stiffen Who acts: person, body, you, egg, they, dog · What happens: stiffen, be, bend, go, mean, turn · To what, where: fear, something, stone, legs, noise, her · Speech: someone speaks here
«stiffen» in the school dictionary: its 4 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: stiffen in the school dictionary .
Meaning 1 To stiffen is to become hard, firm or difficult to bend.
mark csubj cop mark xcomp punct conj cc conj mark xcomp punct root To PART stiffen VERB is AUX to PART become VERB hard ADJ , PUNCT firm ADJ or CCONJ difficult ADJ to PART bend VERB . PUNCT The words, one row each (CoNLL-U) # word lemma UPOS features head relation 1 To to PART _ 2 stiffen mark 2 stiffen stiffen VERB VerbForm=Inf 5 become csubj 3 is be AUX Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin 5 become cop 4 to to PART _ 5 become mark 5 become become VERB VerbForm=Inf root root 6 hard hard ADJ Degree=Pos 5 become xcomp 7 , , PUNCT _ 8 firm punct 8 firm firm ADJ Degree=Pos 6 hard conj 9 or or CCONJ _ 10 difficult cc 10 difficult difficult ADJ Degree=Pos 6 hard conj 11 to to PART _ 12 bend mark 12 bend bend VERB VerbForm=Inf 10 difficult xcomp 13 . . PUNCT _ 5 become punct
# verb tense, mood who what, whom to whom where when other roles by
1 stiffen to-infinitive vn other_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient 2 is present become, hard property tree rules 3 bend to-infinitive vn assuming_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent
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 When a person or animal stiffens, their body suddenly goes tense and still, often from fear or anger.
The tree, 18 words mark det nsubj cc conj advcl punct nmod:poss nsubj advmod xcomp cc conj punct advmod case obl cc conj punct root When SCONJ a DET person NOUN or CCONJ animal NOUN stiffens VERB , PUNCT their PRON body NOUN suddenly ADV goes VERB tense ADJ and CCONJ still ADV , PUNCT often ADV from ADP fear NOUN or CCONJ anger NOUN . PUNCT The words, one row each (CoNLL-U) # word lemma UPOS features head relation 1 When when SCONJ _ 6 stiffens mark 2 a a DET Definite=Ind PronType=Art 3 person det 3 person person NOUN Number=Sing 6 stiffens nsubj 4 or or CCONJ _ 5 animal cc 5 animal animal NOUN Number=Sing 3 person conj 6 stiffens stiffen VERB Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin 11 goes advcl 7 , , PUNCT _ 6 stiffens punct 8 their their PRON Case=Gen Number=Plur Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs 9 body nmod:poss 9 body body NOUN Number=Sing 11 goes nsubj 10 suddenly suddenly ADV _ 11 goes advmod 11 goes go VERB Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin root root 12 tense tense ADJ Degree=Pos 11 goes xcomp 13 and and CCONJ _ 14 still cc 14 still still ADV _ 12 tense conj 15 , , PUNCT _ 18 fear punct 16 often often ADV _ 18 fear advmod 17 from from ADP _ 18 fear case 18 fear fear NOUN Number=Sing 11 goes obl 19 or or CCONJ _ 20 anger cc 20 anger anger NOUN Number=Sing 18 fear conj 21 . . PUNCT _ 11 goes punct
# verb tense, mood who what, whom to whom where when other roles by
1 stiffen present a person or animal vn other_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient 2 go present person's body fear or anger suddenly, tense property vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme from fear=Initial_Location
Meaning 3 To stiffen something is to make it firmer or stronger.
