---
title: punctual — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «punctual» in the school dictionary: Arriving or doing something at the agreed time, not late. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/punctual/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [P](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/) / punctual

# punctual

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** you, teacher, bus, He, report, I · **What happens:** arrive, do, agree, happen, be, show · **To what, where:** something, punctual train, respect, five minutes · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«punctual» in the school dictionary: its 2 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: [punctual in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/punctual.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Arriving or doing something at the agreed time, not late.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:punctual:m1:1
# text = Arriving or doing something at the agreed time, not late.
1	Arriving	arrive	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
2	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	doing	do	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	1	conj	_	_
4	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	3	obj	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	agreed	agree	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	amod	_	_
8	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
11	late	late	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	1	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **arrive** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | late *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **do** | gerund |  | something |  |  | time |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Eventuality |
| 3 | **agree** *speech: agree* | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn correspond-36.1-1 «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 -->
Happening exactly on time: «a punctual train».

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:punctual:m2:1
# text = Happening exactly on time: «a punctual train».
1	Happening	happen	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
2	exactly	exactly	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	1	punct	_	_
6	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	punctual	punctual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	train	train	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | gerund |  | a punctual train |  |  | time | exactly *property* | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Please be punctual for the school trip.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:punctual:x1:1
# text = Please be punctual for the school trip.
1	Please	please	INTJ	UH	_	3	discourse	_	_
2	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	cop	_	_
3	punctual	punctual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	trip	trip	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | for the school trip; punctual *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our teacher is always punctual.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:punctual:x2:1
# text = Our teacher is always punctual.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	5	advmod	_	_
5	punctual	punctual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Our teacher |  |  |  |  | always, punctual *property* | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The bus was punctual this morning for once.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:punctual:x3:1
# text = The bus was punctual this morning for once.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	bus	bus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	punctual	punctual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	6	det	_	_
6	morning	morning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl:unmarked	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the bus |  |  |  | morning | punctual *property* | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Being punctual shows respect for others.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:punctual:x4:1
# text = Being punctual shows respect for others.
1	Being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	cop	_	_
2	punctual	punctual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	csubj	_	_
3	shows	show	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	respect	respect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	others	other	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | punctual *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **show** | present |  | respect |  |  |  | for others | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent respect=Recipient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He's never punctual, he's always five minutes late.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:punctual:x5:1
# text = He's never punctual, he's always five minutes late.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|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	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	punctual	punctual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
6	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
8	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	9	advmod	_	_
9	five	five	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	10	nummod	_	_
10	minutes	minute	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obl:unmarked	_	_
11	late	late	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is** | present | He |  |  |  |  | late, punctual *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is a** | present | he | five minutes |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My report said I was polite and punctual.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:punctual:x6:1
# text = My report said I was polite and punctual.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	report	report	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	polite	polite	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	ccomp	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	punctual	punctual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | My report |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | past | I |  |  |  |  | polite *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **be** |  | I *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **report** |  | My |  |  |  |  |  | nom report «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
‘You are punctual,’ said the old man, ‘but we need not start just yet.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:punctual:x7:1
# text = ‘You are punctual,’ said the old man, ‘but we need not start just yet.
1	‘	'	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	You	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	punctual	punctual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	’	'	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
7	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	‘	'	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
14	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
15	need	need	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	17	aux	_	_
16	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	17	advmod	_	_
17	start	start	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	conj	_	_
18	just	just	ADV	RB	_	19	advmod	_	_
19	yet	yet	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | You |  |  |  |  | punctual *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | the old man |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **not** **start** | present | we |  |  |  | yet |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

<!-- 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 -->
- ← previous: [punchline](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/punchline/)
- next →: [punctuality](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/punctuality/)
- ↑ back to [P in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/)