---
title: spy — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «spy» in the school dictionary: A spy is a person who secretly collects information about another country, group or person. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# spy

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** spy, person, someone, I, you, 's · **What happens:** be, collect, spy, notice, send, stop · **To what, where:** person, information, something, it, secret message, code · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A spy is a person who secretly collects information about another country, group or person.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spy:m1:1
# text = A spy is a person who secretly collects information about another country, group or person.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	spy	spy	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	8	nsubj	_	_
7	secretly	secretly	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	collects	collect	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
9	information	information	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
10	about	about	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	another	another	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	12	det	_	_
12	country	country	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
14	group	group	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	parataxis	_	_
15	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a spy | a person |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **collect** | present | a person | information |  |  |  | about another country; secretly *property* | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent information=Theme |

<!-- .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 spy on someone is to watch them secretly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spy:m2:1
# text = To spy on someone is to watch them secretly.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	spy	spy	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	on	on	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
4	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	7	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	watch	watch	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
8	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	_
9	secretly	secretly	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spy** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn sight-30.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **is** | present | someone |  |  |  |  | secretly, watch *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To spy something is to see or notice it: «I spy with my little eye…».

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spy:m3:1
# text = To spy something is to see or notice it: «I spy with my little eye…».
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	spy	spy	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	see	see	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	notice	notice	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	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	13	punct	_	_
11	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
13	spy	spy	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	parataxis	_	_
14	with	with	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
15	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	17	nmod:poss	_	_
16	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
17	eye	eye	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	…	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spy** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn sight-30.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer something=Stimulus |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | see *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **notice** | infinitive |  | it |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer it=Stimulus |
| 4 | **spy** *in a quote* | present | I |  |  |  |  | with my little eye | vn sight-30.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The spy sent a secret message in code.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spy:x1:1
# text = The spy sent a secret message in code.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	spy	spy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	sent	send	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	secret	secret	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	message	message	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	code	code	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **send** | past | the spy | a secret message |  | code |  |  | vn confine-92-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent message=Theme in code=Destination |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Stop spying on me!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spy:x2:1
# text = Stop spying on me!
1	Stop	stop	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	spying	spy	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	1	xcomp	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stop** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Affector clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **spy** | gerund | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | on me | vn sight-30.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Let's play «I spy» in the car.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spy:x3:1
# text = Let's play «I spy» in the car.
1	Let	let	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	1	obj	_	_
3	play	play	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	xcomp	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	spy	spy	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **let** | imperative | you *not said here* | 's |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **play** | infinitive | 's *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn performance-26.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **spy** *in a quote* | present | I |  |  | the car |  |  | vn sight-30.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I spy something beginning with «t».

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spy:x4:1
# text = I spy something beginning with «t».
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	spy	spy	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	beginning	begin	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	acl	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	t	t	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spy** | present | I | something |  |  |  |  | vn sight-30.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer something=Stimulus |
| 2 | **begin** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | with t | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V PP.subeventuality»: agent=Eventuality with t=Subeventuality |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She spied a coin under the sofa.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spy:x5:1
# text = She spied a coin under the sofa.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	spied	spy	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	coin	coin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	under	under	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	sofa	sofa	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 | **spy** | past | She | a coin |  | the sofa |  |  | vn sight-30.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer coin=Stimulus |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the war, spies hid secret plans in shoes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spy:x6:1
# text = In the war, spies hid secret plans in shoes.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	war	war	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	spies	spy	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
6	hid	hide	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	secret	secret	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	plans	plan	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	shoes	shoe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hide** | past | spies | secret plans |  | the war |  | in shoes | vn concealment-16-1 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent plan=Patient in war=Location |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The spy wore a disguise so nobody knew him.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spy:x7:1
# text = The spy wore a disguise so nobody knew him.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	spy	spy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	wore	wear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	disguise	disguise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	so	so	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
7	nobody	nobody	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	8	nsubj	_	_
8	knew	know	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
9	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wear** | past | the spy | a disguise |  |  |  |  | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1-1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent disguise=Theme |
| 2 | **know** | past | nobody | spy |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer he=Stimulus |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
“Do you suspect me of being a spy sent by the ogre?”

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spy:x8:1
# text = “Do you suspect me of being a spy sent by the ogre?”
1	“	"	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	suspect	suspect	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	9	cop	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	spy	spy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
10	sent	send	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	9	acl	_	_
11	by	by	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	ogre	ogre	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	”	"	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **suspect** *in a quote* | present · do-support | you | me |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V NP ADJ»: agent=Agent i=Attribute |
| 2 | **is** *in a quote* | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | of a spy | tree rules |
| 3 | **send** *in a quote* | participle |  | a spy *not said here* |  |  |  | by the ogre | vn confine-92-1 «NP V NP»: agent=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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