---
title: tetanus — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «tetanus» in the school dictionary: Tetanus is a serious illness caused by germs that live in soil and dust and can get into the body through a cut or wound; it makes muscles stiff and tight, especially in the jaw. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# tetanus

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Tetanus, germs, tetanus jab, injection, Tetanus germs, I · **What happens:** be, cause, live, get, make, protect · **To what, where:** serious illness, soil, body, muscles, injection, you · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«tetanus» in the school dictionary: its 2 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: [tetanus in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/tetanus.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tetanus is a serious illness caused by germs that live in soil and dust and can get into the body through a cut or wound; it makes muscles stiff and tight, especially in the jaw.

<!-- fold The tree, 35 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tetanus:m1:1
# text = Tetanus is a serious illness caused by germs that live in soil and dust and can get into the body through a cut or wound; it makes muscles stiff and tight, especially in the jaw.
1	Tetanus	tetanus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	serious	serious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	illness	illness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	caused	cause	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl	_	_
7	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	germs	germ	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	_
9	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
10	live	live	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	soil	soil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	dust	dust	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
16	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	17	aux	_	_
17	get	get	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	conj	_	_
18	into	into	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	body	body	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obl	_	_
21	through	through	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
22	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
23	cut	cut	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obl	_	_
24	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	25	cc	_	_
25	wound	wound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	28	punct	_	_
27	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	28	nsubj	_	_
28	makes	make	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
29	muscles	muscle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	28	obj	_	_
30	stiff	stiff	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	28	xcomp	_	_
31	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	32	cc	_	_
32	tight	tight	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	30	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	37	punct	_	_
34	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	37	advmod	_	_
35	in	in	ADP	IN	_	37	case	_	_
36	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	37	det	_	_
37	jaw	jaw	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	28	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
38	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Tetanus | a serious illness |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **cause** | participle |  | a serious illness *not said here* |  |  |  | by germs | vn result-27.2 «NP V PP»: agent=Precondition |
| 3 | **live** | present | germs |  |  | soil and dust |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in soil=Location |
| 4 | **get** | can | germs *not said here* |  |  | the body |  | through a cut or wound | vn escape-51.1 «NP V PP.initial\_location PP.destination»: agent=Theme into body=Initial\_Location through cut=Destination |
| 5 | **make** | present | Tetanus | muscles |  |  |  | stiff *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.material V NP»: agent=Material muscle=Product |

<!-- .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 -->
A tetanus jab is an injection (vaccine) that protects you from this illness.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tetanus:m2:1
# text = A tetanus jab is an injection (vaccine) that protects you from this illness.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	tetanus	tetanus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	jab	jab	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	injection	injection	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	vaccine	vaccine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	8	punct	_	_
10	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
11	protects	protect	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
12	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	_
13	from	from	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	15	det	_	_
15	illness	illness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a tetanus jab | a injection |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **protect** | present | a injection |  | you |  |  | from this illness | vn defend-72.3 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent you=Beneficiary from illness=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tetanus germs live in soil.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tetanus:x1:1
# text = Tetanus germs live in soil.
1	Tetanus	tetanus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	germs	germ	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	live	live	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	soil	soil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **live** | present | Tetanus germs |  |  | soil |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in soil=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I had a tetanus jab at the doctor's.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tetanus:x2:1
# text = I had a tetanus jab at the doctor's.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	tetanus	tetanus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	jab	jab	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	doctor	doctor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	's	PART	POS	_	8	case	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | I | a tetanus jab |  | the doctor |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent jab=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Clean any cut you get in the garden.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tetanus:x3:1
# text = Clean any cut you get in the garden.
1	Clean	clean	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	3	det	_	_
3	cut	cut	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	get	get	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	acl:relcl	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	garden	garden	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **clean** | imperative | you *not said here* | any cut |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent cut=Patient |
| 2 | **get** | present | you | any cut *not said here* |  | the garden |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer cut=Stimulus |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
After stepping on a nail, he needed a tetanus booster.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tetanus:x4:1
# text = After stepping on a nail, he needed a tetanus booster.
1	After	after	SCONJ	IN	_	2	mark	_	_
2	stepping	step	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	advcl	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	nail	nail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	needed	need	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	tetanus	tetanus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	booster	booster	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **step** | gerund | he *not said here* |  |  | a nail |  |  | vn run-51.3.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on nail=Trajectory |
| 2 | **need** | past | he | a tetanus booster |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot booster=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tetanus makes the jaw muscles very tight.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tetanus:x5:1
# text = Tetanus makes the jaw muscles very tight.
1	Tetanus	tetanus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	makes	make	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	jaw	jaw	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	muscles	muscle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
6	very	very	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	tight	tight	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present | Tetanus | the jaw muscles |  |  |  | tight *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset muscle=Product |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Vaccines protect children from tetanus.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tetanus:x6:1
# text = Vaccines protect children from tetanus.
1	Vaccines	vaccine	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	protect	protect	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	tetanus	tetanus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **protect** | present | Vaccines |  | children |  |  | from tetanus | vn defend-72.3 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent child=Beneficiary from tetanus=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tetanus used to be called lockjaw.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tetanus:x7:1
# text = Tetanus used to be called lockjaw.
1	Tetanus	tetanus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	used	use	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	xcomp	_	_
6	lockjaw	lockjaw	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | past | Tetanus |  |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **call** | to-infinitive · passive | Tetanus *not said here* | lockjaw |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V» |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tell an adult if you cut yourself on something dirty.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tetanus:x8:1
# text = Tell an adult if you cut yourself on something dirty.
1	Tell	tell	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	adult	adult	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
5	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	cut	cut	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	advcl	_	_
7	yourself	yourself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=2|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	6	obj	_	_
8	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	obl	_	_
10	dirty	dirty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | imperative | you *not said here* |  | a adult |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent adult=Recipient |
| 2 | **cut** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | you | yourself |  | something |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent yourself=Product |

<!-- 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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