---
title: swear — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «swear» in the school dictionary: To swear is to use rude or bad words. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# swear

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** serious promise, you, He, I, witness, knights · **What happens:** swear, be, say, promise, do, not swear · **To what, where:** something, someone, job, class, last biscuit, you · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«swear» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 9 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: [swear in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/swear.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To swear is to use rude or bad words.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swear:m1:1
# text = To swear is to use rude or bad words.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	swear	swear	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	use	use	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	rude	rude	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	_
9	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swear** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | use *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .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 swear is also to make a serious promise or say something is really true.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swear:m2:1
# text = To swear is also to make a serious promise or say something is really true.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	swear	swear	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	advcl	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	make	make	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	serious	serious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	promise	promise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nsubj	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	acl	_	_
12	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	11	obj	_	_
13	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
14	really	really	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
15	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swear** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | make *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | infinitive | a serious promise *not said here* | something |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent something=Topic |
| 4 | **is** | present | a serious promise |  |  |  |  | true *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To swear someone in is to make them promise to do a job honestly, like a judge or president.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swear:m3:1
# text = To swear someone in is to make them promise to do a job honestly, like a judge or president.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	swear	swear	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	_
3	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	2	obl	_	_
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	make	make	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	_
9	promise	promise	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	xcomp	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	job	job	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
14	honestly	honestly	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
16	like	like	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	judge	judge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	parataxis	_	_
19	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	president	president	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swear** | to-infinitive |  | someone |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V NP to be NP»: agent=Agent someone=Eventuality |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | make *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **promise** *speech: promise* | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn promise-37.13 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 4 | **do** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | a job |  |  |  | honestly *property* | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent job=Eventuality |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Please don't swear in class.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swear:x1:1
# text = Please don't swear in class.
1	Please	please	INTJ	UH	_	4	discourse	_	_
2	do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	swear	swear	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **swear** | imperative · do-support | you *not said here* |  |  | class |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He swore he had not eaten the last biscuit.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swear:x2:1
# text = He swore he had not eaten the last biscuit.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	swore	swear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
4	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
5	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	eaten	eat	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	2	ccomp	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	last	last	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	biscuit	biscuit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swear** | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **not** **eat** | past · perfect | he | the last biscuit |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent biscuit=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I swear I will help you tomorrow.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swear:x3:1
# text = I swear I will help you tomorrow.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	swear	swear	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
4	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	help	help	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	ccomp	_	_
6	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	_
7	tomorrow	tomorrow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swear** | present | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **help** | future | I |  | you |  | tomorrow |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent you=Beneficiary |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The witness swore to tell the truth.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swear:x4:1
# text = The witness swore to tell the truth.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	witness	witness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	swore	swear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	tell	tell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	truth	truth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swear** | past | the witness |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* | to-infinitive | the witness *not said here* | the truth |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent truth=Recipient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The new mayor was sworn in today.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swear:x5:1
# text = The new mayor was sworn in today.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	mayor	mayor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	sworn	swear	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	today	today	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swear** | past · passive |  | the new mayor |  |  | today |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V NP to be NP»: subject=Eventuality |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The knights swore to protect the king.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swear:x6:1
# text = The knights swore to protect the king.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	knights	knight	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	swore	swear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	protect	protect	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swear** | past | the knights |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **protect** | to-infinitive | the knights *not said here* |  | the king |  |  |  | vn defend-72.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent king=Beneficiary |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Some films have swear words in them.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swear:x7:1
# text = Some films have swear words in them.
1	Some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	2	det	_	_
2	films	film	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	swear	swear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | some films | swear words |  |  |  | in words *= word* | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent word=Patient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The two cats are sworn enemies.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swear:x8:1
# text = The two cats are sworn enemies.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	3	nummod	_	_
3	cats	cat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
4	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	sworn	swear	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	amod	_	_
6	enemies	enemy	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swear** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | present | the two cats | sworn enemies |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
“I swear to you I did not do it!”

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swear:x9:1
# text = “I swear to you I did not do it!”
1	“	"	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	swear	swear	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	obl	_	_
6	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
7	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
8	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	”	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swear** *in a quote* | present | I |  | you |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **not** **do** *in a quote* | past · do-support | I | it |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Eventuality |

<!-- 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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