---
title: boomerang — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «boomerang» in the school dictionary: A curved, flat piece of wood that comes back to you when you throw it the right way, first made by Aboriginal Australians. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# boomerang

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** curved flat piece, you, place, person, He, boomerang · **What happens:** curve, come back, throw, make, start, have · **To what, where:** you, piece, place, opposite effect, person, boomerang

<!-- .vabout -->
«boomerang» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings 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: [boomerang in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/boomerang.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A curved, flat piece of wood that comes back to you when you throw it the right way, first made by Aboriginal Australians.

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:boomerang:m1:1
# text = A curved, flat piece of wood that comes back to you when you throw it the right way, first made by Aboriginal Australians.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
2	curved	curve	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	flat	flat	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	piece	piece	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	wood	wood	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
8	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	comes	come	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	back	back	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
11	to	to	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	9	obl	_	_
13	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	15	advmod	_	_
14	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
15	throw	throw	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	advcl	_	_
16	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	obj	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
18	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
21	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	22	advmod	_	_
22	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	15	conj	_	_
23	by	by	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
24	Aboriginal	aboriginal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	25	amod	_	_
25	Australians	Australian	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	22	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **curve** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn knead-26.5 «NP.material V PP.product»: agent=Material |
| 2 | **come back** | present | a curved flat piece of wood |  | you |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme to you=Initial\_Location |
| 3 | **throw** | present | you | piece |  |  |  | the right way *obl:unmarked* | vn throw-17.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |
| 4 | **make** | participle | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | by Aboriginal Australians; first *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |

<!-- .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}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: verb — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To come back to the place it started; to have the opposite effect from what was intended, often hurting the person who did it.

<!-- fold The tree, 24 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:boomerang:m2:1
# text = To come back to the place it started; to have the opposite effect from what was intended, often hurting the person who did it.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	advcl	_	_
3	back	back	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	place	place	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	started	start	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	have	have	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	opposite	opposite	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	effect	effect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
15	from	from	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	14	nmod	_	_
17	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	18	aux:pass	_	_
18	intended	intend	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	16	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
20	often	often	ADV	RB	_	21	advmod	_	_
21	hurting	hurt	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	11	advcl	_	_
22	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
23	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	obj	_	_
24	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	25	nsubj	_	_
25	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	23	acl:relcl	_	_
26	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	25	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come back** | to-infinitive |  |  |  | the place |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme to place=Initial\_Location |
| 2 | **start** | past | place | the place *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent place=Eventuality |
| 3 | **have** | to-infinitive |  | the opposite effect |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent effect=Patient |
| 4 | **intend** | past · passive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1-1 «NP V S\_ING» |
| 5 | **hurt** | gerund |  | the person |  |  |  | often *property* | vn hurt-40.8.3-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer person=Patient |
| 6 | **do** | past | the person | person |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Eventuality |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He threw the boomerang and it flew back to him.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:boomerang:x1:1
# text = He threw the boomerang and it flew back to him.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	threw	throw	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	boomerang	boomerang	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	flew	fly	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
8	back	back	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
9	to	to	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **throw** | past | He | the boomerang |  |  |  |  | vn throw-17.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent boomerang=Theme |
| 2 | **fly back** | past | boomerang |  | him *= he* |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.result»: agent=Theme to he=Result |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Aboriginal hunters used boomerangs for thousands of years.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:boomerang:x2:1
# text = Aboriginal hunters used boomerangs for thousands of years.
1	Aboriginal	aboriginal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	hunters	hunter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	used	use	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	boomerangs	boomerang	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	thousands	thousand	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | past | Aboriginal hunters | boomerangs |  |  |  | for thousands of years | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP PP.predicate»: agent=Agent boomerang=Theme for thousand=Eventuality |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
His trick boomeranged and he got into trouble himself.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:boomerang:x3:1
# text = His trick boomeranged and he got into trouble himself.
1	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	trick	trick	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	boomeranged	boomerang	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
5	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	got	get	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
7	into	into	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	trouble	trouble	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
9	himself	himself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **boomerang** | participle | His trick |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **get** | past | trick | trick |  | trouble |  |  | vn escape-51.1 «NP V PP.destination»: agent=Theme into trouble=Destination |
| 3 | **trick** |  | His *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom trick «act transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Not all boomerangs come back.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:boomerang:x4:1
# text = Not all boomerangs come back.
1	Not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
2	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	3	det	_	_
3	boomerangs	boomerang	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	come	come	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	back	back	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **come back** | present | all boomerangs |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Throwing a boomerang takes practice.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:boomerang:x5:1
# text = Throwing a boomerang takes practice.
1	Throwing	throw	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	csubj	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	boomerang	boomerang	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	takes	take	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	practice	practice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **throw** | gerund |  | a boomerang |  |  |  |  | vn throw-17.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent boomerang=Theme |
| 2 | **take** | present | Throwing | practice |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent practice=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The rumour boomeranged back to her.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:boomerang:x6:1
# text = The rumour boomeranged back to her.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	rumour	rumour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	boomeranged	boomerang	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	back	back	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **boomerang back** | participle |  | the rumour *not said here* | her *= she* |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- 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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