---
title: sooner — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «sooner» in the school dictionary: Sooner means earlier or in less time than something else. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# sooner

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Sooner, I, we, you, it, train · **What happens:** mean, walk, prefer, go, have, tidy · **To what, where:** room, rain, adult · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sooner means earlier or in less time than something else.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sooner:m1:1
# text = Sooner means earlier or in less time than something else.
1	Sooner	sooner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	earlier	early	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	2	obj	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	less	less	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	7	amod	_	_
7	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
8	than	than	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	7	nmod	_	_
10	else	else	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Sooner |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent early=Topic |

<!-- .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 -->
Sooner can mean «rather», as in «I'd sooner walk» (I would prefer to walk).

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sooner:m2:1
# text = Sooner can mean «rather», as in «I'd sooner walk» (I would prefer to walk).
1	Sooner	sooner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	rather	rather	ADV	RB	ExtPos=CCONJ	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
8	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	fixed	_	_
10	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	'd	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
13	sooner	soon	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	14	advmod	_	_
14	walk	walk	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	14	punct	_	_
16	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	19	nsubj	_	_
18	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	19	aux	_	_
19	prefer	prefer	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	14	conj	_	_
20	to	to	PART	TO	_	21	mark	_	_
21	walk	walk	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	19	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can | Sooner |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **walk** *in a quote* | would | I |  |  |  |  | soon *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **prefer** | would | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 4 | **walk** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | I *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Sooner or later" can also mean eventually, at some time in the future.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sooner:m3:1
# text = "Sooner or later" can also mean eventually, at some time in the future.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Sooner	soon	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	8	advmod	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	later	late	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
6	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
7	also	also	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
9	eventually	eventually	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
11	at	at	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	13	det	_	_
13	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	parataxis	_	_
14	in	in	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	future	future	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can |  |  |  |  |  | eventually, soon *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Can we go home sooner?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sooner:x1:1
# text = Can we go home sooner?
1	Can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
2	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	go	go	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	home	home	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	sooner	soon	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go** | can | we |  |  |  |  | home, soon *property* | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sooner or later you will have to tidy your room.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sooner:x2:1
# text = Sooner or later you will have to tidy your room.
1	Sooner	soon	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	6	advmod	_	_
2	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	later	late	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	1	conj	_	_
4	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
5	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	have	have	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	tidy	tidy	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	_
9	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	room	room	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | future | you |  |  |  |  | soon *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **tidy** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* | your room |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The sooner you start, the sooner you'll finish.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sooner:x3:1
# text = The sooner you start, the sooner you'll finish.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sooner	soon	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	4	advmod	_	_
3	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	start	start	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	sooner	soon	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	10	advmod	_	_
8	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	'll	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	finish	finish	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **start** | present | you |  |  |  |  | soon *property* | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 2 | **finish** | future | you |  |  |  |  | soon *property* | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I'd sooner stay home than go out in the rain.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sooner:x4:1
# text = I'd sooner stay home than go out in the rain.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	'd	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	sooner	soon	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	4	advmod	_	_
4	stay	stay	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	home	home	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
6	than	than	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
7	go	go	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
8	out	out	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	rain	rain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stay** | would | I |  |  |  |  | home, soon *property* | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **go out** | infinitive | I *not said here* |  |  | the rain |  | out *property* | vn interact-36.6 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No sooner had we arrived than it started to rain.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sooner:x5:1
# text = No sooner had we arrived than it started to rain.
1	No	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	2	det	_	_
2	sooner	soon	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	3	advmod	_	_
3	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	arrived	arrive	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
6	than	than	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	started	start	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	rain	rain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past |  |  |  |  |  | soon *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **arrive** | past | we |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **start** | past | it | rain |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent rain=Eventuality |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The train came ten minutes sooner than we expected.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sooner:x6:1
# text = The train came ten minutes sooner than we expected.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	train	train	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	ten	ten	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	minutes	minute	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl:unmarked	_	_
6	sooner	soon	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	3	advmod	_	_
7	than	than	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
8	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	expected	expect	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | past | the train |  |  |  |  | soon *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **expect** | past | we |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
If you tell an adult sooner, they can help sooner.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sooner:x7:1
# text = If you tell an adult sooner, they can help sooner.
1	If	if	SCONJ	IN	_	3	mark	_	_
2	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	tell	tell	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	advcl	_	_
4	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	adult	adult	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	sooner	soon	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
8	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
9	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	help	help	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
11	sooner	soon	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	10	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* *a condition, not said to happen* | present | you |  | a adult |  |  | soon *property* | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent adult=Recipient |
| 2 | **help** | can | they |  |  |  |  | soon *property* | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sooner or later the old woman died.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sooner:x8:1
# text = Sooner or later the old woman died.
1	Sooner	soon	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	7	advmod	_	_
2	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	later	late	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	1	conj	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	woman	woman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	died	die	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **die** | past | the old woman |  |  |  |  | soon *property* | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |

<!-- 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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