---
title: avoid — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «avoid» in the school dictionary: To avoid something means to keep away from it. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# avoid

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** you, lifeguards, your, She, People, We · **What happens:** avoid, mean, keep away, do, try, not do · **To what, where:** something, it, person, purpose, hands, answers · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«avoid» in the school dictionary: its 3 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: [avoid in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/avoid.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To avoid something means to keep away from it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:avoid:m1:1
# text = To avoid something means to keep away from it.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	avoid	avoid	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	csubj	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	keep	keep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	away	away	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
8	from	from	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **avoid** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn avoid-52 «NP V NP.location»: agent=Agent something=Location |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **keep away** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  | it |  | away *property* | vn forbid-64.4 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Causer from it=Eventuality |

<!-- .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 avoid doing something means to try not to do it or to stop it happening.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:avoid:m2:1
# text = To avoid doing something means to try not to do it or to stop it happening.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	avoid	avoid	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	csubj	_	_
3	doing	do	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	xcomp	_	_
4	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	3	obj	_	_
5	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	try	try	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	ccomp	_	_
8	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	10	advmod	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	xcomp	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	obj	_	_
12	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	stop	stop	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	conj	_	_
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	obj	_	_
16	happening	happen	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	14	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **avoid** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn avoid-52 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **do** | gerund |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Eventuality |
| 3 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 4 | **try** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 5 | **not** **do** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | it |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Eventuality |
| 6 | **stop** | to-infinitive |  | it |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 7 | **happen** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To avoid a person means to stay away from them on purpose.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:avoid:m3:1
# text = To avoid a person means to stay away from them on purpose.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	avoid	avoid	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	csubj	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	stay	stay	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	ccomp	_	_
8	away	away	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
9	from	from	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obl	_	_
11	on	on	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	purpose	purpose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **avoid** | to-infinitive |  | a person |  |  |  |  | vn avoid-52 «NP V NP.location»: agent=Agent person=Location |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **stay away** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  | purpose |  | from them *= they*; away *property* | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on purpose=Location |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Avoid swimming where there are no lifeguards.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:avoid:x1:1
# text = Avoid swimming where there are no lifeguards.
1	Avoid	avoid	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	swimming	swim	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	1	xcomp	_	_
3	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	5	advmod	_	_
4	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	5	expl	_	_
5	are	be	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
6	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	7	det	_	_
7	lifeguards	lifeguard	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **avoid** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn avoid-52 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **swim** | gerund | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **does** | present | no lifeguards |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Wash your hands to avoid getting sick.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:avoid:x2:1
# text = Wash your hands to avoid getting sick.
1	Wash	wash	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
3	hands	hand	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	avoid	avoid	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	advcl	_	_
6	getting	get	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	xcomp	_	_
7	sick	sick	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wash** | imperative | you *not said here* | your hands |  |  |  |  | vn floss-41.2.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hand=Patient |
| 2 | **avoid** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn avoid-52 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 3 | **get** | gerund | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | sick *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Check your answers to avoid silly mistakes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:avoid:x3:1
# text = Check your answers to avoid silly mistakes.
1	Check	check	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
3	answers	answer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	avoid	avoid	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	advcl	_	_
6	silly	silly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	mistakes	mistake	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **check** | imperative | you *not said here* | your answers |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent answer=Theme |
| 2 | **avoid** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* | silly mistakes |  |  |  |  | vn avoid-52 «NP V NP.location»: agent=Agent mistake=Location |
| 3 | **answer** |  | your |  |  |  |  |  | nom answer «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She avoided me all day because she was upset.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:avoid:x4:1
# text = She avoided me all day because she was upset.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	avoided	avoid	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	5	det	_	_
5	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl:unmarked	_	_
6	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
7	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	upset	upset	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **avoid** | past | She | me |  |  | day |  | vn avoid-52 «NP V NP.location»: agent=Agent i=Location |
| 2 | **is** | past | she |  |  |  |  | upset *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
People with a nut allergy must avoid nuts.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:avoid:x5:1
# text = People with a nut allergy must avoid nuts.
1	People	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
2	with	with	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	nut	nut	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	allergy	allergy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
6	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	avoid	avoid	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
8	nuts	nut	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **avoid** | must | People with a nut allergy | nuts |  |  |  |  | vn avoid-52 «NP V NP.location»: agent=Agent nut=Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We took a different road to avoid the traffic.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:avoid:x6:1
# text = We took a different road to avoid the traffic.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	took	take	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	different	different	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	road	road	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	avoid	avoid	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	traffic	traffic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | past | We | a different road |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent road=Theme |
| 2 | **avoid** | to-infinitive | We *not said here* | the traffic |  |  |  |  | vn avoid-52 «NP V NP.location»: agent=Agent traffic=Location |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Avoid looking straight at the Sun.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:avoid:x7:1
# text = Avoid looking straight at the Sun.
1	Avoid	avoid	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	looking	look	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	1	xcomp	_	_
3	straight	straight	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	Sun.	Sunday	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **avoid** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn avoid-52 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **look** | gerund | you *not said here* |  |  |  | sunday | straight *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He tried to avoid the puddles on the way to school.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:avoid:x8:1
# text = He tried to avoid the puddles on the way to school.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	tried	try	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	avoid	avoid	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	puddles	puddle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
10	to	to	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **try** | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **avoid** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | the puddles |  | the way to school |  |  | vn avoid-52 «NP V NP.location»: agent=Agent puddle=Location |

<!-- 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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