---
title: sour — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «sour» in the school dictionary: Sour food has a sharp taste, like a lemon or vinegar. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# sour

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Sour food, Milk, Lemons, Sour sweets, my, She · **What happens:** have, turn, go, temper, soar, mean · **To what, where:** sharp taste, sour person, milk, mouth tingle, sour look, me · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sour food has a sharp taste, like a lemon or vinegar.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sour:m1:1
# text = Sour food has a sharp taste, like a lemon or vinegar.
1	Sour	sour	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	sharp	sharp	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	taste	taste	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	like	like	ADP	IN	_	10	discourse	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	lemon	lemon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	appos	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	vinegar	vinegar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Sour food | a sharp taste |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent taste=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 -->
Milk turns sour when it goes bad.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sour:m2:1
# text = Milk turns sour when it goes bad.
1	Milk	milk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	turns	turn	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	sour	sour	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
4	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	6	mark	_	_
5	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	goes	go	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
7	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **turn** | present | Milk |  |  |  |  | sour *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **go** | present | Milk |  |  |  |  | bad *property* | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A sour person or mood is bad-tempered and unfriendly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sour:m3:1
# text = A sour person or mood is bad-tempered and unfriendly.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	sour	sour	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	mood	mood	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux:pass	_	_
7	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	tempered	temper	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	unfriendly	unfriendly	ADV	RB	_	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **temper** | present · passive |  | a sour person or mood |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To sour means to become worse or less friendly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sour:m4:1
# text = To sour means to become worse or less friendly.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	sour	soar	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	become	become	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	worse	badly	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	5	advmod	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	less	less	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	9	advmod	_	_
9	friendly	friendly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **soar** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1-1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **become** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | badly *property* | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Lemons taste very sour.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sour:x1:1
# text = Lemons taste very sour.
1	Lemons	lemon	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	taste	taste	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	very	very	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	sour	sour	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **taste** | present | Lemons |  |  |  |  | sour *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The milk has gone sour, so don't drink it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sour:x2:1
# text = The milk has gone sour, so don't drink it.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	milk	milk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	gone	go	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	sour	sour	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
7	so	so	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
8	do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	10	advmod	_	_
10	drink	drink	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go** | present · perfect | the milk |  |  |  |  | sour *property* | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **not** **drink** | infinitive · do-support | the milk *not said here* | milk |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sour sweets make my mouth tingle.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sour:x3:1
# text = Sour sweets make my mouth tingle.
1	Sour	sour	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	sweets	sweet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	make	make	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
5	mouth	mouth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	tingle	tingle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present | Sour sweets | my mouth tingle |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset tingle=Product |
| 2 | **tingle** |  | my |  |  |  |  |  | nom tingle «feeling intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She gave me a sour look.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sour:x4:1
# text = She gave me a sour look.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	iobj	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	sour	sour	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	look	look	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | She | a sour look | me |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent i=Recipient look=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The game turned sour when they started cheating.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sour:x5:1
# text = The game turned sour when they started cheating.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	turned	turn	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	sour	sour	ADP	RP	_	3	compound:prt	_	_
5	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	7	advmod	_	_
6	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	started	start	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
8	cheating	cheat	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **turn sour** | past | the game |  |  |  |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **start** | past | they |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 3 | **cheat** | gerund | they *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn cheat-10.6.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We had sweet and sour chicken for dinner.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sour:x6:1
# text = We had sweet and sour chicken for dinner.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	sweet	sweet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	sour	sour	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	conj	_	_
6	chicken	chicken	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	dinner	dinner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | We | sweet chicken |  |  |  | for dinner | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent chicken=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Saying the prize was boring was just sour grapes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sour:x7:1
# text = Saying the prize was boring was just sour grapes.
1	Saying	say	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	9	csubj	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	prize	prize	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	boring	boring	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	ccomp	_	_
6	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
7	just	just	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
8	sour	sour	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	grapes	grape	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | past | the prize |  |  |  |  | boring *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is a** | past | Saying | sour grapes |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He next flew to the anemones; these were rather sour to his taste.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sour:x8:1
# text = He next flew to the anemones; these were rather sour to his taste.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	next	next	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	flew	fly	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	anemones	anemone	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	11	punct	_	_
8	these	this	PRON	DT	Number=Plur|PronType=Dem	11	nsubj	_	_
9	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
10	rather	rather	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	sour	sour	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	conj	_	_
12	to	to	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	14	nmod:poss	_	_
14	taste	taste	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fly** | past | He |  |  |  |  | to the anemones *result*; next *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.result»: agent=Theme to anemone=Result |
| 2 | **is** | past | these |  |  |  |  | to his taste; sour *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **taste** |  | his *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom taste «cognition 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
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