---
title: straiten — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «straiten» in the school dictionary: To straiten is to make someone poorer or to limit what they have. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# straiten

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** they, straitened circumstances, family, people, war, old story · **What happens:** straiten, be, limit, have, mean, close · **To what, where:** little money, factory, straitened circumstances, village, clothes, new ones · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«straiten» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 6 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: [straiten in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/straiten.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: formal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To straiten is to make someone poorer or to limit what they have.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:straiten:m1:1
# text = To straiten is to make someone poorer or to limit what they have.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	straiten	straiten	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	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	obj	_	_
7	poorer	poor	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	5	xcomp	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	limit	limit	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
11	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	10	obj	_	_
12	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
13	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **straiten** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | make, poor *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **limit** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn limit-76 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer what=Patient |
| 4 | **have** | present | they |  |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: old — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To straiten is to make something narrow or tight.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:straiten:m2:1
# text = To straiten is to make something narrow or tight.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	straiten	straiten	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	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	obj	_	_
7	narrow	narrow	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	tight	tight	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **straiten** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | make *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«In straitened circumstances» (formal) means having very little money.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:straiten:m3:1
# text = «In straitened circumstances» (formal) means having very little money.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	In	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	straitened	straiten	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	amod	_	_
4	circumstances	circumstance	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
6	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	formal	formal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	7	punct	_	_
9	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	having	have	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	9	ccomp	_	_
11	very	very	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
12	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **straiten** *in a quote* | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **mean** | present | straitened circumstances |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **have** | gerund |  | little money |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent money=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
After the factory closed, the family lived in straitened circumstances.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:straiten:x1:1
# text = After the factory closed, the family lived in straitened circumstances.
1	After	after	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	factory	factory	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
4	closed	close	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	family	family	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	lived	live	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	straitened	straiten	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	11	amod	_	_
11	circumstances	circumstance	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **close** | participle |  | the factory *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **live** | past | the family |  |  | straitened circumstances | after the factory |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in circumstance=Location |
| 3 | **straiten** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The village was straitened by the long winter.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:straiten:x2:1
# text = The village was straitened by the long winter.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	village	village	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	straitened	straiten	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	winter	winter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **straiten** | past · passive |  | the village |  |  | winter |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In straitened times, people mend their clothes instead of buying new ones.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:straiten:x3:1
# text = In straitened times, people mend their clothes instead of buying new ones.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	straitened	straiten	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	amod	_	_
3	times	time	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
6	mend	mend	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	clothes	clothes	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	6	obj	_	_
9	instead	instead	ADV	RB	ExtPos=SCONJ	11	mark	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	fixed	_	_
11	buying	buy	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	advcl	_	_
12	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	ones	one	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **straiten** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **mend** | present | people | people's clothes |  |  | time |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **buy** | gerund | people *not said here* | new ones |  |  |  |  | vn accept-77.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent one=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The war straitened the whole country.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:straiten:x4:1
# text = The war straitened the whole country.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	war	war	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	straitened	straiten	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	country	country	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 | **straiten** | past | the war | the whole country |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The old story tells of a widow in straitened circumstances who shared her last loaf.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:straiten:x5:1
# text = The old story tells of a widow in straitened circumstances who shared her last loaf.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	tells	tell	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	widow	widow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	straitened	straiten	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	amod	_	_
10	circumstances	circumstance	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
11	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	12	nsubj	_	_
12	shared	share	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	acl:relcl	_	_
13	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
14	last	last	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	loaf	loaf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | present | the old story |  |  | straitened circumstances |  | of a widow | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **straiten** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **share** | past | straitened circumstances | story's last loaf |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The school's straitened budget meant fewer trips.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:straiten:x6:1
# text = The school's straitened budget meant fewer trips.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	straitened	straiten	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	amod	_	_
5	budget	budget	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	meant	mean	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	fewer	few	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	8	amod	_	_
8	trips	trip	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **straiten** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **mean** | past | the school's straitened budget | fewer trips |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent trip=Topic |
| 3 | **budget** |  | the school |  |  |  |  |  | nom budget «possession intransitive»: 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 -->

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