---
title: sag — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «sag» in the school dictionary: To sink or hang down in the middle because of weight or because it is old or tired: the shelf sagged under the books. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# sag

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** weight, shelf, spirits, sales, something, shoulders · **What happens:** sink, hang down, be, sag, become, sink down · **To what, where:** middle, books, drop, washing line, wet towels, bad news

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To sink or hang down in the middle because of weight or because it is old or tired: the shelf sagged under the books.

<!-- fold The tree, 24 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sag:m1:1
# text = To sink or hang down in the middle because of weight or because it is old or tired: the shelf sagged under the books.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	sink	sink	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	hang	hang	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
5	down	down	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	middle	middle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
9	because	because	ADP	IN	ExtPos=ADP	11	case	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	fixed	_	_
11	weight	weight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
12	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
13	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
14	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
15	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
16	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	conj	_	_
17	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
18	tired	tired	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	22	punct	_	_
20	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
21	shelf	shelf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	nsubj	_	_
22	sagged	sag	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
23	under	under	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
24	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	25	det	_	_
25	books	book	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	22	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sink** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **hang down** | infinitive |  |  |  | the middle |  | because weight | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent in middle=Location |
| 3 | **is** | present | weight |  |  |  |  | old *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **be** |  | weight *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **sag** | past | the shelf |  |  | the books |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme under book=Location |

<!-- .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 become weaker or lower: my spirits sagged; sales sagged.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sag:m2:1
# text = To become weaker or lower: my spirits sagged; sales sagged.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	become	become	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	advcl	_	_
3	weaker	weak	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	2	xcomp	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	lower	low	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	9	punct	_	_
7	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	spirits	spirit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
9	sagged	sag	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	12	punct	_	_
11	sales	sale	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nsubj	_	_
12	sagged	sag	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **become** | to-infinitive | my spirits *not said here* |  |  |  |  | weak *property* | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **sag** | past | my spirits |  |  |  |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **sag** | past | sales |  |  |  |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A place where something sinks down, or a drop.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sag:m3:1
# text = A place where something sinks down, or a drop.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	place	place	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	5	advmod	_	_
4	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	nsubj	_	_
5	sinks	sink	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
6	down	down	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	drop	drop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sink down** | present | something | a drop |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The washing line sagged under the wet towels.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sag:x1:1
# text = The washing line sagged under the wet towels.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	washing	washing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	line	line	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	sagged	sag	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	under	under	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	wet	wet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	towels	towel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sag** | participle |  | the washing line *not said here* |  | the wet towels |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme under towel=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our old sofa sags in the middle.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sag:x2:1
# text = Our old sofa sags in the middle.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	sofa	sofa	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	sags	sag	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	middle	middle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
His shoulders sagged when he heard the bad news.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sag:x3:1
# text = His shoulders sagged when he heard the bad news.
1	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	shoulders	shoulder	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	sagged	sag	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
5	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	heard	hear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	news	news	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sag** | past | His shoulders |  |  |  |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **hear** | past | he | the bad news |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer news=Stimulus |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The tent sagged after the rain.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sag:x4:1
# text = The tent sagged after the rain.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	tent	tent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	sagged	sag	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	after	after	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	rain	rain	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 | **sag** | past | the tent |  |  |  | after the rain |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Put a support in the middle so the bridge doesn't sag.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sag:x5:1
# text = Put a support in the middle so the bridge doesn't sag.
1	Put	put	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	support	support	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	middle	middle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
7	so	so	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	bridge	bridge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
10	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	12	advmod	_	_
12	sag	sag	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **put** | imperative | you *not said here* | a support |  | the middle |  |  | vn put-9.1-2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent support=Theme in middle=Destination |
| 2 | **not** **sag** | present · do-support | the bridge |  |  |  |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Her energy sagged by the end of the race.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sag:x6:1
# text = Her energy sagged by the end of the race.
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	energy	energy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	sagged	sag	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	end	end	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	race	race	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sag** | participle | Her energy |  |  |  | by the end of the race |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme by end=Location |

<!-- 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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