---
title: silence — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «silence» in the school dictionary: Silence is when there is no sound at all. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# silence

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Silence, people, minute, We, loud bang, long silence · **What happens:** be, not be, mean, make, stay, remember · **To what, where:** sound, all, someone, short time, test, forest · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«silence» in the school dictionary: its 4 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: [silence in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/silence.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Silence is when there is no sound at all.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:silence:m1:1
# text = Silence is when there is no sound at all.
1	Silence	silence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
3	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	5	advmod	_	_
4	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	5	expl	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	7	det	_	_
7	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	at	at	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Silence | no sound |  | all |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- .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 -->
Silence is also when people are not talking.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:silence:m2:1
# text = Silence is also when people are not talking.
1	Silence	silence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
3	also	also	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
4	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	8	advmod	_	_
5	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
6	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
7	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	8	advmod	_	_
8	talking	talk	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is** | present · progressive | Silence |  |  |  |  | talk *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To silence means to make someone or something quiet.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:silence:m3:1
# text = To silence means to make someone or something quiet.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	silence	silence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	obj	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	conj	_	_
9	quiet	quiet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | silence |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **make** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | silence *not said here* | someone |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset someone=Product |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A minute's silence is a short time when people stay quiet to remember someone.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:silence:m4:1
# text = A minute's silence is a short time when people stay quiet to remember someone.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	minute	minute	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	silence	silence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	11	advmod	_	_
10	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nsubj	_	_
11	stay	stay	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	_
12	quiet	quiet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	xcomp	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	remember	remember	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	xcomp	_	_
15	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a minute's silence | a short time |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **stay** | present | people |  |  |  |  | quiet *property* | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **remember** | to-infinitive | people *not said here* | someone |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent someone=Theme |
| 4 | **silence** |  | a minute |  |  |  |  |  | nom silence «state transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Silence, please! The test has started.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Silence, please!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:silence:x1:1
# text = Silence, please!
1	Silence	silence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	please	please	INTJ	UH	_	1	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

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

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* The test has started.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:silence:x1:2
# text = The test has started.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	test	test	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	started	start	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **start** | present · perfect · passive |  | the test |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Eventuality |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We walked through the forest in silence.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:silence:x2:1
# text = We walked through the forest in silence.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	walked	walk	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	through	through	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	forest	forest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	silence	silence	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 | **walk** | past | We |  |  | the forest |  | in silence | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme through forest=Trajectory |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A loud bang broke the silence.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:silence:x3:1
# text = A loud bang broke the silence.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	loud	loud	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	bang	bang	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	broke	break	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	silence	silence	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 | **break** | past | a loud bang | the silence |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer silence=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There was a long silence after the bad news.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:silence:x4:1
# text = There was a long silence after the bad news.
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	2	expl	_	_
2	was	be	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	silence	silence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
6	after	after	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
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	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** | past | a long silence |  |  | there | after the bad news |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The class kept a minute's silence for the soldiers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:silence:x5:1
# text = The class kept a minute's silence for the soldiers.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	kept	keep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	minute	minute	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	's	's	PART	POS	_	5	case	_	_
7	silence	silence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	soldiers	soldier	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | past | the class | a minute's silence |  |  |  | for the soldiers | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent silence=Theme |
| 2 | **silence** |  | a minute |  |  |  |  |  | nom silence «state transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She silenced her phone in the cinema.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:silence:x6:1
# text = She silenced her phone in the cinema.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	silenced	silence	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	phone	phone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	cinema	cinema	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 | **silence** | past | She | her phone |  | the cinema |  |  | vn remedy-45.7 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent phone=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the silence we could hear an owl.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:silence:x7:1
# text = In the silence we could hear an owl.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	silence	silence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
4	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
5	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	hear	hear	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	owl	owl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hear** | could | we | a owl |  | the silence |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer owl=Stimulus |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
His silence told me he was upset.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:silence:x8:1
# text = His silence told me he was upset.
1	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	silence	silence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	told	tell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	iobj	_	_
5	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
6	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	upset	upset	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past | His silence |  | me |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent i=Recipient |
| 2 | **is** | past | silence |  |  |  |  | upset *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **silence** |  | His *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom silence «state transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There was a splash, and then silence.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:silence:x9:1
# text = There was a splash, and then silence.
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	2	expl	_	_
2	was	be	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	splash	splash	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
7	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	8	advmod	_	_
8	silence	silence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** | past | a splash and silence |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=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 -->

<!-- pn -->
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