---
title: commerce — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «commerce» in the school dictionary: Commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services, especially in large amounts between companies and countries. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# commerce

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Commerce, London, it, river, Mum, small e-commerce shop · **What happens:** be, sell, mean, become, carry, run · **To what, where:** buying, whole world, dealings, great centre, commerce, farms · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«commerce» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 9 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: [commerce in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/commerce.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services, especially in large amounts between companies and countries.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:commerce:m1:1
# text = Commerce is the buying and selling of goods and services, especially in large amounts between companies and countries.
1	Commerce	commerce	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	buying	buying	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	selling	sell	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	conj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	goods	goods	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	6	obl	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	services	service	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
12	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	large	large	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	amounts	amount	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	conj	_	_
16	between	between	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	companies	company	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	nmod	_	_
18	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
19	countries	country	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Commerce | the buying and large amounts between companies and countries |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **sell** | gerund | Commerce *not said here* |  |  |  |  | of goods and services | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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: formal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Commerce is the whole world of trade and business in a place, such as shops, banks and markets.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:commerce:m2:1
# text = Commerce is the whole world of trade and business in a place, such as shops, banks and markets.
1	Commerce	commerce	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	world	world	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	trade	trade	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	business	business	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	place	place	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
14	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=ADP	16	case	_	_
15	as	as	ADP	IN	_	14	fixed	_	_
16	shops	shop	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
18	banks	bank	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	conj	_	_
19	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	markets	market	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Commerce | the whole world and business in a place |  |  |  | of trade | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Commerce can mean dealings or contact between people.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:commerce:m3:1
# text = Commerce can mean dealings or contact between people.
1	Commerce	commerce	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	dealings	dealing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	contact	contact	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
7	between	between	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	people	people	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 | **mean** | can | Commerce | dealings or contact between people |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent dealing=Topic |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
London became rich because it was a great centre of commerce.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:commerce:x1:1
# text = London became rich because it was a great centre of commerce.
1	London	London	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	became	become	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	rich	rich	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
4	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
5	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
6	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	centre	centre	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	xcomp	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	commerce	commerce	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 | **become** | past | London |  |  |  |  | rich *property* | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **is a** | past | it | a great centre |  |  |  | of commerce | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The river carried commerce from the farms to the city.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:commerce:x2:1
# text = The river carried commerce from the farms to the city.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	river	river	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	carried	carry	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	commerce	commerce	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	farms	farm	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
8	to	to	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	city	city	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **carry** | past | the river | commerce |  | the farms |  | to the city | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP PP.initial\_location PP.destination»: agent=Agent commerce=Theme from farm=Initial\_Location to city=Destination |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum runs a small e-commerce shop that sells knitted hats online.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:commerce:x3:1
# text = Mum runs a small e-commerce shop that sells knitted hats online.
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	runs	run	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
4	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
5	e-commerce	e-commerce	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	shop	shop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
8	sells	sell	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
9	knitted	knit	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	amod	_	_
10	hats	hat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	_
11	online	online	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **run** | present | Mum | a small e-commerce shop |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme shop=Trajectory |
| 2 | **sell** | present | a small e-commerce shop | knitted hats |  |  |  | online *property* | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hat=Theme |
| 3 | **knit** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The chamber of commerce gave a prize to the best bakery in town.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:commerce:x4:1
# text = The chamber of commerce gave a prize to the best bakery in town.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	chamber	chamber	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	commerce	commerce	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	prize	prize	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	to	to	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	11	amod	_	_
11	bakery	bakery	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
12	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	town	town	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | the chamber of commerce | a prize | the best bakery in town |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent prize=Theme to bakery=Recipient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Roads and railways helped commerce grow across Canada.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:commerce:x5:1
# text = Roads and railways helped commerce grow across Canada.
1	Roads	road	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	railways	railway	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	conj	_	_
4	helped	help	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	commerce	commerce	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	grow	grow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	across	across	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	Canada	Canada	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **help** | past | Roads and railways |  |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **grow** | infinitive | commerce |  |  | Canada |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the old port, commerce went on from dawn till dark.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:commerce:x6:1
# text = In the old port, commerce went on from dawn till dark.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	port	port	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
6	commerce	commerce	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	went	go	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	on	on	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
9	from	from	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	dawn	dawn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
11	till	till	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	dark	dark	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go on** | past | commerce |  |  | the old port | till dark; dawn |  | vn occur-48.3 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme in port=Location |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our class learned how commerce works by running a pretend market.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:commerce:x7:1
# text = Our class learned how commerce works by running a pretend market.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	learned	learn	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
5	commerce	commerce	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	works	work	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
7	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
8	running	run	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	advcl	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	pretend	pretend	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	market	market	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **learn** | past | Our class |  |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V what S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **work** | present | commerce |  |  |  |  |  | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **run** | gerund | commerce *not said here* | a pretend market |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme market=Trajectory |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sailors brought spices to Europe through commerce with Asia.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:commerce:x8:1
# text = Sailors brought spices to Europe through commerce with Asia.
1	Sailors	sailor	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	brought	bring	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	spices	spice	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	Europe	Europe	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	through	through	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	commerce	commerce	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	Asia	Asia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bring** | past | Sailors | spices | Europe | commerce with Asia |  |  | vn bring-11.3-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent spice=Theme to europe=Destination |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mercury was the Roman god of commerce and gain.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:commerce:x9:1
# text = Mercury was the Roman god of commerce and gain.
1	Mercury	Mercury	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	Roman	roman	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	god	god	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	commerce	commerce	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	gain	gain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | Mercury | the Roman god and gain |  |  |  | of commerce | 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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