---
title: aspire — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «aspire» in the school dictionary: To aspire is to want very much to reach something great, such as a high place, a grand job or a better life. 2) (formal) To aspire to something is to hope to reach it one day. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# aspire

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**Who acts:** Many girls, poor boy, She · **What happens:** aspire, be, reach, swim · **To what, where:** something, life, tales, queens, doctor, little duckling

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«aspire» in the school dictionary: its meaning for a pupil and its 4 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: [aspire in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/aspire.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To aspire is to want very much to reach something great, such as a high place, a grand job or a better life. 2) (formal) To aspire to something is to hope to reach it one day.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* To aspire is to want very much to reach something great, such as a high place, a grand job or a better life.

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:aspire:m1:1
# text = To aspire is to want very much to reach something great, such as a high place, a grand job or a better life.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	aspire	aspire	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	csubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	want	want	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	very	very	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	much	much	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	reach	reach	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	_
10	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	9	obj	_	_
11	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
13	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=ADP	17	case	_	_
14	as	as	ADP	IN	_	13	fixed	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
16	high	high	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
17	place	place	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
19	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
20	grand	grand	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	21	amod	_	_
21	job	job	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	_
22	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	25	cc	_	_
23	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	25	det	_	_
24	better	good	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	25	amod	_	_
25	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **aspire** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | want *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **reach** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn body\_motion-49.2-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Agent something=Theme |

<!-- .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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* 2) (formal) To aspire to something is to hope to reach it one day.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:aspire:m1:2
# text = 2) (formal) To aspire to something is to hope to reach it one day.
1	2	2	NUM	LS	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	12	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	1	punct	_	_
3	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	formal	formal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	4	punct	_	_
6	To	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	aspire	aspire	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
8	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	7	obl	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	hope	hope	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	reach	reach	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	xcomp	_	_
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	obj	_	_
16	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	17	nummod	_	_
17	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **aspire** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | to something | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | hope *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **reach** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | life |  |  | day |  | vn body\_motion-49.2-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Agent it=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Many girls aspire to be queens in the tales.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:aspire:x1:1
# text = Many girls aspire to be queens in the tales.
1	Many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	girls	girl	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	aspire	aspire	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	cop	_	_
6	queens	queen	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	advcl	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	tales	tale	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **aspire** | present | Many girls |  |  | the tales |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is a** | to-infinitive | Many girls *not said here* | queens |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The poor boy aspires to a finer life.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:aspire:x2:1
# text = The poor boy aspires to a finer life.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	poor	poor	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	aspires	aspire	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	finer	finer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **aspire** | present | the poor boy |  |  |  |  | to a finer life | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She aspires to be a doctor one day.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:aspire:x3:1
# text = She aspires to be a doctor one day.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	aspires	aspire	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	doctor	doctor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
7	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **aspire** | present | She |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is a** | to-infinitive |  | a doctor |  |  | day |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The little duckling aspired to swim with the swans.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:aspire:x4:1
# text = The little duckling aspired to swim with the swans.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	duckling	duckling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	aspired	aspire	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	swim	swim	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	swans	swan	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **aspire** | participle |  | the little duckling *not said here* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **swim** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | with the swans | vn swarm-47.5.1-1 «PP.location V PP.theme»: agent=Location with swan=Theme |

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**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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