---
title: surf — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «surf» in the school dictionary: The white foamy waves that break on the shore. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# surf

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** white foamy waves, waves, We, surf, cousin, I · **What happens:** break, ride, stand, lie, look, change · **To what, where:** shore, waves, board, TV channels, surf, rocks · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The white foamy waves that break on the shore.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:surf:m1:1
# text = The white foamy waves that break on the shore.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	foamy	foamy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	waves	wave	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
5	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	6	nsubj	_	_
6	break	break	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	shore	shore	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **break** | present | the white foamy waves |  |  | the shore |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on shore=Location |

<!-- .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 ride on waves standing or lying on a board.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:surf:m2:1
# text = To ride on waves standing or lying on a board.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	ride	ride	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	waves	wave	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
5	standing	stand	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	acl	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	lying	lie	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	conj	_	_
8	on	on	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	board	board	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ride** | to-infinitive |  |  |  | waves |  |  | vn nonvehicle-51.4.2 «NP.agent V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **stand** | gerund | waves *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **lie** | gerund | waves *not said here* |  |  | a board |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent on board=Location |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: in «surf the internet / web» — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To look quickly from one website to another.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:surf:m3:1
# text = To look quickly from one website to another.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	look	look	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	quickly	quickly	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	website	website	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	another	another	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **look** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | from one website to another; quickly *property* | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent from website=Theme |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: informal, in «channel-surf» — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To change TV channels quickly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:surf:m4:1
# text = To change TV channels quickly.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	change	change	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	TV	TV	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	channels	channel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	quickly	quickly	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **change** | to-infinitive |  | TV channels |  |  |  | quickly *property* | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent channel=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We watched the surf crashing on the rocks.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:surf:x1:1
# text = We watched the surf crashing on the rocks.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	watched	watch	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	surf	surf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	crashing	crash	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	acl	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	rocks	rock	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **watch** | past | We | the surf |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent surf=Theme |
| 2 | **crash** | gerund | the surf *not said here* |  |  | the rocks |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on rock=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My cousin learnt to surf at Bondi Beach.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:surf:x2:1
# text = My cousin learnt to surf at Bondi Beach.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	cousin	cousin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	learnt	learn	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	surf	surf	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	Bondi	Bondi	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	Beach	Beach	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **learn** | past | My cousin |  |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **surf** | to-infinitive | My cousin *not said here* |  |  | Bondi Beach |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The surf was too rough for swimming today.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:surf:x3:1
# text = The surf was too rough for swimming today.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	surf	surf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	too	too	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	rough	rough	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
7	swimming	swim	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	advcl	_	_
8	today	today	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the surf |  |  |  |  | rough *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **swim** | gerund | the surf *not said here* |  |  |  | today |  | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I surfed the internet to find facts about whales.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:surf:x4:1
# text = I surfed the internet to find facts about whales.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	surfed	surf	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	internet	internet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	find	find	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
7	facts	fact	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
8	about	about	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	whales	whale	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **surf** | past | I | the internet |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **find** | to-infinitive | I *not said here* | facts |  |  |  | about whales | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fact=Topic |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Surf lifesavers keep people safe at the beach.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:surf:x5:1
# text = Surf lifesavers keep people safe at the beach.
1	Surf	surf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	lifesavers	lifesaver	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	keep	keep	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	safe	safe	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	beach	beach	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | present | Surf lifesavers | people |  |  |  | safe *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent people=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Always swim between the red and yellow flags when the surf is up.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:surf:x6:1
# text = Always swim between the red and yellow flags when the surf is up.
1	Always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	2	advmod	_	_
2	swim	swim	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	between	between	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
5	red	red	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	yellow	yellow	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	_
8	flags	flag	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
9	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	13	advmod	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	surf	surf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
12	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	cop	_	_
13	up	up	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swim** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  | the red flags |  | always *property* | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme between flag=Trajectory |
| 2 | **is** | present | the surf |  |  |  |  | up *property* | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They surfed for three hours in the morning.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:surf:x7:1
# text = They surfed for three hours in the morning.
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	surfed	surf	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	for	for	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	hours	hour	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	morning	morning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **surf** | past | They |  |  |  | hour; morning |  | tree rules |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It’s me,” said Kotick, bobbing in the surf and looking like a little white slug.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:surf:x8:1
# text = It’s me,” said Kotick, bobbing in the surf and looking like a little white slug.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	’s	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	”	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
6	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	Kotick	Kotick	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
9	bobbing	bob	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	advcl	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	surf	surf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	looking	look	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	9	conj	_	_
15	like	like	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
17	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
18	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	slug	slug	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | me |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | past | Kotick |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **bob** *in a quote* | gerund | Kotick *not said here* |  |  | the surf |  |  | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in surf=Location |
| 4 | **look** *in a quote* | gerund | Kotick *not said here* |  |  |  |  | like a little white slug | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=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 -->

<!-- pn -->
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