---
title: touchy — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «touchy» in the school dictionary: A touchy person gets upset or annoyed very easily. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# touchy

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** touchy person, touchy subject, subject, Dad, you, Mia · **What happens:** get, be, need, talk, upset, lose · **To what, where:** one, people, match, touchy subject, house, tummy · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A touchy person gets upset or annoyed very easily.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:touchy:m1:1
# text = A touchy person gets upset or annoyed very easily.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	touchy	touchy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	gets	get	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	upset	upset	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	annoyed	annoyed	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	_
8	very	very	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	easily	easily	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** | present | a touchy person |  |  |  |  | upset *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |

<!-- .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 touchy subject is one that needs to be talked about carefully because it can upset people.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:touchy:m2:1
# text = A touchy subject is one that needs to be talked about carefully because it can upset people.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	touchy	touchy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	subject	subject	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	0	root	_	_
6	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	needs	need	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
9	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	aux:pass	_	_
10	talked	talk	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	xcomp	_	_
11	about	about	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	carefully	carefully	ADV	RB	_	10	obl	_	_
13	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
14	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
15	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	16	aux	_	_
16	upset	upset	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	advcl	_	_
17	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a touchy subject | one |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **need** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 3 | **talk** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive · passive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V PP.topic»: about carefully=Topic |
| 4 | **upset** | can | subject | people |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus people=Experiencer |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dad is a bit touchy about his bald patch.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:touchy:x1:1
# text = Dad is a bit touchy about his bald patch.
1	Dad	dad	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	4	det	_	_
4	bit	bit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl:unmarked	_	_
5	touchy	touchy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
8	bald	bald	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	patch	patch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Dad |  |  |  |  | about his bald patch; a bit *obl:unmarked*; touchy *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Be careful — Mia is touchy today because she lost the match.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:touchy:x2:1
# text = Be careful — Mia is touchy today because she lost the match.
1	Be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	cop	_	_
2	careful	careful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
3	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	6	punct	_	_
4	Mia	Mia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	touchy	touchy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	conj	_	_
7	today	today	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl:unmarked	_	_
8	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
9	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	lost	lose	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	advcl	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	match	match	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | careful *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | Mia |  |  |  | today | touchy *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **lose** | past | Mia | the match |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent match=Eventuality |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Money is a touchy subject in our house.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:touchy:x3:1
# text = Money is a touchy subject in our house.
1	Money	money	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	touchy	touchy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	subject	subject	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	house	house	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Money | a touchy subject |  | our house |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Why are you so touchy? I was only joking!

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Why are you so touchy?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:touchy:x4:1
# text = Why are you so touchy?
1	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	5	advmod	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
4	so	so	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	touchy	touchy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | you |  |  |  |  | touchy *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* I was only joking!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:touchy:x4:2
# text = I was only joking!
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	only	only	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	joking	joke	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **joke** *speech: other* | past · progressive | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn chit\_chat-37.6 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cat is touchy and scratches if you stroke its tummy.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:touchy:x5:1
# text = The cat is touchy and scratches if you stroke its tummy.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	touchy	touchy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	scratches	scratch	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
7	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
8	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	stroke	stroke	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	advcl	_	_
10	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	tummy	tummy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the cat |  |  |  |  | touchy *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **scratch** | present | the cat *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **stroke** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | you | cat's tummy |  |  |  |  | vn touch-20-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tummy=Experiencer |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
(informal) Our new teacher is very touchy-feely and hugs everyone.

<!-- fold The tree, 11 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:touchy:x6:1
# text = (informal) Our new teacher is very touchy-feely and hugs everyone.
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	informal	informal	NUM	LS	_	9	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	2	punct	_	_
4	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
5	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	very	very	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	touchy	touchy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	feely	feely	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	hugs	hug	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	conj	_	_
14	everyone	everyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Our new teacher |  |  |  |  | feely, touchy *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **hug** | present | Our new teacher *not said here* | everyone |  |  |  |  | vn marry-36.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent everyone=Co-Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Well, then, why do you lie in my way?" she retorted, "you must not be so touchy.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:touchy:x7:1
# text = "Well, then, why do you lie in my way?" she retorted, "you must not be so touchy.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Well	well	INTJ	UH	_	9	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	9	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
6	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	9	advmod	_	_
7	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
8	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	lie	lie	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	ccomp	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	_
15	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
16	retorted	retort	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
18	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	24	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	24	nsubj	_	_
20	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	24	aux	_	_
21	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	24	advmod	_	_
22	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	24	cop	_	_
23	so	so	ADV	RB	_	24	advmod	_	_
24	touchy	touchy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	16	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lie** *in a quote* | present · do-support | you |  |  | my way | then |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent in way=Location |
| 2 | **retort** *speech: other* | past | she |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1 «NP V S-Quote»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **not** **is** *in a quote* | must | you |  |  |  |  | touchy *property* | 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 -->

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