---
title: vowel — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «vowel» in the school dictionary: A vowel is a speech sound made with the mouth open and the air flowing freely, like the sound in "cat" or "see". Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# vowel

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** vowel, air, u, word, i, Rain · **What happens:** be, make, flow, see, stand, have · **To what, where:** speech sound, one, one vowel, vowels, long vowel sound, one vowel sound · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A vowel is a speech sound made with the mouth open and the air flowing freely, like the sound in "cat" or "see".

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vowel:m1:1
# text = A vowel is a speech sound made with the mouth open and the air flowing freely, like the sound in "cat" or "see".
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	vowel	vowel	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	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	acl	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	mouth	mouth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
11	open	open	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	xcomp	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
15	flowing	flow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	14	acl	_	_
16	freely	freely	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
18	like	like	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obl	_	_
21	in	in	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
22	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	23	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	23	punct	_	_
25	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	27	cc	_	_
26	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	27	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	23	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	27	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a vowel | a speech sound and the air |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **make** | participle |  | a speech sound and the air *not said here* |  |  |  | with the mouth; open *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |
| 3 | **flow** | gerund | the air *not said here* |  |  |  |  | like the sound in cat; freely *property* | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **see** *in a quote* | infinitive | the air *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=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}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A vowel is also one of the letters a, e, i, o, u (and sometimes y) that stand for these sounds.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vowel:m2:1
# text = A vowel is also one of the letters a, e, i, o, u (and sometimes y) that stand for these sounds.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	vowel	vowel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	letters	letter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
11	e	e	INTJ	UH	_	5	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
13	i	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
15	o	o	INTJ	UH	_	24	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
17	u	you	PRON	PRP	Abbr=Yes|Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	24	nsubj	_	_
18	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	24	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	24	cc	_	_
20	sometimes	sometimes	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	21	advmod	_	_
21	y	y	NUM	LS	_	24	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	21	punct	_	_
23	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	24	nsubj	_	_
24	stand	stand	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
25	for	for	ADP	IN	_	27	case	_	_
26	these	this	DET	DT	Number=Plur|PronType=Dem	27	det	_	_
27	sounds	sound	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	24	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a vowel | one |  |  |  | of the letters | tree rules |
| 2 | **stand** | present | u |  |  |  |  | for this sounds | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer for sound=Attribute |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The word "dog" has one vowel.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vowel:x1:1
# text = The word "dog" has one vowel.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
6	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	vowel	vowel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | the word | one vowel |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent vowel=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A, e, i, o and u are the vowels.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vowel:x2:1
# text = A, e, i, o and u are the vowels.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
3	e	e	INTJ	UH	_	5	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	i	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	o	o	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	u	u	NOUN	NN	_	7	conj	_	_
10	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	vowels	vowel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | i | the vowels |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Rain" has a long vowel sound.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vowel:x3:1
# text = "Rain" has a long vowel sound.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Rain	rain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
4	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
6	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
7	vowel	vowel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Rain | a long vowel sound |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sound=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Every English word needs at least one vowel sound.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vowel:x4:1
# text = Every English word needs at least one vowel sound.
1	Every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	3	det	_	_
2	English	English	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	needs	need	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	least	least	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	7	nmod	_	_
7	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	9	nummod	_	_
8	vowel	vowel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **need** | present | every English word | one vowel sound |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot sound=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In "sky" the letter y works as a vowel.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vowel:x5:1
# text = In "sky" the letter y works as a vowel.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	sky	sky	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	y	y	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	works	work	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	as	as	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	vowel	vowel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | present | the letter y |  |  |  |  | as a vowel; in sky | vn employment-95.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent in sky=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Put "an" before words that start with a vowel sound, like "an apple".

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vowel:x6:1
# text = Put "an" before words that start with a vowel sound, like "an apple".
1	Put	put	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	1	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
5	before	before	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obl	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
8	start	start	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
9	with	with	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	vowel	vowel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
14	like	like	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
15	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	apple	apple	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **put** | imperative | you *not said here* | an |  | words |  |  | vn put-9.1-2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent a=Theme before word=Destination |
| 2 | **start** | present | words |  |  |  |  | with a vowel sound like a apple | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V PP.subeventuality»: agent=Eventuality with sound=Subeventuality |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
How many vowels are in the word "elephant"?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vowel:x7:1
# text = How many vowels are in the word "elephant"?
1	How	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	2	advmod	_	_
2	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	vowels	vowel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
4	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	elephant	elephant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | many vowels |  |  | the word |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The teacher said the short vowel in "pin" changes to a long vowel in "pine".

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vowel:x8:1
# text = The teacher said the short vowel in "pin" changes to a long vowel in "pine".
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	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	6	det	_	_
5	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	vowel	vowel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	pin	pin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	_
11	changes	change	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
12	to	to	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	vowel	vowel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
16	in	in	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	pine	pine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | the teacher |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **change** | present | the short vowel in pin |  |  |  |  | to a long vowel in pine *result* | vn turn-26.6.1-1 «NP V PP.result»: agent=Agent to vowel=Result |

<!-- 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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