---
title: treacle — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «treacle» in the school dictionary: A thick, sticky, dark sweet syrup made when sugar is refined; black treacle is very dark, golden syrup is a light kind. Americans call it molasses. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# treacle

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** black treacle, golden syrup, Americans, favourite pudding, Mum, three little sisters · **What happens:** make, refine, be, call, add, live · **To what, where:** thick sticky dark sweet syrup, sugar, light kind, syrup, treacle tart, spoonful · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A thick, sticky, dark sweet syrup made when sugar is refined; black treacle is very dark, golden syrup is a light kind. Americans call it molasses.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A thick, sticky, dark sweet syrup made when sugar is refined; black treacle is very dark, golden syrup is a light kind.

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:treacle:m1:1
# text = A thick, sticky, dark sweet syrup made when sugar is refined; black treacle is very dark, golden syrup is a light kind.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
2	thick	thick	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	sticky	sticky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
6	dark	dark	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
7	sweet	sweet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	syrup	syrup	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	acl	_	_
10	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	13	advmod	_	_
11	sugar	sugar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj:pass	_	_
12	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux:pass	_	_
13	refined	refine	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	9	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
15	black	black	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	treacle	treacle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	nsubj	_	_
17	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	19	cop	_	_
18	very	very	ADV	RB	_	19	advmod	_	_
19	dark	dark	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	26	punct	_	_
21	golden	golden	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	22	amod	_	_
22	syrup	syrup	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	nsubj	_	_
23	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	26	cop	_	_
24	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	26	det	_	_
25	light	light	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	26	amod	_	_
26	kind	kind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | participle |  | a thick sticky dark sweet syrup *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |
| 2 | **refine** | present · passive |  | sugar |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: subject=Patient |
| 3 | **is** | present | black treacle |  |  |  |  | dark *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **is a** | present | golden syrup | a light kind |  |  |  |  | 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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* Americans call it molasses.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:treacle:m1:2
# text = Americans call it molasses.
1	Americans	American	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	call	call	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	molasses	molass	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | present | Americans | syrup |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent it=Recipient |

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Something too sweet or sentimental, like a soppy speech.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:treacle:m2:1
# text = Something too sweet or sentimental, like a soppy speech.
1	Something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	3	nsubj	_	_
2	too	too	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	sweet	sweet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	sentimental	sentimental	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
7	like	like	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	soppy	soppy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Harry Potter's favourite pudding is treacle tart.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:treacle:x1:1
# text = Harry Potter's favourite pudding is treacle tart.
1	Harry	Harry	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nmod:poss	_	_
2	Potter	Potter	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	1	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	1	case	_	_
4	favourite	favourite	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	pudding	pudding	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	treacle	treacle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	tart	tart	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Harry's favourite pudding | treacle tart |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum added a spoonful of black treacle to the gingerbread.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:treacle:x2:1
# text = Mum added a spoonful of black treacle to the gingerbread.
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	added	add	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	spoonful	spoonful	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	black	black	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	treacle	treacle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	to	to	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	gingerbread	gingerbread	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 | **add** *speech: assert* | past | Mum | a spoonful of black treacle |  |  |  | to the gingerbread | vn mix-22.1-2 «NP V NP PP.co-patient»: agent=Agent spoonful=Patient to gingerbread=Co-Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The three little sisters lived at the bottom of a treacle-well.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:treacle:x3:1
# text = The three little sisters lived at the bottom of a treacle-well.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	4	nummod	_	_
3	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	sisters	sister	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
5	lived	live	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	bottom	bottom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	treacle	treacle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	well	well	INTJ	UH	_	11	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **live** | past | the three little sisters |  |  | the bottom |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme at bottom=Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The mud was as thick as treacle.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:treacle:x4:1
# text = The mud was as thick as treacle.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	mud	mud	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	as	as	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	thick	thick	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	as	as	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	treacle	treacle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the mud |  |  |  |  | as treacle; thick *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Americans call treacle molasses.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:treacle:x5:1
# text = Americans call treacle molasses.
1	Americans	American	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	call	call	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	treacle	treacle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	molasses	molass	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | present | Americans | treacle molasses |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent molass=Recipient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My hands were sticky with treacle.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:treacle:x6:1
# text = My hands were sticky with treacle.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	hands	hand	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	sticky	sticky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	treacle	treacle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | My hands |  |  |  |  | with treacle; sticky *property* | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Dormouse said the sisters were learning to draw treacle.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:treacle:x7:1
# text = The Dormouse said the sisters were learning to draw treacle.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Dormouse	Dormouse	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	said	say	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	sisters	sister	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
6	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	learning	learn	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	ccomp	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	draw	draw	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	xcomp	_	_
10	treacle	treacle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | the Dormouse |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **learn** | past · progressive | the sisters |  |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **draw** | to-infinitive | the sisters *not said here* | treacle |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent treacle=Theme |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Here he was invited to take a mug of brown beer with treacle and sugar.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:treacle:x8:1
# text = Here he was invited to take a mug of brown beer with treacle and sugar.
1	Here	here	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	4	advmod	_	_
2	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	invited	invite	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	take	take	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	mug	mug	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	brown	brown	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	beer	beer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
12	with	with	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	treacle	treacle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	sugar	sugar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **invite** | past · passive |  | he |  | here |  |  | vn urge-58.1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: subject=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **take** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | he *not said here* | a mug of brown beer with treacle and sugar |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent mug=Theme |

<!-- 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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