---
title: vex — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «vex» in the school dictionary: To annoy, worry or upset someone, especially about small things. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# vex

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** someone, people, noisy neighbours, brother, missing piece, you · **What happens:** annoy, worry, upset, vex, be, answer · **To what, where:** someone, one, grandad, She, last biscuit, us · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To annoy, worry or upset someone, especially about small things.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vex:m1:1
# text = To annoy, worry or upset someone, especially about small things.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	annoy	annoy	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
4	worry	worry	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	upset	upset	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
7	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
9	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
10	about	about	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **annoy** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **worry** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 3 | **upset** | infinitive |  | someone |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus someone=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}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To puzzle someone; a "vexed question" is one that is hard to answer and that people argue about.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vex:m2:1
# text = To puzzle someone; a "vexed question" is one that is hard to answer and that people argue about.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	3	mark	_	_
2	puzzle	puzzle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	11	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
6	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	vexed	vex	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	amod	_	_
8	question	question	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	8	punct	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
11	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	0	root	_	_
12	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	14	nsubj	_	_
13	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	cop	_	_
14	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	acl:relcl	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	answer	answer	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	14	xcomp	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
18	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	20	mark	_	_
19	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	20	nsubj	_	_
20	argue	argue	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	conj	_	_
21	about	about	ADV	RB	_	20	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **vex** *in a quote* | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **is a** | present | someone | one |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | hard *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **answer** *speech: assert* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn reciprocate-112-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 5 | **argue** *speech: disagree* | present | people |  |  |  |  | about *property* | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The noisy neighbours vexed my grandad.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vex:x1:1
# text = The noisy neighbours vexed my grandad.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	noisy	noisy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	neighbours	neighbour	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	vexed	vex	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	grandad	grandad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **vex** | past | the noisy neighbours | my grandad |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus grandad=Experiencer |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She was vexed that her brother had eaten the last biscuit.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vex:x2:1
# text = She was vexed that her brother had eaten the last biscuit.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	vexed	vex	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
5	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
7	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	eaten	eat	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	last	last	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	biscuit	biscuit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **vex** | past · passive |  | She |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Experiencer |
| 2 | **eat** | past · perfect | her brother | the last biscuit |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent biscuit=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The missing piece of the puzzle vexed us all afternoon.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vex:x3:1
# text = The missing piece of the puzzle vexed us all afternoon.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	missing	missing	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	piece	piece	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	puzzle	puzzle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	vexed	vex	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	_
9	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	10	det	_	_
10	afternoon	afternoon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **vex** | past | the missing piece of the puzzle | us |  |  | afternoon |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus we=Experiencer |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Do not vex your mother by being late.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vex:x4:1
# text = Do not vex your mother by being late.
1	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
2	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	vex	vex	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	mother	mother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
7	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	cop	_	_
8	late	late	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **vex** | imperative · do-support | you *not said here* | your mother |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus mother=Experiencer |
| 2 | **is** | gerund | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | late *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Climate change is a vexed question that people argue about.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vex:x5:1
# text = Climate change is a vexed question that people argue about.
1	Climate	climate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	change	change	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	vexed	vex	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	amod	_	_
6	question	question	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	obj	_	_
8	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
9	argue	argue	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
10	about	about	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **vex** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **is a** | present | Climate change | a vexed question |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **argue** *speech: disagree* | present | people | a vexed question |  |  |  | about *property* | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent that=Topic |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It was a vexing problem, but we solved it in the end.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vex:x6:1
# text = It was a vexing problem, but we solved it in the end.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	vexing	vex	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	amod	_	_
5	problem	problem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
7	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	solved	solve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	end	end	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **vex** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **is a** | past | It | a vexing problem |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **solve** | past | we | problem |  |  | in the end |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Topic |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The king was vexed when his orders were ignored.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vex:x7:1
# text = The king was vexed when his orders were ignored.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	vexed	vex	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	9	mark	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	orders	order	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj:pass	_	_
8	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux:pass	_	_
9	ignored	ignore	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **vex** | past · passive |  | the king |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Experiencer |
| 2 | **ignore** | past · passive |  | king's orders |  |  |  |  | vn neglect-75.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 3 | **order** |  | king |  |  |  |  |  | nom order «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Well, I'm sorry if I've vexed you," said Lionel.

<!-- fold The tree, 11 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vex:x8:1
# text = "Well, I'm sorry if I've vexed you," said Lionel.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Well	well	INTJ	UH	_	6	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	'm	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	sorry	sorry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	ccomp	_	_
7	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
8	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	've	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	vexed	vex	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	6	advcl	_	_
11	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
14	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
15	Lionel	Lionel	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	14	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	14	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | present | Lionel |  |  |  |  | sorry *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **vex** *a condition, not said to happen, in a quote* | present · perfect | Lionel | you |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus you=Experiencer |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Lionel |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

<!-- 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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