---
title: tarnish — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «tarnish» in the school dictionary: To tarnish is when metal like silver, brass or copper loses its shine and gets dull or dark, because of the air. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# tarnish

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** metal, someone, Tarnish, dull dark layer, silver spoons, We · **What happens:** be, lose, get, tarnish, think, name · **To what, where:** shine, name, dull dark layer, metal, tarnished pennies, brass doorknob

<!-- .vabout -->
«tarnish» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 7 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: [tarnish in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/tarnish.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To tarnish is when metal like silver, brass or copper loses its shine and gets dull or dark, because of the air.

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tarnish:m1:1
# text = To tarnish is when metal like silver, brass or copper loses its shine and gets dull or dark, because of the air.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	tarnish	tarnish	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	cop	_	_
4	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	12	mark	_	_
5	metal	metal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
6	like	like	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	silver	silver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
9	brass	brass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	copper	copper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
12	loses	lose	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
13	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	14	nmod:poss	_	_
14	shine	shine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	gets	get	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	conj	_	_
17	dull	dull	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	xcomp	_	_
18	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
19	dark	dark	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
21	because	because	ADP	IN	ExtPos=ADP	24	case	_	_
22	of	of	ADP	IN	_	21	fixed	_	_
23	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
24	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | because the air; tarnish *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **lose** | present | metal like silver and brass or copper | copper's shine |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent shine=Eventuality |
| 3 | **get** | present | metal like silver and brass or copper *not said here* |  |  |  |  | dull *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «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 -->
To tarnish someone's name or reputation is to make people think less well of them.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tarnish:m2:1
# text = To tarnish someone's name or reputation is to make people think less well of them.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	tarnish	tarnish	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	advcl	_	_
3	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	's	's	PART	POS	_	3	case	_	_
5	name	name	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	reputation	reputation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	make	make	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	_
12	think	think	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	xcomp	_	_
13	less	less	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	14	advmod	_	_
14	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	12	advmod	_	_
15	of	of	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tarnish** | to-infinitive |  | someone's name or reputation |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | make *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **think** *speech: other* | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | well *property* | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **name** |  | someone |  |  |  |  |  | nom name «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: noun — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tarnish is the dull, dark layer that forms on metal.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tarnish:m3:1
# text = Tarnish is the dull, dark layer that forms on metal.
1	Tarnish	tarnish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
4	dull	dull	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
6	dark	dark	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	layer	layer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	forms	form	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
10	on	on	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	metal	metal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Tarnish | the dull dark layer |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **form** | present | the dull dark layer |  |  | metal |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on metal=Location |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandma's silver spoons have tarnished.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tarnish:x1:1
# text = Grandma's silver spoons have tarnished.
1	Grandma	grandma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	's	PART	POS	_	1	case	_	_
3	silver	silver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	spoons	spoon	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
5	have	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	tarnished	tarnish	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tarnish** | present · perfect | Grandma's silver spoons |  |  |  |  |  | vn entity\_specific\_cos-45.5 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We cleaned the tarnished pennies with vinegar and salt.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tarnish:x2:1
# text = We cleaned the tarnished pennies with vinegar and salt.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	cleaned	clean	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	tarnished	tarnish	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	amod	_	_
5	pennies	penny	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	vinegar	vinegar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	salt	salt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **clean** | past | We | the tarnished pennies |  |  |  | with vinegar and salt | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent penny=Patient with vinegar=Instrument |
| 2 | **tarnish** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn entity\_specific\_cos-45.5 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The brass doorknob is covered in tarnish.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tarnish:x3:1
# text = The brass doorknob is covered in tarnish.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	brass	brass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	doorknob	doorknob	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	covered	cover	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	tarnish	tarnish	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 | **cover** | present · passive |  | the brass doorknob |  |  |  | in tarnish | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP PP.theme»: subject=Destination in tarnish=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Cheating tarnished the team's good name.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tarnish:x4:1
# text = Cheating tarnished the team's good name.
1	Cheating	cheating	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	tarnished	tarnish	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	name	name	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tarnish** | past | Cheating | the team's good name |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **name** |  | the team |  |  |  |  |  | nom name «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Gold does not tarnish easily.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tarnish:x5:1
# text = Gold does not tarnish easily.
1	Gold	gold	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	tarnish	tarnish	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	easily	easily	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **tarnish** | present · do-support | Gold |  |  |  |  | easily *property* | vn entity\_specific\_cos-45.5 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The scandal tarnished the king's reputation.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tarnish:x6:1
# text = The scandal tarnished the king's reputation.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	scandal	scandal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	tarnished	tarnish	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	's	's	PART	POS	_	5	case	_	_
7	reputation	reputation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tarnish** | past | the scandal | the king's reputation |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **repute** |  | the king |  |  |  |  |  | nom reputation «state transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The old woman returned in the night and knew by the tarnished thread what had happened in her absence.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tarnish:x7:1
# text = The old woman returned in the night and knew by the tarnished thread what had happened in her absence.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	woman	woman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
4	returned	return	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
9	knew	know	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	by	by	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	tarnished	tarnish	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	13	amod	_	_
13	thread	thread	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
14	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	16	nsubj	_	_
15	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	16	aux	_	_
16	happened	happen	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	13	acl:relcl	_	_
17	in	in	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	19	nmod:poss	_	_
19	absence	absence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **return** | participle |  | the old woman *not said here* |  |  | night |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **know** | past | the old woman |  |  |  |  | by the tarnished thread | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 3 | **tarnish** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn entity\_specific\_cos-45.5 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 4 | **happen** | past · perfect | the tarnished thread |  |  | woman's absence |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme in absence=Location |
| 5 | **absent** |  | woman |  |  |  |  |  | nom absence «state transitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- 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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