---
title: auction — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «auction» in the school dictionary: An auction is a public sale where things are sold to the person who offers the most money. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# auction

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** auction, person, people, set time, school, Dad · **What happens:** be, sell, offer, auction, auction off, hold · **To what, where:** public sale, things, person, money, something, it · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«auction» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 7 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: [auction in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/auction.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An auction is a public sale where things are sold to the person who offers the most money.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:auction:m1:1
# text = An auction is a public sale where things are sold to the person who offers the most money.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	auction	auction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	public	public	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	sale	sale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	10	advmod	_	_
8	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj:pass	_	_
9	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux:pass	_	_
10	sold	sell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	acl	_	_
11	to	to	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
14	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	15	nsubj	_	_
15	offers	offer	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	acl:relcl	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
17	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	18	advmod	_	_
18	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a auction | a public sale |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **sell** | present · passive |  | things | the person |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: subject=Theme to person=Recipient |
| 3 | **offer** | present | the person | the money |  |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent money=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.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To auction something (or auction it off) is to sell it at an auction.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:auction:m2:1
# text = To auction something (or auction it off) is to sell it at an auction.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	auction	auction	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	advcl	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	auction	auction	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	conj	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	off	off	ADP	RP	_	6	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	6	punct	_	_
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	sell	sell	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	_
14	at	at	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	auction	auction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **auction** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn price-54.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Theme |
| 2 | **auction off** | infinitive |  | it |  |  |  |  | vn price-54.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |
| 3 | **is** | present |  |  |  | a auction |  | sell *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An online auction is one held on a website, where people bid until a set time ends.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:auction:m3:1
# text = An online auction is one held on a website, where people bid until a set time ends.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	online	online	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	auction	auction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux:pass	_	_
5	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	6	nsubj:pass	_	_
6	held	hold	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	website	website	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
11	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	13	advmod	_	_
12	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	nsubj	_	_
13	bid	bid	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	acl:relcl	_	_
14	until	until	SCONJ	IN	_	18	mark	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
16	set	set	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	compound	_	_
17	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nsubj	_	_
18	ends	end	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold** | present · passive |  | a online auction |  | a website |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: subject=Theme on website=Location |
| 2 | **bid** | past | people |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **end** | present | a set time |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The painting was sold at auction.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:auction:x1:1
# text = The painting was sold at auction.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	painting	painting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	sold	sell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	auction	auction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sell** | past · passive |  | the painting |  | auction |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.asset»: subject=Theme at auction=Asset |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our school held an auction to raise money for the library.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:auction:x2:1
# text = Our school held an auction to raise money for the library.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	held	hold	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	auction	auction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	raise	raise	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
8	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	library	library	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold** | past | Our school | a auction |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent auction=Theme |
| 2 | **raise** | to-infinitive | Our school *not said here* | money |  |  |  | for the library | vn put\_direction-9.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent money=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dad bid on a bike in an online auction.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:auction:x3:1
# text = Dad bid on a bike in an online auction.
1	Dad	dad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	bid	bid	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	bike	bike	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	online	online	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	auction	auction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bid** | past | Dad |  |  | a bike |  | in a online auction | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The farm was auctioned off.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:auction:x4:1
# text = The farm was auctioned off.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	farm	farm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	auctioned	auction	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	off	off	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **auction off** | past · passive |  | the farm |  |  |  |  | vn price-54.4 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The highest bid wins the auction.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:auction:x5:1
# text = The highest bid wins the auction.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	highest	high	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	3	amod	_	_
3	bid	bid	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	wins	win	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	auction	auction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **win** | present | the highest bid | the auction |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent auction=Eventuality |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Going, going, gone!» shouted the auctioneer.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:auction:x6:1
# text = «Going, going, gone!» shouted the auctioneer.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Going	go	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	9	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
4	going	go	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	gone	go	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
9	shouted	shout	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	auctioneer	auctioneer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go** *in a quote* | gerund | the auctioneer *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **go** *in a quote* | gerund | the auctioneer *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **go** *in a quote* | participle | the auctioneer *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **shout** *speech: express* | past | the auctioneer |  |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
At the auction, Ella bid 15 pounds and Tom bid 18; Tom won by 3 pounds.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:auction:x7:1
# text = At the auction, Ella bid 15 pounds and Tom bid 18; Tom won by 3 pounds.
1	At	at	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	auction	auction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	Ella	Ella	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	bid	bid	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	15	15	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	pounds	pound	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
10	Tom	Tom	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
11	bid	bid	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
12	18	18	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	15	punct	_	_
14	Tom	Tom	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	15	nsubj	_	_
15	won	win	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
16	by	by	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	3	3	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	18	nummod	_	_
18	pounds	pound	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bid** | past | Ella | 15 pounds |  | the auction |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **bid** | past | Tom | 18 |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **win** | past | Tom |  |  |  |  | by 3 pounds | vn succeed-74-2 «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 -->

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