	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **personify** | present | Poets | the moon |  |  |  | as a lady; often *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In "the angry storm", the writer personifies the weather.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:personify:x2:1
# text = In "the angry storm", the writer personifies the weather.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
2	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	angry	angry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	storm	storm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	writer	writer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	personifies	personify	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	weather	weather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **personify** | present | the writer | the weather |  | the angry storm |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandma personifies kindness.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:personify:x3:1
# text = Grandma personifies kindness.
1	Grandma	grandma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	personifies	personify	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	kindness	kindness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Can you personify the sea in your poem?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:personify:x4:1
# text = Can you personify the sea in your poem?
1	Can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
2	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	personify	personify	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	poem	poem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **personify** | can | you | the sea |  | your poem |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cartoon personifies the vegetables as funny characters.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:personify:x5:1
# text = The cartoon personifies the vegetables as funny characters.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cartoon	cartoon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	personifies	personify	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	vegetables	vegetable	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	as	as	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	funny	funny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	characters	character	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **personify** | present | the cartoon | the vegetables |  |  |  | as funny characters | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Old stories personify death as a figure in a cloak.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:personify:x6:1
# text = Old stories personify death as a figure in a cloak.
1	Old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	stories	story	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	personify	personify	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	death	death	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	as	as	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	figure	figure	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	cloak	cloak	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **personify** | present | Old stories | death |  | a cloak |  | as a figure | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He personifies the change of seasons, and that process of transformation in nature by means of which the leaf-buds become developed into blossoms, and the blossoms into fruit.

<!-- fold The tree, 29 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:personify:x7:1
# text = He personifies the change of seasons, and that process of transformation in nature by means of which the leaf-buds become developed into blossoms, and the blossoms into fruit.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	personifies	personify	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	change	change	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	seasons	season	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
9	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	10	det	_	_
10	process	process	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nsubj	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	transformation	transformation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	nature	nature	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	_
15	by	by	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	parataxis	_	_
17	of	of	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	23	obl	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
20	leaf	leaf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	20	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	buds	bud	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	23	nsubj	_	_
23	become	become	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	conj	_	_
24	developed	develop	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	23	xcomp	_	_
25	into	into	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
26	blossoms	blossom	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	24	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	30	punct	_	_
28	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	30	cc	_	_
29	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	30	det	_	_
30	blossoms	blossom	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	conj	_	_
31	into	into	ADP	IN	_	32	case	_	_
32	fruit	fruit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **personify** | present | He | the change of seasons |  | fruit |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **mean** | present | that process of transformation in nature |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **become** | present | the leaf buds |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **develop** | participle | the leaf buds *not said here* |  |  | blossoms |  |  | vn grow-26.2.1 «NP.patient V PP.product»: agent=Patient into blossom=Product |
| 5 | **change** |  | seasons |  |  |  |  |  | nom change «event intransitive»: of=agent |
| 6 | **process** |  |  | transformation in nature |  |  |  |  | nom process «act transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- 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: [personification](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/personification/)
- next →: [personnel](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/personnel/)
- ↑ back to [P in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/)