---
title: reason — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «reason» in the school dictionary: A reason is why something happens or why someone does something; a cause or explanation. 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/R/reason/)

<!-- 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/) / [R](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/) / reason

# reason

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** reason, something, someone, you, your, We · **What happens:** be, happen, do, think, reach, give · **To what, where:** something, power, answer, reason, helmets, 's · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«reason» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 9 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: [reason in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/reason.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A reason is why something happens or why someone does something; a cause or explanation.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reason:m1:1
# text = A reason is why something happens or why someone does something; a cause or explanation.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	0	root	_	_
5	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	nsubj	_	_
6	happens	happen	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl:relcl	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
8	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	10	advmod	_	_
9	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	10	nsubj	_	_
10	does	do	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
11	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	14	punct	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	cause	cause	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	parataxis	_	_
15	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	explanation	explanation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a reason |  |  |  |  | why *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **happen** | present | something |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **do** | present | someone | something |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Eventuality |

<!-- .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 -->
Reason is the power to think clearly and sensibly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reason:m2:1
# text = Reason is the power to think clearly and sensibly.
1	Reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	power	power	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	think	think	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	acl	_	_
7	clearly	clearly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	sensibly	sensibly	ADV	RB	_	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Reason | the power |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **think** *speech: other* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | clearly *property* | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To reason is to think something through step by step to reach an answer.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reason:m3:1
# text = To reason is to think something through step by step to reach an answer.
1	To	to	ADP	TO	_	2	case	_	_
2	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	think	think	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	obj	_	_
7	through	through	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	step	step	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
9	by	by	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	step	step	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	reach	reach	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	acl	_	_
13	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | to reason; think *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **reach** | to-infinitive |  | a answer |  |  |  |  | vn body\_motion-49.2-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Agent answer=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What is the reason you were late?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reason:x1:1
# text = What is the reason you were late?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	0	root	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nsubj	_	_
5	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
6	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	late	late	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the reason |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | past | you | the reason *not said here* |  |  |  | late *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Give a reason for your answer.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reason:x2:1
# text = Give a reason for your answer.
1	Give	give	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | imperative | you *not said here* | a reason |  |  |  | for your answer | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.asset»: agent=Agent reason=Theme for answer=Asset |
| 2 | **answer** |  | your |  |  |  |  |  | nom answer «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We wear helmets for a good reason.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reason:x3:1
# text = We wear helmets for a good reason.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wear	wear	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	helmets	helmet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wear** | present | We | helmets |  |  |  | for a good reason | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1-1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent helmet=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She cried for no reason at all.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reason:x4:1
# text = She cried for no reason at all.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	cried	cry	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	for	for	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	5	det	_	_
5	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cry** *speech: express* | past | She |  |  |  |  | for no reason at all | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V PP.recipient S\_INF»: agent=Agent for reason=Recipient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Let's reason it out step by step.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reason:x5:1
# text = Let's reason it out step by step.
1	Let	let	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	1	obj	_	_
3	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	1	obj	_	_
5	out	out	ADP	RP	_	1	compound:prt	_	_
6	step	step	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
7	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	step	step	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **let out** | imperative | you *not said here* | 's |  |  |  | by step; step *obl* | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The reason the ice melted is the heat.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reason:x6:1
# text = The reason the ice melted is the heat.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	ice	ice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	melted	melt	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl:relcl	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	heat	heat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **melt** | participle | the ice | the reason *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4-1 «NP V NP ADJ»: agent=Patient reason=Result |
| 2 | **is a** | present | the reason | the heat |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
You can eat sweets within reason.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reason:x7:1
# text = You can eat sweets within reason.
1	You	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	eat	eat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	sweets	sweet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	within	within	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **eat** | can | You | sweets |  |  |  | within reason | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sweet=Patient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I tried to reason with my little brother.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reason:x8:1
# text = I tried to reason with my little brother.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	tried	try	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	ADP	TO	_	4	case	_	_
4	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
7	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **try** | past | I |  |  |  |  | to reason with my little brother | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"The reason is this, then," said the potter.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reason:x9:1
# text = "The reason is this, then," said the potter.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	this	this	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
7	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	10	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	7	punct	_	_
10	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	potter	potter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** *in a quote* | present |  | this |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | the reason | the potter |  |  | then |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent potter=Topic |

<!-- 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: [rearrangement](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rearrangement/)
- next →: [reasonable](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/reasonable/)
- ↑ back to [R in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/)