---
title: untie — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «untie» in the school dictionary: To untie something is to undo a knot or a bow, or to take off a rope or string that is holding something. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# untie

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** rope, you, She, sailor, He, laces · **What happens:** untie, be, take off, hold, unfasten · **To what, where:** something, rope, knot, shoes, ribbon, present

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To untie something is to undo a knot or a bow, or to take off a rope or string that is holding something.

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:untie:m1:1
# text = To untie something is to undo a knot or a bow, or to take off a rope or string that is holding something.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	untie	untie	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	advcl	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	undo	undo	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	knot	knot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	bow	bow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
14	to	to	PART	TO	_	15	mark	_	_
15	take	take	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	6	parataxis	_	_
16	off	off	ADP	RP	_	15	compound:prt	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	rope	rope	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obj	_	_
19	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	string	string	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	conj	_	_
21	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	23	nsubj	_	_
22	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	23	aux	_	_
23	holding	hold	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	18	acl:relcl	_	_
24	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	23	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **untie** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn disassemble-23.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Patient |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | undo *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **take off** | to-infinitive |  | a rope or string |  |  |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent rope=Theme |
| 4 | **hold** | present · progressive | a rope or string | something |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Theme |

<!-- .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.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Can you untie this knot?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:untie:x1:1
# text = Can you untie this knot?
1	Can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
2	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	untie	untie	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	5	det	_	_
5	knot	knot	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 | **untie** | can | you | this knot |  |  |  |  | vn disassemble-23.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent knot=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Untie your shoes before you take them off.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:untie:x2:1
# text = Untie your shoes before you take them off.
1	Untie	untie	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
3	shoes	shoe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
4	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
5	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	take	take	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	advcl	_	_
7	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	off	off	ADP	RP	_	6	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **untie** | imperative | you *not said here* | your shoes |  |  |  |  | vn disassemble-23.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent shoe=Patient |
| 2 | **take off** | present | you | shoes *= shoe* |  |  |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She untied the ribbon on the present.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:untie:x3:1
# text = She untied the ribbon on the present.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	untied	untie	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	ribbon	ribbon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	present	present	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 | **untie** | past | She | the ribbon |  | the present |  |  | vn disassemble-23.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ribbon=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The sailor untied the boat.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:untie:x4:1
# text = The sailor untied the boat.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sailor	sailor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	untied	untie	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	boat	boat	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 | **untie** | past | the sailor | the boat |  |  |  |  | vn disassemble-23.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent boat=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He untied the dog from the post.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:untie:x5:1
# text = He untied the dog from the post.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	untied	untie	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	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	post	post	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 | **untie** | past | He | the dog |  |  |  | from the post | vn disassemble-23.3 «NP V NP PP.co-patient»: agent=Agent dog=Patient from post=Co-Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My laces are too tight to untie.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:untie:x6:1
# text = My laces are too tight to untie.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	laces	lace	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	too	too	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	tight	tight	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	untie	untie	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | My laces |  |  |  |  | tight *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **untie** | to-infinitive | My laces *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn disassemble-23.3 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The string was easy to untie, and the king’s son soon unfastened the bundle.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:untie:x7:1
# text = The string was easy to untie, and the king’s son soon unfastened the bundle.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	string	string	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	easy	easy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	untie	untie	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	’s	's	PART	POS	_	10	case	_	_
12	son	son	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj:pass	_	_
13	soon	soon	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	14	advmod	_	_
14	unfastened	unfasten	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	conj	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	bundle	bundle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the string |  |  |  |  | easy *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **untie** | to-infinitive | the string *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn disassemble-23.3 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **unfasten** | participle · passive |  | the king's son |  |  |  | soon *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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