---
title: competence — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «competence» in the school dictionary: Competence is the ability to do something well enough or properly. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# competence

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Competence, someone, She, Swimming, Reading, court · **What happens:** be, do, have, show, swim, check · **To what, where:** ability, something, core competences, great competence, football pitch, competence

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Competence is the ability to do something well enough or properly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:competence:m1:1
# text = Competence is the ability to do something well enough or properly.
1	Competence	competence	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	ability	ability	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	acl	_	_
7	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	obj	_	_
8	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	6	advmod	_	_
9	enough	enough	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	properly	properly	ADV	RB	_	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Competence | the ability |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **do** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  | enough, well *property* | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=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}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A skill someone has: core competences.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:competence:m2:1
# text = A skill someone has: core competences.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	skill	skill	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	4	nsubj	_	_
4	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	7	punct	_	_
6	core	core	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	competences	competence	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | someone | core competences |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent competence=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She showed great competence on the football pitch.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:competence:x1:1
# text = She showed great competence on the football pitch.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	showed	show	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	competence	competence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	football	football	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	pitch	pitch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | past | She | great competence |  | the football pitch |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent competence=Recipient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Swimming competence is checked before the trip.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:competence:x2:1
# text = Swimming competence is checked before the trip.
1	Swimming	swim	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	csubj:pass	_	_
2	competence	competence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	checked	check	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	before	before	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	trip	trip	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swim** | gerund |  | competence |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme competence=Trajectory |
| 2 | **check** | present · passive | Swimming |  |  | the trip |  |  | vn search-35.2 «NP V PP.location»: before trip=Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The pilot's competence kept everyone safe.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:competence:x3:1
# text = The pilot's competence kept everyone safe.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	pilot	pilot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	competence	competence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	kept	keep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	everyone	everyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	5	obj	_	_
7	safe	safe	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | past | the pilot's competence | everyone |  |  |  | safe *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent everyone=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Reading competence improves with practice.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:competence:x4:1
# text = Reading competence improves with practice.
1	Reading	read	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	csubj	_	_
2	competence	competence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
3	improves	improve	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	practice	practice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **read** | gerund |  | competence |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent competence=Topic |
| 2 | **improve** | present | Reading |  |  |  |  | with practice | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent with practice=Instrument |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The court questioned his competence to manage money.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:competence:x5:1
# text = The court questioned his competence to manage money.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	court	court	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	questioned	question	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	competence	competence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	manage	manage	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
8	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **question** *speech: other* | past | the court | court's competence |  |  |  |  | vn interrogate-37.1.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent competence=Recipient |
| 2 | **manage** | to-infinitive | the court *not said here* | money |  |  |  |  | vn caring-75.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent money=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Her competence with computers helped the whole class.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:competence:x6:1
# text = Her competence with computers helped the whole class.
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	competence	competence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	with	with	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	computers	computer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
5	helped	help	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **help** | past | Her competence with computers | the whole class |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent class=Beneficiary |

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**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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