mark csubj obj cop mark obj xcomp cc conj punct root To PART stiffen VERB something PRON is AUX to PART make VERB it PRON firmer ADJ or CCONJ stronger ADJ . PUNCT The words, one row each (CoNLL-U) # word lemma UPOS features head relation 1 To to PART _ 2 stiffen mark 2 stiffen stiffen VERB VerbForm=Inf 6 make csubj 3 something something PRON Number=Sing PronType=Ind 2 stiffen obj 4 is be AUX Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin 6 make cop 5 to to PART _ 6 make mark 6 make make VERB VerbForm=Inf root root 7 it it PRON Case=Acc Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs 6 make obj 8 firmer firm ADJ Degree=Cmp 6 make xcomp 9 or or CCONJ _ 10 stronger cc 10 stronger strong ADJ Degree=Cmp 8 firmer conj 11 . . PUNCT _ 6 make punct
# verb tense, mood who what, whom to whom where when other roles by
1 stiffen to-infinitive something vn other_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent something=Patient 2 is present firm, make property tree rules
Meaning 4 To stiffen can also mean to turn into stone.
mark csubj aux advmod mark xcomp case obl punct root To PART stiffen VERB can AUX also ADV mean VERB to PART turn VERB into ADP stone NOUN . PUNCT The words, one row each (CoNLL-U) # word lemma UPOS features head relation 1 To to PART _ 2 stiffen mark 2 stiffen stiffen VERB VerbForm=Inf 5 mean csubj 3 can can AUX VerbForm=Fin 5 mean aux 4 also also ADV _ 5 mean advmod 5 mean mean VERB VerbForm=Inf root root 6 to to PART _ 7 turn mark 7 turn turn VERB VerbForm=Inf 5 mean xcomp 8 into into ADP _ 9 stone case 9 stone stone NOUN Number=Sing 7 turn obl 10 . . PUNCT _ 5 mean punct
# verb tense, mood who what, whom to whom where when other roles by
1 stiffen to-infinitive vn other_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient 2 mean can vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic 3 turn not said to happen to-infinitive stone vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V PP.trajectory»: agent=Theme into stone=Trajectory
Example 1 Whisk the egg whites until they stiffen.
det nsubj acl:relcl mark nsubj advcl punct root Whisk VERB the DET egg NOUN whites VERB until SCONJ they PRON stiffen VERB . PUNCT The words, one row each (CoNLL-U) # word lemma UPOS features head relation 1 Whisk whisk VERB Mood=Imp VerbForm=Fin root root 2 the the DET Definite=Def PronType=Art 3 egg det 3 egg egg NOUN Number=Sing 4 whites nsubj 4 whites white VERB Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin 1 Whisk acl:relcl 5 until until SCONJ _ 7 stiffen mark 6 they they PRON Case=Nom Number=Plur Person=3 PronType=Prs 7 stiffen nsubj 7 stiffen stiffen VERB Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin 4 whites advcl 8 . . PUNCT _ 1 Whisk punct
# verb tense, mood who what, whom to whom where when other roles by
1 whisk imperative you not said here vn shake-22.3-1-1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Patient 2 white present the egg tree rules 3 stiffen present they vn other_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient
Example 2 My legs stiffened after the long walk.
nmod:poss nsubj:pass case det amod obl punct root My PRON legs NOUN stiffened VERB after ADP the DET long ADJ walk NOUN . PUNCT The words, one row each (CoNLL-U) # word lemma UPOS features head relation 1 My my PRON Case=Gen Number=Sing Person=1 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs 2 legs nmod:poss 2 legs leg NOUN Number=Plur 3 stiffened nsubj:pass 3 stiffened stiffen VERB Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass root root 4 after after ADP _ 7 walk case 5 the the DET Definite=Def PronType=Art 7 walk det 6 long long ADJ Degree=Pos 7 walk amod 7 walk walk NOUN Number=Sing 3 stiffened obl 8 . . PUNCT _ 3 stiffened punct
# verb tense, mood who what, whom to whom where when other roles by
1 stiffen participle · passive My legs after the long walk vn other_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: subject=Patient
Example 3 The dog stiffened when it heard a noise.
