---
title: sulky — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «sulky» in the school dictionary: Sulky means bad-tempered and silent because you are upset or annoyed, and you want others to notice: «a sulky face». Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# sulky

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Sulky, you, others, Tom, She, little sister · **What happens:** mean, temper, be, want, notice, wheel · **To what, where:** others, sulky face, light wheeled cart, one person, harness racing, game · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«sulky» in the school dictionary: its 2 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: [sulky in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sulky.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sulky means bad-tempered and silent because you are upset or annoyed, and you want others to notice: «a sulky face».

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sulky:m1:1
# text = Sulky means bad-tempered and silent because you are upset or annoyed, and you want others to notice: «a sulky face».
1	Sulky	sulky	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	tempered	temper	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	ccomp	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	silent	silent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	_
8	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
9	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
10	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
11	upset	upset	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	advcl	_	_
12	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	annoyed	annoyed	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
16	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
17	want	want	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
18	others	other	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	obj	_	_
19	to	to	PART	TO	_	20	mark	_	_
20	notice	notice	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	17	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	25	punct	_	_
22	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	25	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	25	det	_	_
24	sulky	sulky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	25	amod	_	_
25	face	face	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	25	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Sulky |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **temper** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | present | you |  |  |  |  | upset *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **be** |  | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **want** | present | you | others |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 6 | **notice** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | others *not said here* | a sulky face |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |

<!-- .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 -->
A sulky is also a light two-wheeled cart for one person pulled by a horse in harness racing.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sulky:m2:1
# text = A sulky is also a light two-wheeled cart for one person pulled by a horse in harness racing.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sulky	sulky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
6	light	light	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
7	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	9	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	wheeled	wheel	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	amod	_	_
10	cart	cart	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
11	for	for	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	13	nummod	_	_
13	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	_
14	pulled	pull	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	13	acl	_	_
15	by	by	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	horse	horse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl:agent	_	_
18	in	in	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	harness	harness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	compound	_	_
20	racing	racing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wheel** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn drive-11.5 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | present | a sulky | a light wheeled cart |  |  |  | for one person | tree rules |
| 3 | **pull** | participle |  | one person *not said here* |  | harness racing |  |  | vn slide-11.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tom was sulky all afternoon because he lost the game.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sulky:x1:1
# text = Tom was sulky all afternoon because he lost the game.
1	Tom	Tom	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	sulky	sulky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	5	det	_	_
5	afternoon	afternoon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl:unmarked	_	_
6	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	lost	lose	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	game	game	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 | **is** | past | Tom |  |  |  | afternoon | sulky *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **lose** | past | Tom | the game |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent game=Eventuality |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Don't be sulky — tell me what's wrong.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sulky:x2:1
# text = Don't be sulky — tell me what's wrong.
1	Do	do	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
3	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	cop	_	_
4	sulky	sulky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	obj	_	_
5	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	6	punct	_	_
6	tell	tell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	parataxis	_	_
7	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	iobj	_	_
8	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	10	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **not** **is** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | sulky *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **tell** *speech: assert* | infinitive |  |  | me |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent i=Recipient |
| 4 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | wrong *property* | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She gave a sulky shrug and looked away.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sulky:x3:1
# text = She gave a sulky shrug and looked away.
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	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	sulky	sulky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	shrug	shrug	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	looked	look	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
8	away	away	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | She | a sulky shrug |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent shrug=Theme |
| 2 | **look away** | past | She *not said here* |  |  |  |  | away *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My little sister went into a sulk when it was bedtime.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sulky:x4:1
# text = My little sister went into a sulk when it was bedtime.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	sister	sister	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	went	go	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	into	into	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	sulk	sulk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	11	advmod	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
10	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
11	bedtime	bedtime	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go** | past | My little sister |  |  | a sulk |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme into sulk=Initial\_Location |
| 2 | **is a** | past | sulk | bedtime |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The sulky teenager in the story wouldn't come down for dinner.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sulky:x5:1
# text = The sulky teenager in the story wouldn't come down for dinner.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	sulky	sulky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	teenager	teenager	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
10	down	down	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
11	for	for	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	dinner	dinner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **come down** | would | the sulky teenager in the story |  |  |  |  | for dinner; down *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He answered sulkily, «Fine. Whatever.»

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* He answered sulkily, «Fine.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sulky:x6:1
# text = He answered sulkily, «Fine.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	answered	answer	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	sulkily	sulkily	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
5	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	Fine	fine	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **answer** *speech: assert* | past | He |  |  |  |  | sulkily *property* | vn reciprocate-112-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* Whatever.»

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sulky:x6:2
# text = Whatever.»
1	Whatever	whatever	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	1	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In harness racing, the driver sits in a sulky behind the horse.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sulky:x7:1
# text = In harness racing, the driver sits in a sulky behind the horse.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	harness	harness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	racing	racing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	driver	driver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	sits	sit	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	sulky	sulky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	xcomp	_	_
11	behind	behind	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	horse	horse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sit** | present | the driver |  |  | harness racing |  | sulky *property* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent in racing=Location |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The King was sulky and savage, and never enjoyed himself at all.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sulky:x8:1
# text = The King was sulky and savage, and never enjoyed himself at all.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	King	King	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	sulky	sulky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	savage	savage	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	10	advmod	_	_
10	enjoyed	enjoy	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
11	himself	himself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	10	obj	_	_
12	at	at	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the King |  |  |  |  | sulky *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  | the King *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **not** **enjoy** | past | the King *not said here* | King |  | all |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer himself=Stimulus |

<!-- 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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