---
title: untangle — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «untangle» in the school dictionary: To undo knots or twists in string, hair, wires and so on. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/untangle/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [U](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/) / untangle

# untangle

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Mum, It, you, me, detective, 's · **What happens:** undo, make, untangle, take, help, let · **To what, where:** knots, string, confusing problem, hair, ages, fairy lights

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To undo knots or twists in string, hair, wires and so on.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:untangle:m1:1
# text = To undo knots or twists in string, hair, wires and so on.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	undo	undo	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	knots	knot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	twists	twist	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	conj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	string	string	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
9	hair	hair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
11	wires	wire	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	conj	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
13	so	so	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
14	on	on	ADV	RB	_	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **undo** | to-infinitive |  | knots or twists |  | string and hair and wires |  |  | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent knot=Patient |

<!-- .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 -->
To make a confusing problem or story clear.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:untangle:m2:1
# text = To make a confusing problem or story clear.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	make	make	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	confusing	confusing	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	problem	problem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
8	clear	clear	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | to-infinitive |  | a confusing problem or story |  |  |  | clear *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset problem=Product |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum untangled the knots in my hair.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:untangle:x1:1
# text = Mum untangled the knots in my hair.
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	untangled	untangle	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	knots	knot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	hair	hair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **untangle** | past | Mum | the knots |  | my hair |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It took ages to untangle the fairy lights.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:untangle:x2:1
# text = It took ages to untangle the fairy lights.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	took	take	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	ages	age	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	untangle	untangle	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	fairy	fairy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	lights	light	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | past | It | ages |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent age=Theme |
| 2 | **untangle** | to-infinitive |  | the fairy lights |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Can you help me untangle my headphones?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:untangle:x3:1
# text = Can you help me untangle my headphones?
1	Can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
2	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	help	help	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	untangle	untangle	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	headphones	headphone	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **help** | can | you | me |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent i=Beneficiary clause=Theme |
| 2 | **untangle** | infinitive | me *not said here* | my headphones |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The detective untangled the mystery at last.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:untangle:x4:1
# text = The detective untangled the mystery at last.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	detective	detective	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	untangled	untangle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	mystery	mystery	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	last	last	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **untangle** | participle | the detective *not said here* | the mystery |  | last |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Let's untangle this word problem by writing what we know.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:untangle:x5:1
# text = Let's untangle this word problem by writing what we know.
1	Let	let	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	1	obj	_	_
3	untangle	untangle	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	xcomp	_	_
4	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	5	det	_	_
5	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	problem	problem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
8	writing	write	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	_
9	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	8	obj	_	_
10	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	know	know	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **let** | imperative | you *not said here* | 's |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **untangle** | infinitive | 's *not said here* | word problem |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **write** | gerund | 's *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent what=Theme |
| 4 | **know** | present | we |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The fisherman untangled his line.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:untangle:x6:1
# text = The fisherman untangled his line.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fisherman	fisherman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	untangled	untangle	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	line	line	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **untangle** | past | the fisherman | fisherman's line |  |  |  |  | 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [untamed](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/untamed/)
- next →: [untangled](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/untangled/)
- ↑ back to [U in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/U/)