---
title: sundial — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «sundial» in the school dictionary: An old instrument that shows the time of day by the shadow that a pointer (the gnomon) casts on a flat dial marked with hours. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# sundial

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** old instrument, pointer, sundial, We, shadow, Earth · **What happens:** show, cast, mark, be, not work, make · **To what, where:** flat dial, three o'clock, sundial, sundials, walls · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An old instrument that shows the time of day by the shadow that a pointer (the gnomon) casts on a flat dial marked with hours.

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sundial:m1:1
# text = An old instrument that shows the time of day by the shadow that a pointer (the gnomon) casts on a flat dial marked with hours.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	instrument	instrument	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	5	nsubj	_	_
5	shows	show	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	acl:relcl	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
10	by	by	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	shadow	shadow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
13	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	20	mark	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	pointer	pointer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nsubj	_	_
16	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	gnomon	gnomon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	18	punct	_	_
20	casts	cast	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	_
21	on	on	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
22	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
23	flat	flat	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	24	amod	_	_
24	dial	dial	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obl	_	_
25	marked	mark	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	24	acl	_	_
26	with	with	ADP	IN	_	27	case	_	_
27	hours	hour	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	25	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | present | a old instrument |  |  |  | time | by the shadow | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **cast** | present | a pointer |  |  | a flat dial |  |  | vn throw-17.1 «NP V NP PP.destinations»: agent=Agent on dial=Destination |
| 3 | **mark** | participle |  | a flat dial *not said here* |  |  | hour |  | vn image\_impression-25.1 «NP V»: 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.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The sundial in the garden shows it is about three o'clock.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sundial:x1:1
# text = The sundial in the garden shows it is about three o'clock.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sundial	sundial	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	garden	garden	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	shows	show	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
9	about	about	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	11	nummod	_	_
11	o'clock	o'clock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | present | the sundial in the garden |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | present | sundial | three o'clock |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A sundial does not work at night or on cloudy days.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sundial:x2:1
# text = A sundial does not work at night or on cloudy days.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sundial	sundial	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	work	work	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	cloudy	cloudy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	days	day	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **work** | present · do-support | a sundial |  |  |  | night |  | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We made a sundial with a pencil and a paper plate.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sundial:x3:1
# text = We made a sundial with a pencil and a paper plate.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	sundial	sundial	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	pencil	pencil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	paper	paper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	plate	plate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | We | a sundial |  |  |  | with a pencil and a paper plate | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sundial=Product |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The shadow on the sundial moves as the Earth turns.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sundial:x4:1
# text = The shadow on the sundial moves as the Earth turns.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	shadow	shadow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	sundial	sundial	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	moves	move	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	Earth	Earth	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	turns	turn	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **move** | present | the shadow on the sundial |  |  |  |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **turn** | present | the Earth |  |  |  |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Old churches often have sundials on their walls.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sundial:x5:1
# text = Old churches often have sundials on their walls.
1	Old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	churches	church	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	often	often	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	sundials	sundial	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	walls	wall	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Old churches | sundials |  | churches's walls |  | often *property* | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sundial=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The shadow is shortest at noon, when the Sun is highest.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sundial:x6:1
# text = The shadow is shortest at noon, when the Sun is highest.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	shadow	shadow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	shortest	short	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	0	root	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	noon	noon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
8	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	12	mark	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	Sun	Sun	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
11	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
12	highest	high	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the shadow |  |  |  | noon | short *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | the Sun |  |  |  |  | high *property* | tree rules |

<!-- 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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