---
title: tasteless — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «tasteless» in the school dictionary: Tasteless food has little or no flavour. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# tasteless

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Tasteless food, Something, clothes, Pure water, soup, we · **What happens:** have, be, not be, describe, look, add · **To what, where:** little, clothes, salt, cold, fun, tasteless joke · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tasteless food has little or no flavour.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tasteless:m1:1
# text = Tasteless food has little or no flavour.
1	Tasteless	tasteless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	obj	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
6	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	7	det	_	_
7	flavour	flavour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Tasteless food | little or no flavour |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent little=Patient |

<!-- .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 -->
Something tasteless is rude, unkind or not suitable, like a tasteless joke.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tasteless:m2:1
# text = Something tasteless is rude, unkind or not suitable, like a tasteless joke.
1	Something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	4	nsubj	_	_
2	tasteless	tasteless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	amod	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	rude	rude	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	unkind	unkind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	suitable	suitable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
11	like	like	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	tasteless	tasteless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	joke	joke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Something |  |  |  |  | rude *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  | Something *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **not** **be** |  | Something *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tasteless can describe clothes or decorations that look cheap or ugly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tasteless:m3:1
# text = Tasteless can describe clothes or decorations that look cheap or ugly.
1	Tasteless	tasteless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	advcl	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	describe	describe	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	clothes	clothes	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	3	obj	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	decorations	decoration	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	conj	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
8	look	look	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
9	cheap	cheap	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	xcomp	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	ugly	ugly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **describe** | can |  | clothes or decorations |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent clothes=Theme |
| 2 | **look** | present | clothes or decorations |  |  |  |  | cheap *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Pure water is colourless, odourless and tasteless.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tasteless:x1:1
# text = Pure water is colourless, odourless and tasteless.
1	Pure	pure	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	colourless	colourless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	odourless	odourless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	tasteless	tasteless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Pure water |  |  |  |  | colourless *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  | Pure water *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **be** |  | Pure water *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The soup was tasteless, so we added salt.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tasteless:x2:1
# text = The soup was tasteless, so we added salt.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	soup	soup	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	tasteless	tasteless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
6	so	so	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
7	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	added	add	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
9	salt	salt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the soup |  |  |  |  | tasteless *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **add** *speech: assert* | past | we | salt |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent salt=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
When I had a cold, everything was tasteless.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tasteless:x3:1
# text = When I had a cold, everything was tasteless.
1	When	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	3	advmod	_	_
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	advcl	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	cold	cold	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
7	everything	everything	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	9	nsubj	_	_
8	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	tasteless	tasteless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | I | a cold |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cold=Patient |
| 2 | **is** | past | everything |  |  |  |  | tasteless *property* | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Making fun of someone's illness is a tasteless joke.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tasteless:x4:1
# text = Making fun of someone's illness is a tasteless joke.
1	Making	make	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	10	csubj	_	_
2	fun	fun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	illness	illness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	tasteless	tasteless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	joke	joke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | gerund |  | fun of someone's illness |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset fun=Product |
| 2 | **be** *speech: other* | present | Making | a tasteless joke |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The hospital food was a bit tasteless.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tasteless:x5:1
# text = The hospital food was a bit tasteless.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	hospital	hospital	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	bit	bit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl:unmarked	_	_
7	tasteless	tasteless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the hospital food |  |  |  |  | a bit *obl:unmarked*; tasteless *property* | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Some poisonous gases are tasteless and odourless, so we use alarms.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tasteless:x6:1
# text = Some poisonous gases are tasteless and odourless, so we use alarms.
1	Some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	3	det	_	_
2	poisonous	poisonous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	gases	gas	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
4	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	tasteless	tasteless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	odourless	odourless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
9	so	so	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
10	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	use	use	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
12	alarms	alarm	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | some poisonous gases |  |  |  |  | tasteless *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  | some poisonous gases *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **use** | present | we | alarms |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent alarm=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
‘No,’ he replied, ‘the dishes are carefully cooked and sent up, but they are all so dreadfully tasteless.’

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tasteless:x7:1
# text = ‘No,’ he replied, ‘the dishes are carefully cooked and sent up, but they are all so dreadfully tasteless.’
1	‘	'	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	No	no	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Neg	6	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	’	'	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
5	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	replied	reply	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
8	‘	'	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	dishes	dish	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	nsubj:pass	_	_
11	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux:pass	_	_
12	carefully	carefully	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
13	cooked	cook	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	parataxis	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	sent	send	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	13	conj	_	_
16	up	up	ADP	RP	_	15	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
18	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	24	cc	_	_
19	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	24	nsubj	_	_
20	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	24	cop	_	_
21	all	all	ADV	RB	_	24	advmod	_	_
22	so	so	ADV	RB	_	24	advmod	_	_
23	dreadfully	dreadfully	ADV	RB	_	24	advmod	_	_
24	tasteless	tasteless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	’	'	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **reply** *speech: assert* | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn respond-113 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **cook** | present · passive |  | the dishes |  |  |  | carefully *property* | vn cooking-45.3 «NP V NP.patient»: subject=Patient |
| 3 | **send up** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn confine-92-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is** | present | dishes *= dish* |  |  |  |  | all, dreadfully, tasteless *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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