---
title: persuade — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «persuade» in the school dictionary: To persuade someone is to make them agree to do something or believe something by giving good reasons or by asking nicely. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# persuade

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** something, I, me, you, brother, advert · **What happens:** persuade, be, agree, do, believe, give · **To what, where:** someone, something, good reasons, Mum, me, puppy · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«persuade» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 8 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: [persuade in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/persuade.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To persuade someone is to make them agree to do something or believe something by giving good reasons or by asking nicely.

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persuade:m1:1
# text = To persuade someone is to make them agree to do something or believe something by giving good reasons or by asking nicely.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	persuade	persuade	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	csubj	_	_
3	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	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	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	agree	agree	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	xcomp	_	_
11	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	10	obj	_	_
12	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	believe	believe	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	conj	_	_
14	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	13	obj	_	_
15	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
16	giving	give	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	13	advcl	_	_
17	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	reasons	reason	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	obj	_	_
19	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
20	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	21	mark	_	_
21	asking	ask	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	16	conj	_	_
22	nicely	nicely	ADV	RB	_	21	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **persuade** | to-infinitive |  | someone |  |  |  |  | vn compel-59.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent someone=Patient |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | make *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **agree** *speech: agree* | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V what S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 4 | **do** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Eventuality |
| 5 | **believe** | infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer something=Stimulus |
| 6 | **give** | gerund |  | good reasons |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent reason=Theme |
| 7 | **ask** *speech: ask* | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | nicely *property* | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V»: 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}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To persuade can also mean to convince someone that something is true.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persuade:m2:1
# text = To persuade can also mean to convince someone that something is true.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	persuade	persuade	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	csubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	convince	convince	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	_
8	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	7	obj	_	_
9	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
10	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	12	nsubj	_	_
11	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
12	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **persuade** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn compel-59.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **mean** | can |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **convince** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | someone |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus someone=Experiencer |
| 4 | **is** | present | something |  |  |  |  | true *property* | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I persuaded Mum to let me have a puppy.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persuade:x1:1
# text = I persuaded Mum to let me have a puppy.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	persuaded	persuade	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	let	let	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
6	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	_
7	have	have	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	puppy	puppy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **persuade** | past | I | Mum |  |  |  |  | vn compel-59.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent mum=Patient |
| 2 | **let** | to-infinitive | I *not said here* | me |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **have** | infinitive | me *not said here* | a puppy |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent puppy=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Can you persuade your brother to come to the park?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persuade:x2:1
# text = Can you persuade your brother to come to the park?
1	Can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
2	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	persuade	persuade	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
8	to	to	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	park	park	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **persuade** | can | you | your brother |  |  |  |  | vn compel-59.1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent brother=Patient clause=Result |
| 2 | **come** | to-infinitive | your brother *not said here* |  |  | the park |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme to park=Initial\_Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The advert tries to persuade you to buy the toy.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persuade:x3:1
# text = The advert tries to persuade you to buy the toy.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	advert	advert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	tries	try	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	persuade	persuade	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	buy	buy	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	toy	toy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **try** | present | the advert |  |  |  |  |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **persuade** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the advert *not said here* | you |  |  |  |  | vn compel-59.1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent you=Patient clause=Result |
| 3 | **buy** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* | the toy |  |  |  |  | vn accept-77.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent toy=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We wrote letters to persuade the council to build a skate park.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persuade:x4:1
# text = We wrote letters to persuade the council to build a skate park.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wrote	write	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	letters	letter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	persuade	persuade	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	council	council	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	build	build	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	skate	skate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	park	park	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write** | past | We | letters |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent letter=Theme |
| 2 | **persuade** | to-infinitive | We *not said here* | the council |  |  |  |  | vn compel-59.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent council=Patient |
| 3 | **build** | to-infinitive | We *not said here* | a skate park |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset park=Product |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She persuaded me that the film was worth seeing.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persuade:x5:1
# text = She persuaded me that the film was worth seeing.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	persuaded	persuade	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	film	film	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	worth	worth	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	parataxis	_	_
9	seeing	see	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **persuade** | past | She | me |  |  |  |  | vn compel-59.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent i=Patient |
| 2 | **is** | past | the film |  |  |  |  | worth *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **see** | gerund | the film *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No one could persuade him to eat broccoli.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persuade:x6:1
# text = No one could persuade him to eat broccoli.
1	No	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	2	det	_	_
2	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	persuade	persuade	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	eat	eat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
8	broccoli	broccoli	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **persuade** | could | no one | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | vn compel-59.1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent he=Patient clause=Result |
| 2 | **eat** | to-infinitive | him *= he* *not said here* | broccoli |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent broccoli=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A good speech uses facts to persuade people.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persuade:x7:1
# text = A good speech uses facts to persuade people.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	uses	use	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	facts	fact	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	persuade	persuade	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
8	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | present | a good speech | facts |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fact=Patient |
| 2 | **persuade** | to-infinitive | a good speech *not said here* | people |  |  |  |  | vn compel-59.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent people=Patient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The grand-vizir tried to persuade the Sultan not to go, but in vain.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:persuade:x8:1
# text = The grand-vizir tried to persuade the Sultan not to go, but in vain.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	grand	grand	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	vizir	vizir	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	tried	try	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	persuade	persuade	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	Sultan	Sultan	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	12	advmod	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	go	go	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
14	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
15	in	in	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	vain	vain	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **try** | past | the grand vizir |  |  |  |  |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **persuade** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the grand vizir *not said here* | the Sultan |  |  |  |  | vn compel-59.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sultan=Patient |
| 3 | **not** **go** | to-infinitive | the grand vizir *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=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 -->
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