---
title: testimony — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «testimony» in the school dictionary: A formal statement of what someone saw or knows, given in a court of law. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# testimony

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** someone, something, medals, her, personal story, faith · **What happens:** see, know, give, be, work, tell · **To what, where:** formal statement, court, proof, testimony, life, Bible · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A formal statement of what someone saw or knows, given in a court of law.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:testimony:m1:1
# text = A formal statement of what someone saw or knows, given in a court of law.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	formal	formal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	statement	statement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	3	nmod	_	_
6	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	7	nsubj	_	_
7	saw	see	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	knows	know	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
11	given	give	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
12	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	court	court	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
15	of	of	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	law	law	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **see** | past | someone |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **know** | present | someone *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 3 | **give** | participle |  | a formal statement *not said here* |  | a court of law |  |  | vn break\_down-45.8 «NP V»: agent=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 -->
Evidence or proof that something is true: «Her medals are testimony to her hard work».

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:testimony:m2:1
# text = Evidence or proof that something is true: «Her medals are testimony to her hard work».
1	Evidence	evidence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	proof	proof	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	conj	_	_
4	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
5	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	7	nsubj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	13	punct	_	_
9	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	medals	medal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	nsubj	_	_
12	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	cop	_	_
13	testimony	testimony	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	parataxis	_	_
14	to	to	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
15	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	17	nmod:poss	_	_
16	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
17	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | something | proof *not said here* |  |  |  | true *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is a** *in a quote* | present | Her medals | testimony |  |  |  | to her hard work | tree rules |
| 3 | **work** *in a quote* |  | her *= she* |  |  |  |  |  | nom work «act intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A personal story a Christian tells about how faith changed their life; (Bible) the Ten Commandments are sometimes called the testimony.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:testimony:m3:1
# text = A personal story a Christian tells about how faith changed their life; (Bible) the Ten Commandments are sometimes called the testimony.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	personal	personal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	Christian	Christian	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	tells	tell	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	about	about	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
8	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	10	advmod	_	_
9	faith	faith	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	changed	change	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	ccomp	_	_
11	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	22	punct	_	_
14	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	Bible	Bible	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	22	nsubj:pass	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	15	punct	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
18	Ten	ten	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	19	nummod	_	_
19	Commandments	commandment	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	22	nsubj:pass	_	_
20	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	22	aux:pass	_	_
21	sometimes	sometimes	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	22	advmod	_	_
22	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	conj	_	_
23	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
24	testimony	testimony	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | present | a personal story |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **change** | past | faith | their life |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent life=Patient |
| 3 | **call** | present · passive |  | Bible |  |  |  | sometimes *property* | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: subject=Recipient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The witness gave testimony in court about the accident.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:testimony:x1:1
# text = The witness gave testimony in court about the accident.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	witness	witness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	testimony	testimony	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	court	court	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	about	about	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	accident	accident	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | the witness | testimony |  | court |  | about the accident | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent testimony=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Her shiny trophies are testimony to years of practice.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:testimony:x2:1
# text = Her shiny trophies are testimony to years of practice.
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	shiny	shiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	trophies	trophy	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
4	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	testimony	testimony	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	practice	practice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Her shiny trophies | testimony |  |  | year |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The judge listened carefully to each testimony.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:testimony:x3:1
# text = The judge listened carefully to each testimony.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	judge	judge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	listened	listen	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	carefully	carefully	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	7	det	_	_
7	testimony	testimony	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 | **listen** | past | the judge |  |  |  |  | to each testimony; carefully *property* | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent to testimony=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
At church, Mrs Brown shared her testimony about how faith helped her through illness.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:testimony:x4:1
# text = At church, Mrs Brown shared her testimony about how faith helped her through illness.
1	At	at	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	church	church	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	Mrs	Mrs	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	Brown	Brown	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	flat	_	_
6	shared	share	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	testimony	testimony	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	about	about	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
10	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	12	advmod	_	_
11	faith	faith	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
12	helped	help	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	advcl	_	_
13	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	_
14	through	through	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	illness	illness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **share** | past | Mrs | Mrs's testimony |  | church |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **help** | past | faith |  | Mrs | illness |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent she=Beneficiary |
| 3 | **testify** |  | Mrs |  |  |  |  |  | nom testimony «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The detective did not believe the man's testimony.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:testimony:x5:1
# text = The detective did not believe the man's testimony.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	detective	detective	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	believe	believe	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	's	's	PART	POS	_	7	case	_	_
9	testimony	testimony	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **believe** | past · do-support | the detective | the man's testimony |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer testimony=Stimulus |
| 2 | **testify** |  | the man |  |  |  |  |  | nom testimony «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The old bridge is a testimony to the skill of its builders.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:testimony:x6:1
# text = The old bridge is a testimony to the skill of its builders.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	bridge	bridge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	testimony	testimony	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	skill	skill	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	builders	builder	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the old bridge | a testimony |  |  |  | to the skill of bridge's builders | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
“If you object to the testimony of the chief person present, in what way are we to obtain evidence?” the king demanded.

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:testimony:x7:1
# text = “If you object to the testimony of the chief person present, in what way are we to obtain evidence?” the king demanded.
1	“	"	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	If	if	SCONJ	IN	_	4	mark	_	_
3	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	object	object	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nsubj	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	testimony	testimony	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
10	chief	chief	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
11	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	present	present	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
14	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	appos	_	_
16	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obl:unmarked	_	_
17	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	20	cop	_	_
18	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	20	nsubj	_	_
19	to	to	PART	TO	_	20	mark	_	_
20	obtain	obtain	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	26	parataxis	_	_
21	evidence	evidence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	20	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	”	"	PUNCT	''	_	20	punct	_	_
24	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	25	det	_	_
25	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	nsubj	_	_
26	demanded	demand	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	26	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **object** *speech: other* *a condition, not said to happen, in a quote* |  | you |  |  |  |  | to the testimony of the chief person present | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** *in a quote* | present | object |  |  |  |  | obtain *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **demand** *speech: request* | past | the king |  |  |  |  |  | vn require-103-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Theme clause=Precondition |
| 4 | **testify** *in a quote* |  | the chief person present |  |  |  |  |  | nom testimony «communication intransitive»: of=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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