---
title: sneak — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «sneak» in the school dictionary: To sneak is to go somewhere quietly and secretly so nobody sees or hears you. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# sneak

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** nobody, sneak, person, We, He, my · **What happens:** sneak, be, see, hear, do, tell · **To what, where:** you, something, it, biscuit, person, things · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To sneak is to go somewhere quietly and secretly so nobody sees or hears you.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneak:m1:1
# text = To sneak is to go somewhere quietly and secretly so nobody sees or hears you.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	sneak	sneak	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	csubj	_	_
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	go	go	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	somewhere	somewhere	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	5	advmod	_	_
7	quietly	quietly	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	secretly	secretly	ADV	RB	_	7	conj	_	_
10	so	so	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
11	nobody	nobody	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	12	nsubj	_	_
12	sees	see	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	hears	hear	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	conj	_	_
15	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sneak** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | go, quietly, somewhere *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **see** | present | nobody |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 4 | **hear** | present | nobody *not said here* | you |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer you=Stimulus |

<!-- .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 sneak something is to take or do it secretly: «sneak a biscuit».

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneak:m2:1
# text = To sneak something is to take or do it secretly: «sneak a biscuit».
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	sneak	sneak	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	advcl	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	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	take	take	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	do	do	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	_
10	secretly	secretly	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	13	punct	_	_
12	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	sneak	sneak	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	6	parataxis	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	biscuit	biscuit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sneak** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | take *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **do** | infinitive |  | it |  |  |  | secretly *property* | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Eventuality |
| 4 | **sneak** *in a quote* | infinitive |  | a biscuit |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent biscuit=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A sneak is a person who does things secretly or tells tales on others (UK, informal).

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneak:m3:1
# text = A sneak is a person who does things secretly or tells tales on others (UK, informal).
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sneak	sneak	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	does	do	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	_
9	secretly	secretly	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	tells	tell	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	conj	_	_
12	tales	tale	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obj	_	_
13	on	on	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	others	other	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obl	_	_
15	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	UK	UK	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	14	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
18	informal	informal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a sneak | a person |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **do** | present | a person | things |  |  |  | secretly *property* | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent thing=Eventuality |
| 3 | **tell** *speech: assert* | present | a person *not said here* | tales |  | others |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent tale=Recipient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We sneaked into the kitchen for a midnight snack.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneak:x1:1
# text = We sneaked into the kitchen for a midnight snack.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sneaked	sneak	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	into	into	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	kitchen	kitchen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	midnight	midnight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	snack	snack	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 | **sneak** | past | We |  |  | the kitchen |  | for a midnight snack | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme into kitchen=Destination |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cat sneaked up on the bird.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneak:x2:1
# text = The cat sneaked up on the bird.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	sneaked	sneak	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	up	up	ADP	RP	_	3	compound:prt	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sneak up** | participle |  | the cat *not said here* |  |  |  | on the bird | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on bird=Trajectory |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He tried to sneak a look at my answers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneak:x3:1
# text = He tried to sneak a look at my answers.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	tried	try	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	sneak	sneak	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	look	look	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	at	at	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	answers	answer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **try** | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **sneak** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | a look |  | my answers |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V NP PP.trajectory»: agent=Agent look=Theme at answer=Trajectory |
| 3 | **answer** |  | my |  |  |  |  |  | nom answer «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Don't sneak out without telling your parents.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneak:x4:1
# text = Don't sneak out without telling your parents.
1	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	sneak	sneak	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	out	out	ADP	RP	_	3	compound:prt	_	_
5	without	without	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
6	telling	tell	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	_
7	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	parents	parent	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **sneak out** | imperative · do-support | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* | gerund | you *not said here* |  | your parents |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent parent=Recipient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Here's a sneak peek of the new book!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneak:x5:1
# text = Here's a sneak peek of the new book!
1	Here	here	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	sneak	sneak	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	peek	peek	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nsubj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	book	book	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a sneak peek of the new book |  |  |  |  | here *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **peek** |  | the new book |  |  |  |  |  | nom peek «act intransitive»: of=agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She snuck a sweet into her pocket.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneak:x6:1
# text = She snuck a sweet into her pocket.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	snuck	snuck	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	sweet	sweet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	into	into	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	pocket	pocket	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 | **snuck** | past | She | a sweet |  | her pocket |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Now, one day Edmund made a new lantern out of something chemical that he sneaked from the school laboratory.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sneak:x7:1
# text = Now, one day Edmund made a new lantern out of something chemical that he sneaked from the school laboratory.
1	Now	now	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	4	nummod	_	_
4	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	Edmund	Edmund	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	appos	_	_
6	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	lantern	lantern	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
10	out	out	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	13	compound	_	_
13	chemical	chemical	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
14	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	16	obj	_	_
15	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
16	sneaked	sneak	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	acl:relcl	_	_
17	from	from	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
19	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	compound	_	_
20	laboratory	laboratory	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | one day | a new lantern |  | something chemical | now |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset lantern=Product |
| 2 | **sneak** | past | Edmund | something chemical |  | the school laboratory |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V NP PP.trajectory»: agent=Agent that=Theme from laboratory=Trajectory |

<!-- 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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