---
title: wife — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «wife» in the school dictionary: A wife is the woman a person is married to. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# wife

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** wife, woman, old wives, farmer, They, king · **What happens:** be, marry, mean, tell, milk, become · **To what, where:** woman, person, old stories, nurse, cows, husband · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«wife» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 9 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: [wife in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/wife.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A wife is the woman a person is married to.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wife:m1:1
# text = A wife is the woman a person is married to.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	woman	woman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj:pass	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux:pass	_	_
9	married	marry	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl:relcl	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a wife | the woman |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **marry** | present · passive | the woman *not said here* | a person |  |  |  |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-3-1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=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}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In old stories and old phrases, "wife" can mean simply a woman, as in "old wives' tale".

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wife:m2:1
# text = In old stories and old phrases, "wife" can mean simply a woman, as in "old wives' tale".
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	stories	story	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obl	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
5	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	phrases	phrase	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
8	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	_
11	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
12	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
13	simply	simply	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	woman	woman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	23	punct	_	_
17	as	as	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
18	in	in	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
19	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	23	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	21	amod	_	_
21	wives	wife	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	23	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	'	's	PART	POS	_	21	case	_	_
23	tale	tale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	23	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can | wife | a woman |  | old stories and old phrases |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **tell** *in a quote* |  | old wives |  |  |  |  |  | nom tale «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mr Patel's wife is a nurse.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wife:x1:1
# text = Mr Patel's wife is a nurse.
1	Mr	Mr	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	Patel	Patel	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	nurse	nurse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Mr Patel's wife | a nurse |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The farmer and his wife milked the cows.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wife:x2:1
# text = The farmer and his wife milked the cows.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	farmer	farmer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
4	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
6	milked	milk	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	cows	cow	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **milk** | past | the farmer and his wife | the cows |  |  |  |  | vn cheat-10.6.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cow=Source |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They became husband and wife at the wedding.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wife:x3:1
# text = They became husband and wife at the wedding.
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	became	become	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	husband	husband	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	xcomp	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	wedding	wedding	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **become** | past | They | husband and wife |  | the wedding |  |  | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My uncle's wife is my aunt.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wife:x4:1
# text = My uncle's wife is my aunt.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	uncle	uncle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	aunt	aunt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | My uncle's wife | my aunt |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The king and his wife waved from the balcony.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wife:x5:1
# text = The king and his wife waved from the balcony.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
4	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
6	waved	wave	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	from	from	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	balcony	balcony	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wave** | past | the king and his wife |  |  | the balcony |  |  | vn wink-40.3.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Cracking your knuckles gives you big hands" is just an old wives' tale.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wife:x6:1
# text = "Cracking your knuckles gives you big hands" is just an old wives' tale.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Cracking	crack	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	csubj	_	_
3	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	knuckles	knuckle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	gives	give	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	5	iobj	_	_
7	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	hands	hand	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	8	punct	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
11	just	just	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	_
12	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	wives	wife	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	'	's	PART	POS	_	14	case	_	_
16	tale	tale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **crack** *in a quote* | gerund |  | your knuckles |  |  |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location knuckle=Theme |
| 2 | **give** *in a quote* | present | Cracking |  | you |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **is a** | present | big hands | a old wives's tale |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A man and his wife share 24 apples equally, so each gets 12.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wife:x7:1
# text = A man and his wife share 24 apples equally, so each gets 12.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
4	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
6	share	share	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	24	24	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	apples	apple	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
9	equally	equally	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
11	so	so	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
12	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	13	nsubj	_	_
13	gets	get	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	parataxis	_	_
14	12	12	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **share** | present | a man and his wife | 24 apples |  |  |  | equally *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **get** | present | each | 12 |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer 12=Stimulus |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
His wife drove the kids to footy practice.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wife:x8:1
# text = His wife drove the kids to footy practice.
1	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	drove	drive	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	kids	kid	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	footy	footy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	practice	practice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **drive** | past | His wife | the kids |  | footy practice |  |  | vn nonvehicle-51.4.2-1 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent kid=Theme to practice=Trajectory |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
But his wife called after him:--

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wife:x9:1
# text = But his wife called after him:--
1	But	but	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
2	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
3	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	after	after	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	--	--	PUNCT	NFP	_	3	discourse	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | participle |  | his wife *not said here* |  |  | after him *= he* |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V»: 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
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