---
title: contention — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «contention» in the school dictionary: An argument or quarrel between people, often about who is right. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/contention/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [C](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/) / contention

# contention

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** argument, you, point, two boys, crows, long contention · **What happens:** be, argue, claim, have, contend · **To what, where:** point, view, contention, ball, long contention, 12

<!-- .vabout -->
«contention» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 3 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: [contention in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/contention.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An argument or quarrel between people, often about who is right.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:contention:m1:1
# text = An argument or quarrel between people, often about who is right.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	argument	argument	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	quarrel	quarrel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
5	between	between	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
8	often	often	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
9	about	about	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
10	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	12	nsubj	_	_
11	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
12	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a argument or quarrel between people |  |  |  |  | often, right *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .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 -->
A point that you argue for; a view you claim is true.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:contention:m2:1
# text = A point that you argue for; a view you claim is true.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	point	point	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
3	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	5	obj	_	_
4	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	argue	argue	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	view	view	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
10	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	claim	claim	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	acl:relcl	_	_
12	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	cop	_	_
13	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **argue** *speech: disagree* | present | you | a point |  |  |  |  | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent that=Topic |
| 2 | **claim** *speech: other* | present | you | a view *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent view=Topic |
| 3 | **is** | present | a point |  |  |  |  | true *property* | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The two boys had a contention over the ball.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:contention:x1:1
# text = The two boys had a contention over the ball.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	3	nummod	_	_
3	boys	boy	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	contention	contention	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	over	over	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	ball	ball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | the two boys | a contention |  | the ball |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent contention=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The crows had a long contention about who was the best singer.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:contention:x2:1
# text = The crows had a long contention about who was the best singer.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	crows	crow	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	contention	contention	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	about	about	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
8	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	12	nsubj	_	_
9	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	12	amod	_	_
12	singer	singer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | the crows | a long contention |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent contention=Patient |
| 2 | **is** | past | a long contention |  |  |  |  | about the best singer | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My contention is that the answer is 12.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:contention:x3:1
# text = My contention is that the answer is 12.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	contention	contention	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
4	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	12	12	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | My contention | 12 |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **contend** |  | My |  |  |  |  |  | nom contention «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- 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 -->
- ← previous: [contentedly](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/contentedly/)
- next →: [contentment](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/contentment/)
- ↑ back to [C in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/)