---
title: checkers — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «checkers» in the school dictionary: Checkers is a board game for two players who move round flat pieces diagonally on a squared board and jump over the other player's pieces to capture them. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# checkers

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Checkers, two players, checker, person, you, 's · **What happens:** be, move, square, jump, capture, check · **To what, where:** board game, flat pieces, squared board, pieces, Checkers, round pieces

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Checkers is a board game for two players who move round flat pieces diagonally on a squared board and jump over the other player's pieces to capture them.

<!-- fold The tree, 29 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:checkers:m1:1
# text = Checkers is a board game for two players who move round flat pieces diagonally on a squared board and jump over the other player's pieces to capture them.
1	Checkers	checker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	board	board	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	players	player	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	_
9	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
10	move	move	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	_
11	round	round	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
12	flat	flat	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	pieces	piece	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	_
14	diagonally	diagonally	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
15	on	on	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
17	squared	square	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	18	amod	_	_
18	board	board	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
19	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	jump	jump	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	conj	_	_
21	over	over	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
22	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
23	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	24	amod	_	_
24	player	player	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	's	's	PART	POS	_	24	case	_	_
26	pieces	piece	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	20	obl	_	_
27	to	to	PART	TO	_	28	mark	_	_
28	capture	capture	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	20	advcl	_	_
29	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	28	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Checkers | a board game |  |  |  | for two players | tree rules |
| 2 | **move** | present | two players | flat pieces |  | a squared board |  | diagonally *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent piece=Theme |
| 3 | **square** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn correspond-36.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **jump** | infinitive | two players *not said here* |  |  | the other player's pieces |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme over piece=Trajectory |
| 5 | **capture** | to-infinitive | two players *not said here* | Checkers *= checker* |  |  |  |  | vn steal-10.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=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 -->
Checkers are the round pieces of this game.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:checkers:m2:1
# text = Checkers are the round pieces of this game.
1	Checkers	checker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	round	round	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	pieces	piece	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	8	det	_	_
8	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Checkers | the round pieces |  |  |  | of this game | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A checker can also be a person who checks things, like at a supermarket.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:checkers:m3:1
# text = A checker can also be a person who checks things, like at a supermarket.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	checker	checker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	cop	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	checks	check	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
10	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
12	like	like	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
13	at	at	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	supermarket	supermarket	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | can | a checker | a person |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **check** | present | a person | things |  |  |  | like a supermarket | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent thing=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Let's play a game of checkers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:checkers:x1:1
# text = Let's play a game of checkers.
1	Let	let	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	1	obj	_	_
3	play	play	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	xcomp	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	checkers	checker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **let** | imperative | you *not said here* | 's |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **play** | infinitive | 's *not said here* | a game of checkers |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent game=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Checkers is played on a board with 64 squares.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:checkers:x2:1
# text = Checkers is played on a board with 64 squares.
1	Checkers	checker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	played	play	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	board	board	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	64	64	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	9	nummod	_	_
9	squares	square	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 | **play** | present · passive |  | Checkers |  | a board |  | with 64 squares | vn play-114.2-1 «NP V NP PP.co-agent»: subject=Theme with square=Co-Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I jumped over two of his checkers in one go.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:checkers:x3:1
# text = I jumped over two of his checkers in one go.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	jumped	jump	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	over	over	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	checkers	checker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	10	nummod	_	_
10	go	go	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **jump** | past | I | two of his checkers |  | one go |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V NP PP.trajectory»: agent=Agent two=Theme in go=Trajectory |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
When your piece reaches the far side, it becomes a king.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:checkers:x4:1
# text = When your piece reaches the far side, it becomes a king.
1	When	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	4	advmod	_	_
2	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
3	piece	piece	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	reaches	reach	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	far	far	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	side	side	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	becomes	become	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **reach** | present | your piece | the far side |  |  |  |  | vn body\_motion-49.2-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Agent side=Theme |
| 2 | **become** | present | piece | a king |  |  |  |  | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandpa taught me how to play checkers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:checkers:x5:1
# text = Grandpa taught me how to play checkers.
1	Grandpa	Grandpa	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	taught	teach	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	iobj	_	_
4	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	play	play	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
7	checkers	checker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **teach** *speech: other* | past | Grandpa |  | me |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent i=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **play** | to-infinitive | Grandpa *not said here* | checkers |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent checker=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Checkers is easier to learn than chess.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:checkers:x6:1
# text = Checkers is easier to learn than chess.
1	Checkers	checker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	easier	easy	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	learn	learn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	csubj	_	_
6	than	than	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	chess	chess	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Checkers |  |  |  |  | easy *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **learn** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | than chess | vn learn-14-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The board has 8 rows of 8 squares, so 8 times 8 is 64.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:checkers:x7:1
# text = The board has 8 rows of 8 squares, so 8 times 8 is 64.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	board	board	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	8	8	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	rows	row	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	8	8	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	squares	square	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	so	so	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	8	8	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	12	nummod	_	_
12	times	time	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	conj	_	_
13	8	8	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	15	compound	_	_
14	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
15	64	64	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	12	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | the board | 8 rows of 8 squares and 8 times |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent row=Patient |
| 2 | **is a** | present |  | 8 64 |  |  |  |  | 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
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