---
title: prehistory — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «prehistory» in the school dictionary: The very long time in the past before people wrote things down, so we learn about it from things they left behind, like tools, bones and cave paintings. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# prehistory

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** people, we, Archaeologists, Cave paintings, Prehistory, museum · **What happens:** write, learn, leave behind, begin, build, dig up · **To what, where:** things, something, Stonehenge, prehistory, Stone Age, tools · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«prehistory» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 6 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: [prehistory in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/prehistory.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The very long time in the past before people wrote things down, so we learn about it from things they left behind, like tools, bones and cave paintings.

<!-- fold The tree, 28 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:prehistory:m1:1
# text = The very long time in the past before people wrote things down, so we learn about it from things they left behind, like tools, bones and cave paintings.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	very	very	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl:unmarked	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	past	past	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
9	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
10	wrote	write	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	_
12	down	down	ADP	RP	_	11	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
14	so	so	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	_
15	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
16	learn	learn	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	parataxis	_	_
17	about	about	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	obl	_	_
19	from	from	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
20	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	obl	_	_
21	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	22	nsubj	_	_
22	left	leave	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	20	acl:relcl	_	_
23	behind	behind	ADV	RB	_	22	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	26	punct	_	_
25	like	like	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
26	tools	tool	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	28	punct	_	_
28	bones	bone	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	26	conj	_	_
29	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	31	cc	_	_
30	cave	cave	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	31	compound	_	_
31	paintings	painting	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	26	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
32	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write** | past | people | things |  |  | time |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent thing=Theme |
| 2 | **learn** | present | we |  |  | things |  | about past; like tools and bones and cave paintings | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V PP.theme PP.source»: agent=Agent about it=Theme from thing=Source |
| 3 | **leave behind** | past | people | things *not said here* |  |  |  | behind *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent thing=Theme |

<!-- .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 early beginnings of something: the prehistory of computers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:prehistory:m2:1
# text = The early beginnings of something: the prehistory of computers.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	early	early	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	beginnings	beginning	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	8	punct	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	prehistory	prehistory	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	appos	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	computers	computer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** |  |  | something |  |  |  |  | nom beginning «event transitive»: of=patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Stonehenge was built in prehistory.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:prehistory:x1:1
# text = Stonehenge was built in prehistory.
1	Stonehenge	Stonehenge	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	built	build	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	prehistory	prehistory	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **build** | past · passive |  | Stonehenge |  | prehistory |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: subject=Product |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We are learning about British prehistory, from the Stone Age to the Iron Age.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:prehistory:x2:1
# text = We are learning about British prehistory, from the Stone Age to the Iron Age.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	learning	learn	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	about	about	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	British	British	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	prehistory	prehistory	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
8	from	from	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	Stone	Stone	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	Age	Age	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
12	to	to	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	Iron	Iron	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	15	compound	_	_
15	Age	Age	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **learn** | present · progressive | We |  |  |  | from the Stone Age; to the Iron Age | about British prehistory | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V PP.theme PP.source»: agent=Agent about prehistory=Theme from age=Source |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Archaeologists dig up tools to learn about prehistory.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:prehistory:x3:1
# text = Archaeologists dig up tools to learn about prehistory.
1	Archaeologists	archaeologist	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	dig	dig	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	up	up	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	tools	tool	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	learn	learn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
7	about	about	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	prehistory	prehistory	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dig up** | present | Archaeologists | tools |  |  |  |  | vn poke-19-1-1-1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent tool=Theme |
| 2 | **learn** | to-infinitive | Archaeologists *not said here* |  |  |  |  | about prehistory | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent about prehistory=Topic |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Cave paintings tell us about life in prehistory.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:prehistory:x4:1
# text = Cave paintings tell us about life in prehistory.
1	Cave	cave	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	paintings	painting	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	tell	tell	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	iobj	_	_
5	about	about	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	prehistory	prehistory	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 | **tell** *speech: assert* | present | Cave paintings |  | us | prehistory |  | about life | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent we=Recipient about life=Topic |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Prehistory ended at different times in different places.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:prehistory:x5:1
# text = Prehistory ended at different times in different places.
1	Prehistory	prehistory	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	ended	end	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	at	at	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	different	different	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	times	time	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	different	different	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	places	place	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **end** | past | Prehistory |  |  | different places | time |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The museum has a gallery on prehistory.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:prehistory:x6:1
# text = The museum has a gallery on prehistory.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	museum	museum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	gallery	gallery	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	prehistory	prehistory	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

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

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