whiff

Who acts: whiff, I, dog, explorers, Mole, batter · What happens: whiff, sign, smell, swing, miss, be · To what, where: smoke, something, danger, ball, sudden short puff, whiff · Speech: someone speaks here

«whiff» in the school dictionary: its 5 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: whiff in the school dictionary.

Meaning 1

Usage: noun — kept apart, not parsed.

A short smell, often brief or faint: «a whiff of smoke».

The tree, 11 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	A	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	3 smell	det
2	short	short	ADJ	Degree=Pos	3 smell	amod
3	smell	smell	NOUN	Number=Sing	root	root
4	,	,	PUNCT	_	6 brief	punct
5	often	often	ADV	_	6 brief	advmod
6	brief	brief	ADJ	Degree=Pos	3 smell	amod
7	or	or	CCONJ	_	8 faint	cc
8	faint	faint	ADJ	Degree=Pos	6 brief	conj
9	:	:	PUNCT	_	12 whiff	punct
10	«	«	PUNCT	_	12 whiff	punct
11	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	12 whiff	det
12	whiff	whiff	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 smell	appos
13	of	of	ADP	_	14 smoke	case
14	smoke	smoke	NOUN	Number=Sing	12 whiff	nmod
15	»	»	PUNCT	_	12 whiff	punct
16	.	.	PUNCT	_	3 smell	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	whiff in a quote			smoke					nom whiff «phenomenon transitive»: of=patient

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

Usage: noun — kept apart, not parsed.

A slight sign or hint of something: «a whiff of danger».

The tree, 11 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	A	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	3 sign	det
2	slight	slight	ADJ	Degree=Pos	3 sign	amod
3	sign	sign	NOUN	Number=Sing	root	root
4	or	or	CCONJ	_	5 hint	cc
5	hint	hint	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 sign	conj
6	of	of	ADP	_	7 something	case
7	something	something	PRON	Number=Sing PronType=Ind	3 sign	nmod
8	:	:	PUNCT	_	11 whiff	punct
9	«	«	PUNCT	_	11 whiff	punct
10	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	11 whiff	det
11	whiff	whiff	NOUN	Number=Sing	7 something	appos
12	of	of	ADP	_	13 danger	case
13	danger	danger	NOUN	Number=Sing	11 whiff	nmod
14	»	»	PUNCT	_	11 whiff	punct
15	.	.	PUNCT	_	3 sign	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	sign			something					nom sign «communication transitive»: of=patient
2	whiff in a quote			danger					nom whiff «phenomenon transitive»: of=patient

Meaning 3

Usage: verb, UK informal — kept apart, not parsed.

To smell bad: «Your trainers whiff!».

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	To	to	PART	_	2 smell	mark
2	smell	smell	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	8 whiff	advcl
3	bad	bad	ADJ	Degree=Pos	2 smell	xcomp
4	:	:	PUNCT	_	2 smell	punct
5	«	«	PUNCT	_	8 whiff	punct
6	Your	your	PRON	Case=Gen Person=2 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	7 trainers	nmod:poss
7	trainers	trainer	NOUN	Number=Plur	8 whiff	compound
8	whiff	whiff	NOUN	Number=Sing	root	root
9	!	!	PUNCT	_	8 whiff	punct
10	»	»	PUNCT	_	8 whiff	punct
11	.	.	PUNCT	_	8 whiff	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	smell	to-infinitive						bad property	vn stimulus_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus

Meaning 4

Usage: US, sport — kept apart, not parsed.

To swing at a ball and miss it completely.

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	To	to	PART	_	2 swing	mark
2	swing	swing	VERB	Mood=Imp VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	at	at	ADP	_	5 ball	case
4	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	5 ball	det
5	ball	ball	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 swing	obl
6	and	and	CCONJ	_	7 miss	cc
7	miss	miss	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	2 swing	conj
8	it	it	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	7 miss	obj
9	completely	completely	ADV	_	7 miss	advmod
10	.	.	PUNCT	_	2 swing	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	swing	to-infinitive				a ball			vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V PP.trajectory»: agent=Theme at ball=Trajectory
2	miss	present		ball				completely property	vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer it=Stimulus

Meaning 5

A whiff can also be a sudden, short puff of wind or breath.

