---
title: tall — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «tall» in the school dictionary: Tall means high from the bottom to the top: a giraffe is very tall. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# tall

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Tall, giraffe, tall story, tree, Tom, Giraffes · **What happens:** mean, be, use, give, believe, not say · **To what, where:** bottom, Tall, height, one, informal speech, anything · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tall means high from the bottom to the top: a giraffe is very tall.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tall:m1:1
# text = Tall means high from the bottom to the top: a giraffe is very tall.
1	Tall	tall	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	high	high	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	2	advmod	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	bottom	bottom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	top	top	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	15	punct	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	giraffe	giraffe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nsubj	_	_
13	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
14	very	very	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
15	tall	tall	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Tall |  |  | the bottom to the top |  | high *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | a giraffe |  |  |  |  | tall *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 -->
Tall is used to give height: he is 150 cm tall.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tall:m2:1
# text = Tall is used to give height: he is 150 cm tall.
1	Tall	Tall	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	give	give	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	height	height	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	12	punct	_	_
8	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
10	150	150	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	11	nummod	_	_
11	cm	cm	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obl:unmarked	_	_
12	tall	tall	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | present · passive |  | Tall |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: subject=Theme clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **give** | to-infinitive |  | height |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent height=Theme |
| 3 | **is** | present | Tall |  |  |  |  | 150 cm *obl:unmarked*; tall *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A tall story (tall tale) is one that is hard to believe.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tall:m3:1
# text = A tall story (tall tale) is one that is hard to believe.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	tall	tall	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
4	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	tall	tall	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	tale	tale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	6	punct	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	0	root	_	_
10	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	12	nsubj	_	_
11	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
12	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	acl:relcl	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	believe	believe	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a tall story | one |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | hard *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **believe** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In informal speech, "tall" can be short for "at all", as in "not saying anything at all".

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tall:m4:1
# text = In informal speech, "tall" can be short for "at all", as in "not saying anything at all".
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	informal	informal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	tall	tall	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
8	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
9	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	cop	_	_
10	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
11	for	for	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	at	at	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
17	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	21	mark	_	_
18	in	in	SCONJ	IN	_	21	mark	_	_
19	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	21	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	21	advmod	_	_
21	saying	say	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	parataxis	_	_
22	anything	anything	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	21	obj	_	_
23	at	at	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
24	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	22	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	21	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | can | tall |  |  | informal speech |  | short *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **say** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | gerund |  | anything |  | all |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent anything=Topic |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The tree is 12 meters tall.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tall:x1:1
# text = The tree is 12 meters tall.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	tree	tree	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	12	12	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	meters	meter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl:unmarked	_	_
6	tall	tall	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the tree |  |  |  |  | 12 meters *obl:unmarked*; tall *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tom is 5 cm taller than Ben.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tall:x2:1
# text = Tom is 5 cm taller than Ben.
1	Tom	Tom	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	5	5	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	4	nummod	_	_
4	cm	cm	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl:unmarked	_	_
5	taller	tall	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	_
6	than	than	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	Ben	Ben	PROPN	NNP	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 | **is** | present | Tom |  |  |  |  | than Ben; 5 cm *obl:unmarked*; tall *property* | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Who is the tallest?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tall:x3:1
# text = Who is the tallest?
1	Who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	tallest	tall	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
How tall is the tower?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tall:x4:1
# text = How tall is the tower?
1	How	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	2	advmod	_	_
2	tall	tall	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	tower	tower	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present |  | the tall tower |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Giraffes are the tallest animals on Earth.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tall:x5:1
# text = Giraffes are the tallest animals on Earth.
1	Giraffes	giraffe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	tallest	tall	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	5	amod	_	_
5	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	Earth	Earth	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Giraffes | the tallest animals |  | Earth |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Line up from shortest to tallest.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tall:x6:1
# text = Line up from shortest to tallest.
1	Line	line	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	up	up	ADP	RP	_	1	compound:prt	_	_
3	from	from	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	shortest	short	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	1	ccomp	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	tallest	tall	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **line up** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandpa told a tall story about a fish as big as a boat.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tall:x7:1
# text = Grandpa told a tall story about a fish as big as a boat.
1	Grandpa	Grandpa	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	told	tell	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	tall	tall	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	fish	fish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
9	as	as	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
11	as	as	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	boat	boat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past | Grandpa | a tall story |  |  |  | about a fish | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent story=Recipient about fish=Topic |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sunflowers can grow taller than a man.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tall:x8:1
# text = Sunflowers can grow taller than a man.
1	Sunflowers	sunflower	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	grow	grow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	taller	tall	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	3	xcomp	_	_
5	than	than	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow** | can | Sunflowers |  |  |  |  | tall *property* | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- 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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