det nsubj advmod nsubj advcl det obj punct root The DET dog NOUN stiffened VERB when ADV it PRON heard VERB a DET noise NOUN . PUNCT The words, one row each (CoNLL-U) # word lemma UPOS features head relation 1 The the DET Definite=Def PronType=Art 2 dog det 2 dog dog NOUN Number=Sing 3 stiffened nsubj 3 stiffened stiffen VERB Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin root root 4 when when ADV PronType=Int 6 heard advmod 5 it it PRON Case=Nom Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs 6 heard nsubj 6 heard hear VERB Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin 3 stiffened advcl 7 a a DET Definite=Ind PronType=Art 8 noise det 8 noise noise NOUN Number=Sing 6 heard obj 9 . . PUNCT _ 3 stiffened punct
# verb tense, mood who what, whom to whom where when other roles by
1 stiffen past the dog vn other_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient 2 hear past dog a noise vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer noise=Stimulus
Example 4 She stiffened when the stranger spoke to her.
nsubj advmod det nsubj advcl case obl punct root She PRON stiffened VERB when ADV the DET stranger NOUN spoke VERB to ADP her PRON . PUNCT The words, one row each (CoNLL-U) # word lemma UPOS features head relation 1 She she PRON Case=Nom Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs 2 stiffened nsubj 2 stiffened stiffen VERB Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin root root 3 when when ADV PronType=Int 6 spoke advmod 4 the the DET Definite=Def PronType=Art 5 stranger det 5 stranger stranger NOUN Number=Sing 6 spoke nsubj 6 spoke speak VERB Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin 2 stiffened advcl 7 to to ADP _ 8 her case 8 her she PRON Case=Acc Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs 6 spoke obl 9 . . PUNCT _ 2 stiffened punct
# verb tense, mood who what, whom to whom where when other roles by
1 stiffen past She vn other_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient 2 speak speech: other past the stranger her = she vn talk-37.5 «NP V PP.co-agent»: agent=Agent to she=Co-Agent
Example 5 Starch is used to stiffen collars.
nsubj:pass aux:pass mark xcomp obj punct root Starch NOUN is AUX used VERB to PART stiffen VERB collars NOUN . PUNCT The words, one row each (CoNLL-U) # word lemma UPOS features head relation 1 Starch starch NOUN Number=Sing 3 used nsubj:pass 2 is be AUX Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin 3 used aux:pass 3 used use VERB Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass root root 4 to to PART _ 5 stiffen mark 5 stiffen stiffen VERB VerbForm=Inf 3 used xcomp 6 collars collar NOUN Number=Plur 5 stiffen obj 7 . . PUNCT _ 3 used punct
# verb tense, mood who what, whom to whom where when other roles by
1 use present · passive Starch vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S_INF»: subject=Theme clause=Eventuality 2 stiffen to-infinitive collars vn other_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent collar=Patient
Example 6 The clay stiffens as it dries.
det nsubj mark nsubj advcl punct root The DET clay NOUN stiffens VERB as SCONJ it PRON dries VERB . PUNCT The words, one row each (CoNLL-U) # word lemma UPOS features head relation 1 The the DET Definite=Def PronType=Art 2 clay det 2 clay clay NOUN Number=Sing 3 stiffens nsubj 3 stiffens stiffen VERB Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin root root 4 as as SCONJ _ 6 dries mark 5 it it PRON Case=Nom Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs 6 dries nsubj 6 dries dry VERB Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin 3 stiffens advcl 7 . . PUNCT _ 3 stiffens punct
# verb tense, mood who what, whom to whom where when other roles by
1 stiffen present the clay vn other_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient 2 dry present clay vn other_cos-45.4-1 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient
Example 7 Stretch after running so your muscles don't stiffen.
