---
title: piano — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «piano» in the school dictionary: A piano is a big musical instrument with black and white keys. You press the keys and small hammers hit strings inside. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# piano

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** piano, You, small hammers, She, piano lesson, he · **What happens:** be, press, hit, mean, play, practise · **To what, where:** big musical instrument, keys, strings, music, piano, 20 dollars · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«piano» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 10 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: [piano in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/piano.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A piano is a big musical instrument with black and white keys. You press the keys and small hammers hit strings inside.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A piano is a big musical instrument with black and white keys.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piano:m1:1
# text = A piano is a big musical instrument with black and white keys.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	piano	piano	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
5	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
6	musical	musical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	instrument	instrument	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
9	black	black	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	conj	_	_
12	keys	key	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a piano | a big musical instrument |  |  |  | with black keys | 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 -->
*Sentence 2:* You press the keys and small hammers hit strings inside.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piano:m1:2
# text = You press the keys and small hammers hit strings inside.
1	You	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	press	press	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	keys	key	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
6	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	hammers	hammer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
8	hit	hit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
9	strings	string	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	_
10	inside	inside	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **press** | present | You | the keys |  |  |  |  | vn push-12-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent key=Theme |
| 2 | **hit** | past | small hammers | strings |  |  |  | inside *property* | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme string=Co-Theme |

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In music, piano means play softly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piano:m2:1
# text = In music, piano means play softly.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	music	music	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	piano	piano	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	play	play	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	ccomp	_	_
7	softly	softly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | piano |  |  | music |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **play** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | softly *property* | vn performance-26.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She practises the piano 30 minutes a day.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piano:x1:1
# text = She practises the piano 30 minutes a day.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	practises	practise	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	piano	piano	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	30	30	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	minutes	minute	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	appos	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **practise** | present | She | the piano |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Each piano lesson costs 20 dollars.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piano:x2:1
# text = Each piano lesson costs 20 dollars.
1	Each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	3	det	_	_
2	piano	piano	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	lesson	lesson	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	costs	cost	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	20	20	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	dollars	dollar	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cost** | present | each piano lesson | 20 dollars |  |  |  |  | vn cost-54.2 «NP V NP.value»: agent=Theme dollar=Value |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A piano has 88 keys.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piano:x3:1
# text = A piano has 88 keys.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	piano	piano	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	88	88	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	keys	key	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | a piano | 88 keys |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent key=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
How long did he play the piano this week?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piano:x4:1
# text = How long did he play the piano this week?
1	How	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	2	advmod	_	_
2	long	long	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	5	advmod	_	_
3	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	play	play	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	piano	piano	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	9	det	_	_
9	week	week	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **play** | past · do-support | he | the piano |  |  | week | long *property* | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent piano=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She plays the piano in the school concert.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piano:x5:1
# text = She plays the piano in the school concert.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	plays	play	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	piano	piano	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	concert	concert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **play** | present | She | the piano |  | the school concert |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent piano=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The piano has 52 white keys and 36 black keys.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piano:x6:1
# text = The piano has 52 white keys and 36 black keys.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	piano	piano	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	52	52	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
5	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	keys	key	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
8	36	36	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	10	nummod	_	_
9	black	black	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	keys	key	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | the piano | 52 white keys and 36 black keys |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent key=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Inside the piano, hammers hit the strings.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piano:x7:1
# text = Inside the piano, hammers hit the strings.
1	Inside	inside	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	piano	piano	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	hammers	hammer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
6	hit	hit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	strings	string	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hit** | past | hammers | the strings |  | the piano |  |  | vn throw-17.1-1 «NP V NP PP.destinations»: agent=Agent string=Theme inside piano=Destination |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Moving a piano needs four strong people.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piano:x8:1
# text = Moving a piano needs four strong people.
1	Moving	move	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	csubj	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	piano	piano	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	needs	need	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	four	four	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	7	nummod	_	_
6	strong	strong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **move** | gerund |  | a piano |  |  |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent piano=Theme |
| 2 | **need** | present | Moving | four strong people |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot people=Theme |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The teacher wrote «p» for piano, which means softly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piano:x9:1
# text = The teacher wrote «p» for piano, which means softly.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	wrote	write	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	p	p	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	piano	piano	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
11	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	_
12	softly	softly	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write** | past | the teacher | p |  |  |  | for piano | vn create-26.4-1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent p=Result for piano=Beneficiary |
| 2 | **mean** | present | piano |  |  |  |  | softly *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 10 {#x10}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
But when the old man played, the piano sounded quite out of tune.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piano:x10:1
# text = But when the old man played, the piano sounded quite out of tune.
1	But	but	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
2	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	6	mark	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	played	play	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	piano	piano	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	sounded	sound	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	quite	quite	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
12	out	out	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	tune	tune	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **play** | past | the old man |  |  |  |  |  | vn performance-26.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **sound** | past | the piano |  |  | tune |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme out tune=Location |

<!-- 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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