---
title: theme — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «theme» in the school dictionary: A theme is the main subject or idea of a talk, book, lesson, party or piece of art. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/theme/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [T](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/) / theme

# theme

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** theme, story, theme tune, music, class party, We · **What happens:** be, play, have, go, hum, project · **To what, where:** main subject, big message, music, friendship, pirate theme, big rides · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A theme is the main subject or idea of a talk, book, lesson, party or piece of art.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:theme:m1:1
# text = A theme is the main subject or idea of a talk, book, lesson, party or piece of art.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	theme	theme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	main	main	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	subject	subject	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	talk	talk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
13	book	book	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
15	lesson	lesson	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
17	party	party	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	appos	_	_
18	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
19	piece	piece	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	conj	_	_
20	of	of	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
21	art	art	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a theme | the main subject or idea |  |  |  | of a talk and book and lesson | tree rules |

<!-- .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 theme is a big message or lesson a story is about, such as friendship, courage or kindness.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:theme:m2:1
# text = A theme is a big message or lesson a story is about, such as friendship, courage or kindness.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	theme	theme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	message	message	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	lesson	lesson	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nsubj	_	_
11	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
12	about	about	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
14	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=ADP	16	case	_	_
15	as	as	ADP	IN	_	14	fixed	_	_
16	friendship	friendship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
18	courage	courage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	conj	_	_
19	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	kindness	kindness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a theme | a big message or lesson |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | a story |  |  |  |  | such friendship and courage or kindness; about *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A theme tune or theme song is the music always played with a TV show or film.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:theme:m3:1
# text = A theme tune or theme song is the music always played with a TV show or film.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	theme	theme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	tune	tune	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
5	theme	theme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	song	song	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	music	music	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
10	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	11	advmod	_	_
11	played	play	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	acl:relcl	_	_
12	with	with	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	TV	TV	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	compound	_	_
15	show	show	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	film	film	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a theme tune or theme song | the music |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **play** | past | the music *not said here* |  |  |  |  | with a TV show or film; always *property* | vn play-114.2-1 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent with show=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The theme of the story is friendship.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:theme:x1:1
# text = The theme of the story is friendship.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	theme	theme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	friendship	friendship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the theme of the story | friendship |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our class party had a pirate theme.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:theme:x2:1
# text = Our class party had a pirate theme.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	party	party	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	pirate	pirate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	theme	theme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | Our class party | a pirate theme |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent theme=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We went on the big rides at the theme park.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:theme:x3:1
# text = We went on the big rides at the theme park.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	went	go	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	rides	ride	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
7	at	at	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	theme	theme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	park	park	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go** | past | We |  |  | the big rides |  | at the theme park | vn occur-48.3-2 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme on ride=Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I can hum the theme tune of that show.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:theme:x4:1
# text = I can hum the theme tune of that show.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	hum	hum	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	theme	theme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	tune	tune	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	9	det	_	_
9	show	show	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hum** | can | I | the theme tune of that show |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tune=Topic |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Courage is a theme in many fairy tales.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:theme:x5:1
# text = Courage is a theme in many fairy tales.
1	Courage	courage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	theme	theme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
7	fairy	fairy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	tales	tale	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Courage | a theme |  | many fairy tales |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The theme for this term's art project is the sea.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:theme:x6:1
# text = The theme for this term's art project is the sea.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	theme	theme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
3	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
4	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	5	det	_	_
5	term	term	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	's	's	PART	POS	_	5	case	_	_
7	art	art	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	project	project	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the theme for this term's art project | the sea |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **project** |  | this term |  |  |  |  |  | nom project «act transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What do you think is the main theme of the poem?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:theme:x7:1
# text = What do you think is the main theme of the poem?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	obj	_	_
2	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	think	think	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	main	main	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	theme	theme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	ccomp	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	poem	poem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **think** *speech: other* | present · do-support | you |  |  |  |  |  | vn wish-62 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot what=Theme |
| 2 | **is a** | present |  | the main theme |  |  |  | of the poem | tree rules |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Thus ends this charming story, which was a favourite theme with all the classic authors.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:theme:x8:1
# text = Thus ends this charming story, which was a favourite theme with all the classic authors.
1	Thus	thus	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	ends	end	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	5	det	_	_
4	charming	charming	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
7	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
8	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	favourite	favourite	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	theme	theme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	appos	_	_
12	with	with	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
13	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	16	det:predet	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
15	classic	classic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	authors	author	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **end** | present |  | this charming story |  |  |  | thus *property* | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Subeventuality story=Eventuality |
| 2 | **is a** | past | this charming story | a favourite theme |  |  |  | with all classic authors | 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [them](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/them/)
- next →: [then](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/then/)
- ↑ back to [T in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/)