---
title: potsherd — Judaism dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «potsherd» in the Judaism dictionary: A broken piece of an old clay pot or dish, often found in the ground. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# potsherd

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Sharpest potsherds, he, Woe, She, archaeologist · **What happens:** break, find, be, spread, take, scrape · **To what, where:** broken piece, ground, threshing sledge, mire, him, himself

<!-- .vabout -->
«potsherd» in the Judaism dictionary: its meaning for a pupil and its 6 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: [potsherd in the Judaism dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/judaism/w/potsherd.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A broken piece of an old clay pot or dish, often found in the ground.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:judaism:potsherd:m1:1
# text = A broken piece of an old clay pot or dish, often found in the ground.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	broken	break	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	amod	_	_
3	piece	piece	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
5	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
6	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
7	clay	clay	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	pot	pot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	dish	dish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
12	often	often	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
13	found	find	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
14	in	in	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	ground	ground	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **break** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **find** | participle |  | a broken piece of a old clay pot or dish *not said here* |  | the ground |  | often *property* | vn declare-29.4-1-1 «NP V what S\_INF»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sharpest potsherds are under him; he spreadeth a threshing-sledge upon the mire. (Writings JOB.41.22, JPS 1917)

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Sharpest potsherds are under him; he spreadeth a threshing-sledge upon the mire.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:judaism:potsherd:x1:1
# text = Sharpest potsherds are under him; he spreadeth a threshing-sledge upon the mire.
1	Sharpest	sharp	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	2	amod	_	_
2	potsherds	potsherd	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	under	under	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	8	punct	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	spreadeth	spread	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Style=Arch|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
10	threshing	threshing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	sledge	sledge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
13	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	mire	mire	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | under him *= he* | tree rules |
| 2 | **spread** | present | Sharpest potsherds | a threshing sledge |  | the mire |  |  | vn spray-9.7-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent sledge=Theme upon mire=Destination |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* (Writings JOB.41.22, JPS 1917)

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:judaism:potsherd:x1:2
# text = (Writings JOB.41.22, JPS 1917)
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Writings	writing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
3	JOB.41.22	JOB.41.22	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	JPS	JPS	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	flat	_	_
6	1917	1917	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	3	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself therewith; and he sat among the ashes. (Writings JOB.2.8, JPS 1917)

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself therewith; and he sat among the ashes.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:judaism:potsherd:x2:1
# text = And he took him a potsherd to scrape himself therewith; and he sat among the ashes.
1	And	and	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
2	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	took	take	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	potsherd	potsherd	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	scrape	scrape	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
9	himself	himself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	8	obj	_	_
10	therewith	therewith	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
13	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
14	sat	sit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
15	among	among	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	ashes	ash	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | past | he | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP ADVP»: agent=Instrument he=Theme potsherd=Destination |
| 2 | **scrape** | to-infinitive | he *not said here* | himself *= he* |  |  |  | therewith *property* | vn cut-21.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent himself=Patient |
| 3 | **sit** | past | he |  |  | the ashes |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent among ash=Location |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* (Writings JOB.2.8, JPS 1917)

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:judaism:potsherd:x2:2
# text = (Writings JOB.2.8, JPS 1917)
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Writings	writing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
3	JOB.2.8	JOB.2.8	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	JPS	JPS	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	flat	_	_
6	1917	1917	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	3	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker, as a potsherd with the potsherds of the earth! (Prophets ISA.45.9, JPS 1917)

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker, as a potsherd with the potsherds of the earth!

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:judaism:potsherd:x3:1
# text = Woe unto him that striveth with his Maker, as a potsherd with the potsherds of the earth!
1	Woe	woe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	unto	unto	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	1	nmod	_	_
4	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
5	striveth	strive	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Style=Arch|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	Maker	maker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	as	as	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	potsherd	potsherd	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
13	with	with	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	potsherds	potsherd	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nmod	_	_
16	of	of	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	earth	earth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **strive** | present | Woe unto him |  |  |  |  | with Woe's Maker; as a potsherd with the potsherds of the earth | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* (Prophets ISA.45.9, JPS 1917)

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:judaism:potsherd:x3:2
# text = (Prophets ISA.45.9, JPS 1917)
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Prophets	prophet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
3	ISA.45.9	ISA.45.9	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	JPS	JPS	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	flat	_	_
6	1917	1917	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	3	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She asked to see the potsherd.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:judaism:potsherd:x4:1
# text = She asked to see the potsherd.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	asked	ask	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	potsherd	potsherd	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | She |  |  |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **see** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | She *not said here* | the potsherd |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer potsherd=Stimulus |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The archaeologist found a potsherd in the field.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:judaism:potsherd:x5:1
# text = The archaeologist found a potsherd in the field.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	archaeologist	archaeologist	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	found	find	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	potsherd	potsherd	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	field	field	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 | **find** | past | the archaeologist | a potsherd |  | the field |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent potsherd=Topic |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He gave the lad a piece of broken potsherd.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:judaism:potsherd:x6:1
# text = He gave the lad a piece of broken potsherd.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	lad	lad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	piece	piece	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	broken	break	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	9	amod	_	_
9	potsherd	potsherd	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | He | the lad |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent lad=Recipient piece=Theme |
| 2 | **break** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the Judaism 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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