---
title: pity — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «pity» in the school dictionary: Pity is a feeling of sadness for someone who is suffering or in trouble. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# pity

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Pity, It, something, I, you, giant · **What happens:** be, suffer, pity, mean, happen, feel · **To what, where:** feeling, pity, shame, someone, rain, bread · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«pity» in the school dictionary: its 3 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: [pity in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/pity.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Pity is a feeling of sadness for someone who is suffering or in trouble.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pity:m1:1
# text = Pity is a feeling of sadness for someone who is suffering or in trouble.
1	Pity	pity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	feeling	feeling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	sadness	sadness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	4	nmod	_	_
9	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
11	suffering	suffer	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	acl:relcl	_	_
12	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	trouble	trouble	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Pity | a feeling |  |  |  | of sadness; for someone | tree rules |
| 2 | **suffer** | present · progressive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn marvel-31.3 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |

<!-- .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 -->
«It's a pity» or «what a pity» means it is sad or a shame that something happened.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pity:m2:1
# text = «It's a pity» or «what a pity» means it is sad or a shame that something happened.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	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	pity	pity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
8	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	11	nsubj	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	pity	pity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	_
13	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
14	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
15	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
16	sad	sad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	ccomp	_	_
17	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
18	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	shame	shame	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	conj	_	_
20	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	22	mark	_	_
21	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	22	nsubj	_	_
22	happened	happen	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	19	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** *in a quote* | present | It | a pity or a pity |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **pity** *in a quote* |  | a pity or a pity |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **mean** | present | a pity or a pity |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is** | present | it |  |  |  |  | sad *property* | tree rules |
| 5 | **happen** | past | something | a shame *not said here* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To pity someone means to feel sorry for them.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pity:m3:1
# text = To pity someone means to feel sorry for them.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	pity	pity	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	csubj	_	_
3	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	feel	feel	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	sorry	sorry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	xcomp	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pity** | to-infinitive |  | someone |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer someone=Stimulus |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **feel** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | sorry *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I felt pity for the lost puppy in the rain.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pity:x1:1
# text = I felt pity for the lost puppy in the rain.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	felt	feel	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	pity	pity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	lost	lose	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	amod	_	_
7	puppy	puppy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	rain	rain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **feel** | past | I | pity |  | the rain |  | for the lost puppy | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent pity=Location for puppy=Theme |
| 2 | **lose** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It's a pity you can't come to my party.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pity:x2:1
# text = It's a pity you can't come to my party.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	pity	pity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
6	ca	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	8	advmod	_	_
8	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	acl:relcl	_	_
9	to	to	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	party	party	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | a pity |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **come** | can | you | a pity *not said here* |  |  |  | to my party | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location pity=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What a pity the match was cancelled!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pity:x3:1
# text = What a pity the match was cancelled!
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	7	obj	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	pity	pity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	match	match	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj:pass	_	_
6	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux:pass	_	_
7	cancelled	cancel	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cancel** | past · passive |  | a pity |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The giant took pity on the hungry boy and gave him bread.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pity:x4:1
# text = The giant took pity on the hungry boy and gave him bread.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	giant	giant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	nsubj	_	_
3	took	take	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	pity	pity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	hungry	hungry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
11	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	iobj	_	_
12	bread	bread	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | past | the giant | pity |  |  |  | on the hungry boy | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent pity=Theme on boy=Destination |
| 2 | **give** | past | the giant *not said here* | bread | boy |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent he=Recipient bread=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She doesn't want pity; she wants help.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pity:x5:1
# text = She doesn't want pity; she wants help.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	want	want	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	pity	pity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	8	punct	_	_
7	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	wants	want	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
9	help	help	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **want** | present · do-support | She | pity |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot pity=Theme |
| 2 | **want** | present | she | help |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot help=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I pity anyone who has to walk home in this storm.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pity:x6:1
# text = I pity anyone who has to walk home in this storm.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	pity	pity	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	anyone	anyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	5	nsubj	_	_
5	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	acl:relcl	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	walk	walk	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	_
8	home	home	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	11	det	_	_
11	storm	storm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pity** | present | I | anyone |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer anyone=Stimulus |
| 2 | **have** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **walk** | to-infinitive |  |  |  | this storm |  | home *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in storm=Trajectory |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It would be a pity to waste all this food.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pity:x7:1
# text = It would be a pity to waste all this food.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
3	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	pity	pity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	waste	waste	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	acl	_	_
8	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	10	det:predet	_	_
9	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	10	det	_	_
10	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | would | It | a pity |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **waste** | to-infinitive |  | all food |  |  |  |  | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent food=Patient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
That would have been a pity.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pity:x8:1
# text = That would have been a pity.
1	That	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	6	nsubj	_	_
2	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
3	have	have	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	aux	_	_
4	been	be	AUX	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	6	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	pity	pity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | would · perfect | That | a pity |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- 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 -->

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