---
title: preaching — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «preaching» in the school dictionary: Giving religious talks or sermons; the work of a preacher. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# preaching

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** preacher, Jesus, I, his, preaching, minister · **What happens:** give, work, preach, tell, be, lecture · **To what, where:** religious talks, message, others, bossy lecturing way, Galilee, country · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Giving religious talks or sermons; the work of a preacher.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:preaching:m1:1
# text = Giving religious talks or sermons; the work of a preacher.
1	Giving	give	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
2	religious	religious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	talks	talk	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	sermons	sermon	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	8	punct	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	preacher	preacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | gerund |  | religious talks or sermons |  |  |  | the work of a preacher *obl* | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent talk=Theme |
| 2 | **work** |  | a preacher |  |  |  |  |  | nom work «act intransitive»: of=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 -->
The message that is preached: «Jesus's preaching about the kingdom of God».

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:preaching:m2:1
# text = The message that is preached: «Jesus's preaching about the kingdom of God».
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	message	message	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	preached	preach	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	5	punct	_	_
7	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	Jesus	Jesus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	preaching	preach	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	parataxis	_	_
11	about	about	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	kingdom	kingdom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	God	God	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **preach** *speech: other* | present · passive |  | the message |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **preach** *speech: other* *in a quote* | present · progressive | Jesus |  |  |  |  | about the kingdom of God | vn lecture-37.11-1 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent about kingdom=Topic |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Telling others what is right in a bossy, lecturing way: «I'm tired of his preaching.».

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:preaching:m3:1
# text = Telling others what is right in a bossy, lecturing way: «I'm tired of his preaching.».
1	Telling	tell	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	16	csubj	_	_
2	others	other	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
3	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	5	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	ccomp	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
8	bossy	bossy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	lecturing	lecture	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	11	amod	_	_
11	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	1	punct	_	_
13	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	'm	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
16	tired	tired	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
17	of	of	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	19	nmod:poss	_	_
19	preaching	preaching	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	16	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | gerund |  | others |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent other=Recipient |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  | a bossy lecturing way |  | right *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **lecture** *speech: other* | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn lecture-37.11-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is** *in a quote* | present | I |  |  |  |  | of his preaching; tired *property* | tree rules |
| 5 | **preach** *in a quote* |  | his *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom preaching «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The minister's preaching was simple and kind.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:preaching:x1:1
# text = The minister's preaching was simple and kind.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	minister	minister	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	preaching	preaching	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	simple	simple	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	kind	kind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the minister's preaching |  |  |  |  | simple *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  | the minister's preaching *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **preach** |  | the minister |  |  |  |  |  | nom preaching «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Jesus began preaching in Galilee.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:preaching:x2:1
# text = Jesus began preaching in Galilee.
1	Jesus	Jesus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	began	begin	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	preaching	preach	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	xcomp	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	Galilee	Galilee	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | past | Jesus |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **preach** *speech: other* | gerund | Jesus *not said here* |  |  | Galilee |  |  | vn lecture-37.11-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum said, «Less preaching, more helping!»

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:preaching:x3:1
# text = Mum said, «Less preaching, more helping!»
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	Less	less	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	6	amod	_	_
6	preaching	preaching	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	more	more	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	9	amod	_	_
9	helping	helping	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Mum |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
John Wesley travelled the country preaching.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:preaching:x4:1
# text = John Wesley travelled the country preaching.
1	John	John	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	Wesley	Wesley	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	1	flat	_	_
3	travelled	travel	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	country	country	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	preaching	preach	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **travel** | past | John | the country |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme country=Trajectory |
| 2 | **preach** *speech: other* | gerund | John *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn lecture-37.11-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She's preaching to the converted: we already recycle.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:preaching:x5:1
# text = She's preaching to the converted: we already recycle.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	preaching	preach	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	converted	converted	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
8	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
9	already	already	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	recycle	recycle	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **preach** *speech: other* | present · progressive | She |  | the converted |  |  |  | vn lecture-37.11-1 «NP V PP.recipient PP.topic»: agent=Agent to converted=Recipient |
| 2 | **recycle** | present | we |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Street preaching happens in the town square on Saturdays.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:preaching:x6:1
# text = Street preaching happens in the town square on Saturdays.
1	Street	street	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	preaching	preaching	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	happens	happen	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	town	town	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	square	square	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	Saturdays	Saturday	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | present | Street preaching |  |  | the town square on Saturdays |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme in square=Location |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
But Kari said she thought the priest was such a good man at preaching that she got so much benefit from what he said, and at last she got leave.

<!-- fold The tree, 30 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:preaching:x7:1
# text = But Kari said she thought the priest was such a good man at preaching that she got so much benefit from what he said, and at last she got leave.
1	But	but	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
2	Kari	Kari	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	thought	think	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	priest	priest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
8	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
9	such	such	DET	PDT	PronType=Ind	12	det:predet	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	ccomp	_	_
13	at	at	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	preaching	preach	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	12	nmod	_	_
15	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	17	mark	_	_
16	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
17	got	get	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	14	ccomp	_	_
18	so	so	ADV	RB	_	19	advmod	_	_
19	much	much	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	amod	_	_
20	benefit	benefit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	_
21	from	from	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
22	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	20	nmod	_	_
23	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	24	nsubj	_	_
24	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	22	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	30	punct	_	_
26	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	30	cc	_	_
27	at	at	ADP	IN	_	28	case	_	_
28	last	last	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	30	obl	_	_
29	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	30	nsubj	_	_
30	got	get	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
31	leave	leave	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	30	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
32	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Kari |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **think** *speech: other* | past | Kari |  |  |  |  |  | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is a** | past | the priest | such good man |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **preach** *speech: other* | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 5 | **get** | past | Kari | much benefit |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1-1 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent benefit=Theme from what=Source |
| 6 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | man |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 7 | **get** | past | Kari |  |  | last |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 8 | **leave** | infinitive | Kari *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1-1 «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 -->

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