---
title: unbelievable — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «unbelievable» in the school dictionary: Unbelievable means so surprising or strange that it is hard to believe it is true. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# unbelievable

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Unbelievable, it, view, unbelievable story, team, fireworks · **What happens:** mean, be, believe, not be, win, eat · **To what, where:** one, 10, homework, ring, sand, trick · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«unbelievable» in the school dictionary: its 3 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: [unbelievable in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/unbelievable.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Unbelievable means so surprising or strange that it is hard to believe it is true.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:unbelievable:m1:1
# text = Unbelievable means so surprising or strange that it is hard to believe it is true.
1	Unbelievable	unbelievable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	so	so	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	surprising	surprising	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	strange	strange	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	_
7	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	expl	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	believe	believe	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	ccomp	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
14	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
15	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Unbelievable |  |  |  |  | surprising *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | Unbelievable *not said here* |  |  |  |  | hard *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **believe** | to-infinitive | Unbelievable *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer |
| 4 | **is** | present | it |  |  |  |  | true *property* | 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}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: informal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Unbelievable means very good, very bad or very great: the view was unbelievable.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:unbelievable:m2:1
# text = Unbelievable means very good, very bad or very great: the view was unbelievable.
1	Unbelievable	unbelievable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	very	very	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
6	very	very	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	very	very	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	15	punct	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	view	view	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nsubj	_	_
14	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
15	unbelievable	unbelievable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Unbelievable |  |  |  |  | good *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | past | the view |  |  |  |  | unbelievable *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An unbelievable story is one that is not likely to be true.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:unbelievable:m3:1
# text = An unbelievable story is one that is not likely to be true.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	unbelievable	unbelievable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	story	story	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	9	nsubj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	likely	likely	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	acl:relcl	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
11	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	cop	_	_
12	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a unbelievable story | one |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | likely *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | true *property* | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our team won 10–0. Unbelievable!

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Our team won 10–0.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:unbelievable:x1:1
# text = Our team won 10–0.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	won	win	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	10	10	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	–	–	SYM	SYM	ExtPos=ADP	6	case	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	0	0	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **win** | past | Our team | 10 |  |  |  | – 0 | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent 10=Eventuality |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* Unbelievable!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:unbelievable:x1:2
# text = Unbelievable!
1	Unbelievable	unbelievable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The fireworks were unbelievable.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:unbelievable:x2:1
# text = The fireworks were unbelievable.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fireworks	firework	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	unbelievable	unbelievable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
His excuse was unbelievable: a dragon ate his homework.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:unbelievable:x3:1
# text = His excuse was unbelievable: a dragon ate his homework.
1	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	excuse	excuse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	unbelievable	unbelievable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	8	punct	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	dragon	dragon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	ate	eat	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
9	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	homework	homework	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | His excuse |  |  |  |  | unbelievable *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **eat** | past | a dragon | dragon's homework |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent homework=Patient |
| 3 | **excuse** |  | His *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom excuse «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It's unbelievable how fast cheetahs can run.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:unbelievable:x4:1
# text = It's unbelievable how fast cheetahs can run.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	unbelievable	unbelievable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	5	advmod	_	_
5	fast	fast	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	cheetahs	cheetah	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
7	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	run	run	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | It |  |  |  |  | unbelievable *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **run** | can | fast cheetahs |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She was unbelievably lucky to find her ring in the sand.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:unbelievable:x5:1
# text = She was unbelievably lucky to find her ring in the sand.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	unbelievably	unbelievably	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	lucky	lucky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	find	find	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	ring	ring	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	sand	sand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | She |  |  |  |  | lucky, unbelievably *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **find** | to-infinitive | She *not said here* | her ring |  | the sand |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ring=Topic |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
If a prize sounds unbelievable, it's probably a trick.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:unbelievable:x6:1
# text = If a prize sounds unbelievable, it's probably a trick.
1	If	if	SCONJ	IN	_	4	mark	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	prize	prize	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	sounds	sound	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	advcl	_	_
5	unbelievable	unbelievable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
9	probably	probably	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	trick	trick	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 | **sound** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | a prize |  |  |  |  | unbelievable *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |
| 2 | **is a** | present | prize | a trick |  |  |  | probably *property* | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What happened after this is an almost unbelievable story, but you may read it, dear children, in the chapters that follow.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:unbelievable:x7:1
# text = What happened after this is an almost unbelievable story, but you may read it, dear children, in the chapters that follow.
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	2	nsubj	_	_
2	happened	happen	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	after	after	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
4	this	this	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	9	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
6	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
7	almost	almost	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	unbelievable	unbelievable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
11	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
12	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
13	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
14	read	read	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	conj	_	_
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
17	dear	dear	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
20	in	in	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	chapters	chapter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obl	_	_
23	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	24	nsubj	_	_
24	follow	follow	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	22	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | past |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | present | this |  |  |  | after a unbelievable story |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **read** | may | you | story |  | the chapters |  | dear children *obl* | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Topic |
| 4 | **follow** | present | the chapters |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=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 -->

<!-- pn -->
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