---
title: sing — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «sing» in the school dictionary: To sing means to make music with your voice, using words or tunes. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# sing

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Birds, Things, someone, We, She, you · **What happens:** sing, mean, make, use, praise, sleep · **To what, where:** music, words, musical calls, high musical sound, praises, school choir · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«sing» in the school dictionary: its 4 meanings for a pupil and its 8 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: [sing in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sing.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To sing means to make music with your voice, using words or tunes.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sing:m1:1
# text = To sing means to make music with your voice, using words or tunes.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	sing	sing	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	csubj	_	_
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	music	music	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	voice	voice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
11	using	use	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	advcl	_	_
12	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obj	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	tunes	tune	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sing** *speech: express* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **make** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | music |  |  |  | with your voice | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset music=Product |
| 4 | **use** | gerund |  | words or tunes |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent word=Patient |

<!-- .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 -->
Birds sing when they make musical calls.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sing:m2:1
# text = Birds sing when they make musical calls.
1	Birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sing	sing	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	5	advmod	_	_
4	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	make	make	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
6	musical	musical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	calls	call	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sing** *speech: express* | present | Birds |  |  |  |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP.location V PP.theme»: agent=Location |
| 2 | **make** | present | Birds *= bird* | musical calls |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset call=Product |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Things like a kettle or the wind can «sing» when they make a high, musical sound.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sing:m3:1
# text = Things like a kettle or the wind can «sing» when they make a high, musical sound.
1	Things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
2	like	like	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	kettle	kettle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	wind	wind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
8	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
9	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	sing	sing	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	10	punct	_	_
12	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	14	advmod	_	_
13	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
14	make	make	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	advcl	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
16	high	high	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
18	musical	musical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sing** *speech: express* *in a quote* | can | Things like a kettle or the wind |  |  |  |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **make** | present | Things *= thing* | a high musical sound |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset sound=Product |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To sing someone's praises means to praise them a lot.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sing:m4:1
# text = To sing someone's praises means to praise them a lot.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	sing	sing	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	csubj	_	_
3	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	's	's	PART	POS	_	3	case	_	_
5	praises	praise	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
6	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	praise	praise	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	_
9	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	lot	lot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sing** *speech: express* | to-infinitive |  | someone's praises |  |  |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location praise=Theme |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **praise** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | praises *= praise* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **praise** |  | someone |  |  |  |  |  | nom praise «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We sing in the school choir.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sing:x1:1
# text = We sing in the school choir.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sing	sing	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	choir	choir	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sing** *speech: express* | present | We |  |  | the school choir |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in choir=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She sang «Happy Birthday» to her dad.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sing:x2:1
# text = She sang «Happy Birthday» to her dad.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sang	sing	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	Happy	happy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	Birthday	Birthday	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
7	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	dad	dad	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 | **sing** *speech: express* | past | She | Happy Birthday | Birthday's dad |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent birthday=Topic to dad=Recipient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The birds were singing in the morning.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sing:x3:1
# text = The birds were singing in the morning.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	singing	sing	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	morning	morning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sing** *speech: express* | past · progressive | the birds |  |  |  | morning |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP.location V PP.theme»: agent=Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Can you sing along to this song?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sing:x4:1
# text = Can you sing along to this song?
1	Can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
2	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	sing	sing	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	along	along	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	7	det	_	_
7	song	song	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 | **sing** *speech: express* | can | you |  | this song |  |  | along *property* | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent to song=Recipient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He has sung in three concerts.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sing:x5:1
# text = He has sung in three concerts.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	sung	sing	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	concerts	concert	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sing** *speech: express* | present · perfect | He |  |  | three concerts |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in concert=Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum sang the baby to sleep.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sing:x6:1
# text = Mum sang the baby to sleep.
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sang	sing	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	baby	baby	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	sleep	sleep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sing** *speech: express* | past | Mum | the baby |  |  |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location baby=Theme |
| 2 | **sleep** | to-infinitive | Mum *not said here* | the baby *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn snooze-40.4-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The kettle began to sing on the stove.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sing:x7:1
# text = The kettle began to sing on the stove.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	kettle	kettle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	began	begin	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	sing	sing	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	stove	stove	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | past | the kettle |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **sing** *speech: express* | to-infinitive | the kettle *not said here* |  |  | the stove |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on stove=Location |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My teacher always sings our praises.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sing:x8:1
# text = My teacher always sings our praises.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	4	advmod	_	_
4	sings	sing	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	praises	praise	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sing** *speech: express* | present | My teacher | our praises |  |  |  | always *property* | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location praise=Theme |
| 2 | **praise** |  | our |  |  |  |  |  | nom praise «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- 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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