---
title: teach — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «teach» in the school dictionary: To teach means to help someone learn something by showing or explaining it. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# teach

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** someone, Something, you, Mr Lee, Grandma, aunt · **What happens:** teach, mean, help, learn, show, explain · **To what, where:** someone, something, it, lessons, lesson, you · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«teach» in the school dictionary: its 3 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: [teach in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/teach.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To teach means to help someone learn something by showing or explaining it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:teach:m1:1
# text = To teach means to help someone learn something by showing or explaining it.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	teach	teach	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	csubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	help	help	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	obj	_	_
7	learn	learn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	_
8	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	7	obj	_	_
9	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
10	showing	show	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	7	advcl	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	explaining	explain	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	conj	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **teach** *speech: other* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **help** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | someone |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent someone=Beneficiary clause=Theme |
| 4 | **learn** *not said to happen* | infinitive | someone *not said here* | something |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Topic |
| 5 | **show** | gerund | someone *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 6 | **explain** *speech: assert* | gerund | someone *not said here* | it |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Topic |

<!-- .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 teach can mean to give lessons as a job.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:teach:m2:1
# text = To teach can mean to give lessons as a job.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	teach	teach	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	csubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	give	give	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	lessons	lesson	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
8	as	as	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	job	job	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **teach** *speech: other* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **mean** | can |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **give** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | lessons |  |  |  | as a job | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent lesson=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Something can teach you a lesson when you learn from it, often from a mistake.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:teach:m3:1
# text = Something can teach you a lesson when you learn from it, often from a mistake.
1	Something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	teach	teach	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	iobj	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	lesson	lesson	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	9	advmod	_	_
8	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	learn	learn	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
10	from	from	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
13	often	often	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	_
14	from	from	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	mistake	mistake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **teach** *speech: other* | can | Something | a lesson | you |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent you=Recipient lesson=Topic |
| 2 | **learn** | present | you |  |  | lesson |  | from a mistake | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V PP.source»: agent=Agent from it=Source |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mr Lee teaches maths.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:teach:x1:1
# text = Mr Lee teaches maths.
1	Mr	Mr	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	Lee	Lee	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	teaches	teach	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	maths	math	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **teach** *speech: other* | present | Mr Lee | maths |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent math=Recipient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Can you teach me how to tie my shoes?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:teach:x2:1
# text = Can you teach me how to tie my shoes?
1	Can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
2	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	teach	teach	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	7	advmod	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	tie	tie	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
8	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	shoes	shoe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **teach** *speech: other* | can | you |  | me |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent i=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **tie** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* | my shoes |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent shoe=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandma taught me to bake bread.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:teach:x3:1
# text = Grandma taught me to bake bread.
1	Grandma	grandma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	taught	teach	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	iobj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	bake	bake	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
6	bread	bread	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **teach** *speech: other* | past | Grandma |  | me |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent i=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **bake** | to-infinitive | Grandma *not said here* | bread |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bread=Product |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My aunt teaches at a high school.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:teach:x4:1
# text = My aunt teaches at a high school.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	aunt	aunt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	teaches	teach	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	high	high	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **teach** *speech: other* | present | My aunt |  |  | a high school |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Losing my phone taught me to be careful.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:teach:x5:1
# text = Losing my phone taught me to be careful.
1	Losing	lose	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	csubj	_	_
2	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
3	phone	phone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	taught	teach	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	iobj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
7	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	cop	_	_
8	careful	careful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lose** | gerund |  | my phone |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent phone=Eventuality |
| 2 | **teach** *speech: other* | past | Losing |  | me |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent i=Recipient |
| 3 | **is** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | careful *property* | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The lifeguard taught us water safety.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:teach:x6:1
# text = The lifeguard taught us water safety.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	lifeguard	lifeguard	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	taught	teach	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	safety	safety	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **teach** *speech: other* | past | the lifeguard | water safety | us |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent we=Recipient safety=Topic |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She is teaching her dog to sit.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:teach:x7:1
# text = She is teaching her dog to sit.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	teaching	teach	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	sit	sit	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **teach** *speech: other* | present · progressive | She |  | her dog |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent dog=Recipient |
| 2 | **sit** | to-infinitive | She *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I’m going to teach you now.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:teach:x8:1
# text = I’m going to teach you now.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	’m	be	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	going	go	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	xcomp	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	teach	teach	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	5	iobj	_	_
7	now	now	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** | present | I |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **go** | gerund | I *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7 «NP V S-Quote»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **teach** *speech: other* | to-infinitive | I *not said here* |  | you |  | now |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent you=Recipient |

<!-- 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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