---
title: tiptoe — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «tiptoe» in the school dictionary: To walk quietly and carefully on the front parts of your feet with your heels off the ground. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# tiptoe

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** We, She, Tiptoe, you, They, dancers · **What happens:** walk, stand, reach, be, avoid, talk · **To what, where:** front parts, toes, tiptoe, sleeping baby, fence, burglar

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To walk quietly and carefully on the front parts of your feet with your heels off the ground.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tiptoe:m1:1
# text = To walk quietly and carefully on the front parts of your feet with your heels off the ground.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	walk	walk	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	quietly	quietly	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	carefully	carefully	ADV	RB	_	3	conj	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	front	front	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	parts	part	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	feet	foot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nmod	_	_
13	with	with	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
15	heels	heel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
16	off	off	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	ground	ground	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **walk** | to-infinitive |  |  |  | the front parts of your feet |  | with your heels; off the ground; quietly *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on part=Trajectory |

<!-- .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 -->
On tiptoe(s): standing or walking on your toes, sometimes to reach higher or to be quiet.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tiptoe:m2:1
# text = On tiptoe(s): standing or walking on your toes, sometimes to reach higher or to be quiet.
1	On	on	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	tiptoe	tiptoe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	s	s	X	AFX	_	2	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	7	punct	_	_
7	standing	stand	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	16	advcl	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	walking	walk	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	7	conj	_	_
10	on	on	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	toes	toe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
14	sometimes	sometimes	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	16	advmod	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	reach	reach	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
17	higher	high	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	16	advmod	_	_
18	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
19	to	to	PART	TO	_	21	mark	_	_
20	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	21	cop	_	_
21	quiet	quiet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	16	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stand** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **walk** | gerund |  |  |  | your toes |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on toe=Trajectory |
| 3 | **reach** | to-infinitive |  |  |  | tiptoe |  | high, sometimes *property* | vn body\_motion-49.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | quiet *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tiptoe around: to avoid talking about something difficult.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tiptoe:m3:1
# text = Tiptoe around: to avoid talking about something difficult.
1	Tiptoe	tiptoe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	around	around	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	5	punct	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	avoid	avoid	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	acl:relcl	_	_
6	talking	talk	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	xcomp	_	_
7	about	about	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	obl	_	_
9	difficult	difficult	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **avoid** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn avoid-52 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **talk** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | about something | vn talk-37.5 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent about something=Topic |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We tiptoed past the sleeping baby.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tiptoe:x1:1
# text = We tiptoed past the sleeping baby.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	tiptoed	tiptoe	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	past	past	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	sleeping	sleeping	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	baby	baby	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 | **tiptoe** | past | We |  |  | the sleeping baby |  |  | vn run-51.3.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme past baby=Trajectory |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She stood on tiptoe to see over the fence.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tiptoe:x2:1
# text = She stood on tiptoe to see over the fence.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	stood	stand	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	tiptoe	tiptoe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
7	over	over	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	fence	fence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stand** | past | She |  |  | tiptoe |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent on tiptoe=Location |
| 2 | **see** | to-infinitive | She *not said here* |  |  | the fence |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The burglar tiptoed down the hall.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tiptoe:x3:1
# text = The burglar tiptoed down the hall.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	burglar	burglar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	tiptoed	tiptoe	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	down	down	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	hall	hall	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tiptoe** | participle |  | the burglar *not said here* |  | the hall |  |  | vn run-51.3.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme down hall=Trajectory |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tiptoe so you don't wake Grandma.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tiptoe:x4:1
# text = Tiptoe so you don't wake Grandma.
1	Tiptoe	tiptoe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
2	so	so	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
3	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
4	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	wake	wake	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	Grandma	Grandma	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **wake** | present · do-support | Tiptoe | Grandma |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent grandma=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Don't stand on tiptoe on a wobbly stool.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tiptoe:x5:1
# text = Don't stand on tiptoe on a wobbly stool.
1	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	stand	stand	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	tiptoe	tiptoe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	wobbly	wobbly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	stool	stool	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 | **not** **stand** | imperative · do-support | you *not said here* |  |  | tiptoe |  | on a wobbly stool | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent on tiptoe=Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They tiptoed around the subject of the broken vase.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tiptoe:x6:1
# text = They tiptoed around the subject of the broken vase.
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	tiptoed	tiptoe	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	around	around	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	subject	subject	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	broken	break	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	9	amod	_	_
9	vase	vase	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tiptoe** | past | They |  |  | the subject of the broken vase |  |  | vn run-51.3.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme around subject=Trajectory |
| 2 | **break** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In ballet, dancers dance on the tips of their toes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tiptoe:x7:1
# text = In ballet, dancers dance on the tips of their toes.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	ballet	ballet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	dancers	dancer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
5	dance	dance	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	tips	tip	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	toes	toe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dance** | present | dancers |  |  | ballet |  | on the tips of dancers's toes | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in ballet=Location |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Then the children crept on tiptoe to a crack in the rocks and got in.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tiptoe:x8:1
# text = Then the children crept on tiptoe to a crack in the rocks and got in.
1	Then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	4	advmod	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	crept	creep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	tiptoe	tiptoe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
7	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	crack	crack	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	rocks	rock	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	got	get	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
15	in	in	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **creep** | past | the children |  |  | tiptoe | then | to a crack; in the rocks | vn run-51.3.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme to crack=Destination |
| 2 | **get in** | past | the children *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |

<!-- 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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