The tree, 13 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	A	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	2 whiff	det
2	whiff	whiff	NOUN	Number=Sing	10 puff	nsubj
3	can	can	AUX	VerbForm=Fin	10 puff	aux
4	also	also	ADV	_	10 puff	advmod
5	be	be	AUX	VerbForm=Inf	10 puff	cop
6	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	10 puff	det
7	sudden	sudden	ADJ	Degree=Pos	10 puff	amod
8	,	,	PUNCT	_	7 sudden	punct
9	short	short	ADJ	Degree=Pos	10 puff	amod
10	puff	puff	NOUN	Number=Sing	root	root
11	of	of	ADP	_	12 wind	case
12	wind	wind	NOUN	Number=Sing	10 puff	nmod
13	or	or	CCONJ	_	14 breath	cc
14	breath	breath	NOUN	Number=Sing	12 wind	conj
15	.	.	PUNCT	_	10 puff	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	is a	can	a whiff	a sudden short puff				of wind or breath	tree rules

Example 1

I caught a whiff of fresh bread from the bakery.

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	I	I	PRON	Case=Nom Number=Sing Person=1 PronType=Prs	2 caught	nsubj
2	caught	catch	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=1 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	4 whiff	det
4	whiff	whiff	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 caught	obj
5	of	of	ADP	_	7 bread	case
6	fresh	fresh	ADJ	Degree=Pos	7 bread	amod
7	bread	bread	NOUN	Number=Sing	4 whiff	nmod
8	from	from	ADP	_	10 bakery	case
9	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	10 bakery	det
10	bakery	bakery	NOUN	Number=Sing	7 bread	nmod
11	.	.	PUNCT	_	2 caught	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	catch	past	I	a whiff of fresh bread from the bakery					vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent whiff=Theme
2	whiff			fresh bread from the bakery					nom whiff «phenomenon transitive»: of=patient

Example 2

There's a whiff of smoke — tell an adult now!

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	There	there	PRON	PronType=Dem	2 's	expl
2	's	be	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	4 whiff	det
4	whiff	whiff	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 's	nsubj
5	of	of	ADP	_	6 smoke	case
6	smoke	smoke	NOUN	Number=Sing	4 whiff	nmod
7	—	-	PUNCT	_	8 tell	punct
8	tell	tell	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	2 's	conj
9	an	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	10 adult	det
10	adult	adult	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 tell	obj
11	now	now	ADV	PronType=Dem	8 tell	advmod
12	!	!	PUNCT	_	2 's	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	roles by
1	be	present	a whiff of smoke			there		vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme
2	tell speech: assert	infinitive	a whiff of smoke not said here		a adult		now	vn transfer_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent adult=Recipient
3	whiff			smoke				nom whiff «phenomenon transitive»: of=patient

Example 3

Your football socks really whiff!

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	Your	your	PRON	Case=Gen Person=2 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	3 socks	nmod:poss
2	football	football	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 socks	compound
3	socks	sock	NOUN	Number=Plur	root	root
4	really	really	ADV	_	5 whiff	advmod
5	whiff	whiff	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 socks	nmod
6	!	!	PUNCT	_	3 socks	punct

The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

Example 4

The dog got a whiff of the fox and ran off.

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 got	nsubj
3	got	get	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
4	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	5 whiff	det
5	whiff	whiff	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 got	obj
6	of	of	ADP	_	8 fox	case
7	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	8 fox	det
8	fox	fox	NOUN	Number=Sing	5 whiff	nmod
9	and	and	CCONJ	_	10 ran	cc
10	ran	run	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	3 got	conj
11	off	off	ADP	_	10 ran	compound:prt
12	.	.	PUNCT	_	3 got	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	roles by
1	get	past	the dog	a whiff of the fox	vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer whiff=Stimulus
2	run off	past	the dog not said here		vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme
3	whiff			the fox	nom whiff «phenomenon transitive»: of=patient

Example 5

A whiff of danger made the explorers stop.

