---
title: sob — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «sob» in the school dictionary: verb. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# sob

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** sad story, people, little boy, boy, She, hamster · **What happens:** tell, make, feel, get, cry, sob · **To what, where:** sad story, people, something, balloon, heart, mum · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
verb.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sob:m1:1
# text = verb.
1	verb	verb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

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

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To cry noisily, with short sharp breaths.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sob:m1e:1
# text = To cry noisily, with short sharp breaths.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	cry	cry	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	noisily	noisily	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
7	sharp	sharp	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	breaths	breath	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cry** *speech: express* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | with short sharp breaths; noisily *property* | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP.location V PP.theme»: agent=Location with breath=Theme |

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
noun.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sob:m2:1
# text = noun.
1	noun	noun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

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

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The sound of loud crying.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sob:m2e:1
# text = The sound of loud crying.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	loud	loud	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	crying	crying	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

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

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«sob story» (informal): a sad story told to make people feel sorry for you, maybe to get something.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sob:m3:1
# text = «sob story» (informal): a sad story told to make people feel sorry for you, maybe to get something.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	sob	sob	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
5	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	informal	informal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	11	punct	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	sad	sad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
12	told	tell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	11	acl	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	xcomp	_	_
15	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obj	_	_
16	feel	feel	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	14	xcomp	_	_
17	sorry	sorry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	xcomp	_	_
18	for	for	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
19	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	17	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	23	punct	_	_
21	maybe	maybe	ADV	RB	_	23	advmod	_	_
22	to	to	PART	TO	_	23	mark	_	_
23	get	get	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	16	parataxis	_	_
24	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	23	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | participle |  | a sad story *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **make** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | a sad story *not said here* | people |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **feel** *not said to happen* | infinitive | people *not said here* |  |  |  |  | sorry *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |
| 4 | **get** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  | maybe *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer something=Stimulus |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
SOB (rude, US slang): short for a swear insult; not for school.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sob:m4:1
# text = SOB (rude, US slang): short for a swear insult; not for school.
1	SOB	sob	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	rude	rude	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
5	US	US	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	slang	slang	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	9	punct	_	_
9	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	conj	_	_
10	for	for	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	swear	swear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	_
13	insult	insult	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	17	punct	_	_
15	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	17	advmod	_	_
16	for	for	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The little boy sobbed when he lost his balloon.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sob:x1:1
# text = The little boy sobbed when he lost his balloon.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	sobbed	sob	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	7	mark	_	_
6	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	lost	lose	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	ccomp	_	_
8	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	balloon	balloon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sob** | past | the little boy |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **lose** | past | boy | boy's balloon |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent balloon=Eventuality |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She sobbed her heart out when her hamster died.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sob:x2:1
# text = She sobbed her heart out when her hamster died.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sobbed	sob	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	heart	heart	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	out	out	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
6	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	9	mark	_	_
7	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	hamster	hamster	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	died	die	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sob out** | past | She | her heart |  |  |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent heart=Theme |
| 2 | **die** | past | her hamster |  |  |  |  |  | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«I can't find my mum,» he said between sobs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sob:x3:1
# text = «I can't find my mum,» he said between sobs.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
3	ca	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	find	find	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	ccomp	_	_
6	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
10	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
12	between	between	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	sobs	sob	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **find** *in a quote* | can | I | my mum |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent mum=Topic |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | he |  |  |  |  | between sobs | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We heard sobs from the next room.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sob:x4:1
# text = We heard sobs from the next room.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	heard	hear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	sobs	sob	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	next	next	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	room	room	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 | **hear** | past | We | sobs |  | the next room |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent sob=Topic from room=Source |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He told the teacher a sob story about why his homework was late.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sob:x5:1
# text = He told the teacher a sob story about why his homework was late.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	told	tell	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	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	iobj	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	sob	sob	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
8	about	about	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
9	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	13	advmod	_	_
10	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	homework	homework	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
12	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	cop	_	_
13	late	late	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past | He | a sob story | the teacher |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent teacher=Recipient story=Topic |
| 2 | **is** | past | teacher's homework |  |  |  |  | late *property* | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The audience sobbed at the sad ending.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sob:x6:1
# text = The audience sobbed at the sad ending.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	audience	audience	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	sobbed	sob	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	sad	sad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	ending	ending	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 | **sob** | participle |  | the audience *not said here* |  | the sad ending |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
‘O Kay, my little Kay!’ sobbed Gerda.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sob:x7:1
# text = ‘O Kay, my little Kay!’ sobbed Gerda.
1	‘	'	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	O	o	INTJ	UH	_	3	discourse	_	_
3	Kay	Kay	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
5	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
6	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	Kay	Kay	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	’	'	PUNCT	''	_	7	punct	_	_
10	sobbed	sob	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	Gerda	Gerda	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sob** | past | Kay | Gerda |  |  |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent gerda=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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