mark acl mark nmod:poss nsubj aux advmod advcl punct root Stretch NOUN after SCONJ running VERB so SCONJ your PRON muscles NOUN do AUX n't PART stiffen VERB . PUNCT The words, one row each (CoNLL-U) # word lemma UPOS features head relation 1 Stretch stretch NOUN Number=Sing root root 2 after after SCONJ _ 3 running mark 3 running run VERB VerbForm=Ger 1 Stretch acl 4 so so SCONJ _ 9 stiffen mark 5 your your PRON Case=Gen Person=2 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs 6 muscles nmod:poss 6 muscles muscle NOUN Number=Plur 9 stiffen nsubj 7 do do AUX Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin 9 stiffen aux 8 n't not PART Polarity=Neg 9 stiffen advmod 9 stiffen stiffen VERB VerbForm=Inf 3 running advcl 10 . . PUNCT _ 1 Stretch punct
# verb tense, mood who what, whom to whom where when other roles by
1 run gerund Stretch not said here vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme 2 not stiffen present · do-support your muscles vn other_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient
Example 8 Calling to his friends to avert their faces, he drew it from his wallet, and held it before Phineus and his formidable body-guard, whereupon they all stiffened into stone.
The tree, 30 words advcl case nmod:poss obl mark advcl nmod:poss obj punct nsubj obj case nmod:poss obl punct cc conj obj case obl cc nmod:poss amod compound punct conj punct advmod nsubj nsubj:pass acl:relcl case obl punct root Calling VERB to ADP his PRON friends NOUN to PART avert VERB their PRON faces NOUN , PUNCT he PRON drew VERB it PRON from ADP his PRON wallet NOUN , PUNCT and CCONJ held VERB it PRON before ADP Phineus PROPN and CCONJ his PRON formidable ADJ body NOUN - PUNCT guard NOUN , PUNCT whereupon ADV they PRON all DET stiffened VERB into ADP stone NOUN . PUNCT The words, one row each (CoNLL-U) # word lemma UPOS features head relation 1 Calling call VERB Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part 11 drew advcl 2 to to ADP _ 4 friends case 3 his his PRON Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs 4 friends nmod:poss 4 friends friend NOUN Number=Plur 1 Calling obl 5 to to PART _ 6 avert mark 6 avert avert VERB VerbForm=Inf 1 Calling advcl 7 their their PRON Case=Gen Number=Plur Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs 8 faces nmod:poss 8 faces face NOUN Number=Plur 6 avert obj 9 , , PUNCT _ 1 Calling punct 10 he he PRON Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs 11 drew nsubj 11 drew draw VERB Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin root root 12 it it PRON Case=Acc Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs 11 drew obj 13 from from ADP _ 15 wallet case 14 his his PRON Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs 15 wallet nmod:poss 15 wallet wallet NOUN Number=Sing 11 drew obl 16 , , PUNCT _ 18 held punct 17 and and CCONJ _ 18 held cc 18 held hold VERB Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin 11 drew conj 19 it it PRON Case=Acc Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs 18 held obj 20 before before ADP _ 21 Phineus case 21 Phineus Phineus PROPN Number=Sing 18 held obl 22 and and CCONJ _ 27 guard cc 23 his his PRON Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs 27 guard nmod:poss 24 formidable formidable ADJ Degree=Pos 27 guard amod 25 body body NOUN Number=Sing 27 guard compound 26 - - PUNCT _ 25 body punct 27 guard guard NOUN Number=Sing 21 Phineus conj 28 , , PUNCT _ 32 stiffened punct 29 whereupon whereupon ADV PronType=Int 32 stiffened advmod 30 they they PRON Case=Nom Number=Plur Person=3 PronType=Prs 32 stiffened nsubj 31 all all DET PronType=Tot 32 stiffened nsubj:pass 32 stiffened stiffen VERB Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass 21 Phineus acl:relcl 33 into into ADP _ 34 stone case 34 stone stone NOUN Number=Sing 32 stiffened obl 35 . . PUNCT _ 11 drew punct
# verb tense, mood who what, whom to whom where when other roles by
1 call gerund he not said here his friends vn animal_sounds-38 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent to friend=Recipient 2 avert to-infinitive he not said here friends's faces tree rules 3 draw past he it his wallet vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP PP.initial_location»: agent=Agent it=Theme from wallet=Initial_Location 4 hold past he not said here wallet Phineus and his formidable body guard vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent it=Theme before phineus=Location 5 stiffen participle · passive faces = face stone whereupon property vn other_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: subject=Patient
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.
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