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	A	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	2 whiff	det
2	whiff	whiff	NOUN	Number=Sing	5 made	nsubj
3	of	of	ADP	_	4 danger	case
4	danger	danger	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 whiff	nmod
5	made	make	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
6	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	7 explorers	det
7	explorers	explorer	NOUN	Number=Plur	8 stop	nsubj
8	stop	stop	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	5 made	ccomp
9	.	.	PUNCT	_	5 made	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	roles by
1	make	past	a whiff of danger		tree rules
2	stop	present	the explorers		vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality
3	whiff			danger	nom whiff «phenomenon transitive»: of=patient

Example 6

Mole caught a whiff of his old home and longed to go back.

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	Mole	Mole	PROPN	Number=Sing	2 caught	nsubj
2	caught	catch	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	4 whiff	det
4	whiff	whiff	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 caught	obj
5	of	of	ADP	_	8 home	case
6	his	his	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	8 home	nmod:poss
7	old	old	ADJ	Degree=Pos	8 home	amod
8	home	home	NOUN	Number=Sing	4 whiff	nmod
9	and	and	CCONJ	_	10 longed	cc
10	longed	long	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	2 caught	conj
11	to	to	PART	_	12 go	mark
12	go	go	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	10 longed	xcomp
13	back	back	ADV	_	12 go	advmod
14	.	.	PUNCT	_	2 caught	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	roles by
1	catch	past	Mole	a whiff of Mole's old home	vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent whiff=Theme
2	long	past	Mole not said here		vn long-32.2 «NP V S_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme
3	go back not said to happen	to-infinitive	Mole not said here		vn convert-26.6.2 «NP V S_ING»: agent=Patient
4	whiff			Mole's old home	nom whiff «phenomenon transitive»: of=patient

Example 7

The batter whiffed the ball and was out.

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	The	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	2 batter	det
2	batter	batter	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 whiffed	nsubj
3	whiffed	whiff	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
4	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	5 ball	det
5	ball	ball	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 whiffed	obj
6	and	and	CCONJ	_	7 was	cc
7	was	be	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	3 whiffed	conj
8	out	out	ADP	_	7 was	compound:prt
9	.	.	PUNCT	_	3 whiffed	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	whiff	past	the batter	the ball					vn exhale-40.1.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ball=Theme
2	be out	past	the batter not said here						vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme

Example 8

Just then a whiff of wind came rushing by and pressed together the broken edges.

The tree, 15 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	Just	just	ADV	_	2 then	advmod
2	then	then	ADV	PronType=Dem	7 came	advmod
3	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	4 whiff	det
4	whiff	whiff	NOUN	Number=Sing	7 came	nsubj
5	of	of	ADP	_	6 wind	case
6	wind	wind	NOUN	Number=Sing	4 whiff	nmod
7	came	come	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
8	rushing	rush	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	7 came	xcomp
9	by	by	ADP	_	8 rushing	fixed
10	and	and	CCONJ	_	11 pressed	cc
11	pressed	press	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	8 rushing	conj
12	together	together	ADV	_	11 pressed	advmod
13	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	15 edges	det
14	broken	break	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	15 edges	amod
15	edges	edge	NOUN	Number=Plur	11 pressed	obj
16	.	.	PUNCT	_	7 came	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	when	other	roles by
1	come	past	a whiff of wind		then		tree rules
2	rush	gerund	a whiff of wind not said here				vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme
3	press	participle	a whiff of wind not said here	the broken edges		together property	vn push-12-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent edge=Theme
4	break	participle					vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient
5	whiff			wind			nom whiff «phenomenon transitive»: of=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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