---
title: restrain — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «restrain» in the school dictionary: To restrain someone or something is to hold them back or stop them from moving or doing something, often by force. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# restrain

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** you, seat belt, car, I, Two players, Princess · **What happens:** restrain, be, stop, move, do, want · **To what, where:** someone, them, something, yourself, dog, lead

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To restrain someone or something is to hold them back or stop them from moving or doing something, often by force.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:restrain:m1:1
# text = To restrain someone or something is to hold them back or stop them from moving or doing something, often by force.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	restrain	restrain	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	advcl	_	_
3	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	3	conj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	hold	hold	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	_
10	back	back	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	stop	stop	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	8	conj	_	_
13	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	_
14	from	from	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
15	moving	move	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	12	advcl	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	doing	do	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	15	conj	_	_
18	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	17	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
20	often	often	ADV	RB	_	22	advmod	_	_
21	by	by	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
22	force	force	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **restrain** | to-infinitive |  | someone |  |  |  |  | vn discourage-64.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer someone=Eventuality |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | hold *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **stop** | infinitive |  | them *= they* |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Subeventuality they=Eventuality |
| 4 | **move** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | by force | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V PP.trajectory»: agent=Theme by force=Trajectory |
| 5 | **do** | gerund |  | 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 -->
To restrain yourself is to stop yourself from doing something you want to do, like laughing or shouting.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:restrain:m2:1
# text = To restrain yourself is to stop yourself from doing something you want to do, like laughing or shouting.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	restrain	restrain	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	advcl	_	_
3	yourself	yourself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=2|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	2	obj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	stop	stop	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	yourself	yourself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=2|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	6	obj	_	_
8	from	from	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
9	doing	do	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	advcl	_	_
10	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	9	obj	_	_
11	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
12	want	want	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	acl:relcl	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
16	like	like	SCONJ	IN	_	17	mark	_	_
17	laughing	laugh	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	14	advcl	_	_
18	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
19	shouting	shout	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **restrain** | to-infinitive |  | yourself |  |  |  |  | vn discourage-64.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer yourself=Eventuality |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | stop *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **do** | gerund |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Eventuality |
| 4 | **want** | present | you |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 5 | **do** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 6 | **laugh** | gerund | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 7 | **shout** *speech: express* | gerund | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Keep your dog restrained on a lead in the park.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:restrain:x1:1
# text = Keep your dog restrained on a lead in the park.
1	Keep	keep	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
3	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	restrained	restrain	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	lead	lead	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	park	park	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | imperative | you *not said here* | your dog |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent dog=Theme |
| 2 | **restrain** | participle |  | your dog *not said here* |  | a lead in the park |  |  | vn discourage-64.5-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Causer |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The seat belt restrained him when the car stopped suddenly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:restrain:x2:1
# text = The seat belt restrained him when the car stopped suddenly.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	seat	seat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	belt	belt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	restrained	restrain	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obj	_	_
6	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	9	advmod	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	stopped	stop	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
10	suddenly	suddenly	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **restrain** | past | the seat belt | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | vn discourage-64.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer he=Eventuality |
| 2 | **stop** | past | the car |  |  |  |  | suddenly *property* | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I could hardly restrain my laughter.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:restrain:x3:1
# text = I could hardly restrain my laughter.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	hardly	hardly	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	restrain	restrain	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	laughter	laughter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **restrain** | could | I | my laughter |  |  |  | hardly *property* | vn discourage-64.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer laughter=Eventuality |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Two players restrained the angry man.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:restrain:x4:1
# text = Two players restrained the angry man.
1	Two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	players	player	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	restrained	restrain	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	angry	angry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **restrain** | past | Two players | the angry man |  |  |  |  | vn discourage-64.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer man=Eventuality |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Try to restrain yourself from eating all the cake.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:restrain:x5:1
# text = Try to restrain yourself from eating all the cake.
1	Try	try	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	to	to	PART	TO	_	3	mark	_	_
3	restrain	restrain	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	xcomp	_	_
4	yourself	yourself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=2|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	3	obj	_	_
5	from	from	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
6	eating	eat	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	_
7	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	9	det:predet	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	cake	cake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **try** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **restrain** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | you *not said here* | yourself |  |  |  |  | vn discourage-64.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer yourself=Eventuality |
| 3 | **eat** | gerund | you *not said here* | all cake |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cake=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Young children must be restrained in a proper car seat.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:restrain:x6:1
# text = Young children must be restrained in a proper car seat.
1	Young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	restrained	restrain	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
8	proper	proper	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
9	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	seat	seat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **restrain** | must · passive |  | Young children |  | a proper car seat |  |  | vn discourage-64.5-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Eventuality |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Then the Princess could restrain herself no longer, but ran forward and threw her arms round her husband.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:restrain:x7:1
# text = Then the Princess could restrain herself no longer, but ran forward and threw her arms round her husband.
1	Then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	5	advmod	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	Princess	princess	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	restrain	restrain	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	herself	herself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	5	obj	_	_
7	no	no	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	longer	long	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	ran	run	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
12	forward	forward	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	threw	throw	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	conj	_	_
15	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	16	nmod:poss	_	_
16	arms	arm	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obj	_	_
17	round	round	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	19	nmod:poss	_	_
19	husband	husband	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **restrain** | could | the Princess | Princess |  |  | then | long *property* | vn discourage-64.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer herself=Eventuality |
| 2 | **run** | past |  |  |  |  |  | forward *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **throw** | past |  | Princess's arms |  |  |  | round Princess's husband | vn throw-17.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent arm=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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