---
title: thief — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «thief» in the school dictionary: A person who steals: takes things that belong to someone else without asking. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# thief

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** person, things, thief, Police, shopkeeper, you · **What happens:** steal, take, belong, ask, catch, stop · **To what, where:** things, bike, garden, thief, camera, magpie · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«thief» in the school dictionary: its meaning for a pupil and its 6 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: [thief in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/thief.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A person who steals: takes things that belong to someone else without asking.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thief:m1:1
# text = A person who steals: takes things that belong to someone else without asking.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
4	steals	steal	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	6	punct	_	_
6	takes	take	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
8	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	belong	belong	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
10	to	to	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	9	obl	_	_
12	else	else	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
13	without	without	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
14	asking	ask	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	11	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **steal** | present | a person |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **take** | present | a person | things |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent thing=Theme |
| 3 | **belong** | present | things |  |  |  |  | to someone | vn attend-107.4-2 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **ask** *speech: ask* | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The thief took the bike from the garden.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thief:x1:1
# text = The thief took the bike from the garden.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	thief	thief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	took	take	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	bike	bike	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	from	from	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	garden	garden	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | past | the thief | the bike |  | the garden |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP PP.initial\_location»: agent=Agent bike=Theme from garden=Initial\_Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Police caught the thief on camera.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thief:x2:1
# text = Police caught the thief on camera.
1	Police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	caught	catch	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	thief	thief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	camera	camera	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **catch** | past | Police | the thief |  | camera |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent thief=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Stop, thief!" shouted the shopkeeper.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thief:x3:1
# text = "Stop, thief!" shouted the shopkeeper.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Stop	stop	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
4	thief	thief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
7	shouted	shout	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	shopkeeper	shopkeeper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stop** *in a quote* | infinitive |  | thief |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Subeventuality thief=Eventuality |
| 2 | **shout** *speech: express* | past | the shopkeeper |  |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Lock your bike so a thief cannot take it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thief:x4:1
# text = Lock your bike so a thief cannot take it.
1	Lock	lock	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
3	bike	bike	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	so	so	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	thief	thief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
7	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	take	take	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	advcl	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lock** | imperative | you *not said here* | your bike |  |  |  |  | vn tape-22.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bike=Patient |
| 2 | **not** **take** | can | a thief | bike |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the story, the thief was a magpie.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thief:x5:1
# text = In the story, the thief was a magpie.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	thief	thief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	magpie	magpie	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A thief stole Grandma's handbag.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:thief:x6:1
# text = A thief stole Grandma's handbag.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	thief	thief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	stole	steal	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	Grandma	Grandma	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	handbag	handbag	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 | **steal** | past | a thief | Grandma's handbag |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location handbag=Theme |

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**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.

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