---
title: department — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «department» in the school dictionary: A department is one part of a big organisation, such as a school, company, shop or government, that deals with one kind of work: the science department, the fire department. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# department

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** department, that, department store, different sections, toy department, Mum · **What happens:** be, deal, sell, work, come, go off · **To what, where:** one part, large shop, many kinds, third floor, emergency department, arm

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A department is one part of a big organisation, such as a school, company, shop or government, that deals with one kind of work: the science department, the fire department.

<!-- fold The tree, 30 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:department:m1:1
# text = A department is one part of a big organisation, such as a school, company, shop or government, that deals with one kind of work: the science department, the fire department.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	department	department	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	part	part	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	organisation	organisation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
11	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=ADP	14	case	_	_
12	as	as	ADP	IN	_	11	fixed	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
16	company	company	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
18	shop	shop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	_
19	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	government	government	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	23	punct	_	_
22	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	23	nsubj	_	_
23	deals	deal	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
24	with	with	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
25	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	26	nummod	_	_
26	kind	kind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	obl	_	_
27	of	of	ADP	IN	_	28	case	_	_
28	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	32	punct	_	_
30	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	32	det	_	_
31	science	science	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	32	compound	_	_
32	department	department	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	36	punct	_	_
34	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	36	det	_	_
35	fire	fire	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	36	compound	_	_
36	department	department	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	32	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
37	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a department | one part and a school and company and shop or government and the science department and the fire department |  |  |  | of a big organisation | tree rules |
| 2 | **deal** | present | that |  |  |  |  | with one kind of work | vn cope-83 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent with kind=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 -->
A department store is a large shop with different sections selling many kinds of things.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:department:m2:1
# text = A department store is a large shop with different sections selling many kinds of things.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	department	department	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	store	store	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	large	large	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	shop	shop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	different	different	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	sections	section	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	_
11	selling	sell	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	10	acl	_	_
12	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	kinds	kind	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obj	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a department store | a large shop |  |  |  | with different sections | tree rules |
| 2 | **sell** | gerund | different sections *not said here* | many kinds of things |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent kind=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A particular area of activity, knowledge or interest.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:department:m3:1
# text = A particular area of activity, knowledge or interest.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	particular	particular	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	area	area	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	activity	activity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	knowledge	knowledge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	interest	interest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The toy department is on the third floor.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:department:x1:1
# text = The toy department is on the third floor.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	toy	toy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	department	department	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	third	third	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	8	amod	_	_
8	floor	floor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the toy department |  |  | the third floor |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum works in the sales department of a big company.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:department:x2:1
# text = Mum works in the sales department of a big company.
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	works	work	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	sales	sale	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	compound	_	_
6	department	department	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	company	company	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | present | Mum |  |  |  |  | in the sales department of a big company | vn employment-95.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent in department=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The fire department came quickly when the alarm went off.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:department:x3:1
# text = The fire department came quickly when the alarm went off.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	fire	fire	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	department	department	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	quickly	quickly	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
6	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	9	advmod	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	alarm	alarm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	went	go	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
10	off	off	ADP	RP	_	9	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | past | the fire department |  |  |  |  | quickly *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **go off** | past | the alarm |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-2 «NP V ADV»: agent=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We went to the emergency department when my brother broke his arm.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:department:x4:1
# text = We went to the emergency department when my brother broke his arm.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	went	go	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	emergency	emergency	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	department	department	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	10	advmod	_	_
8	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	broke	break	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
11	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	arm	arm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go** | past | We |  |  | the emergency department |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme to department=Initial\_Location |
| 2 | **break** | past | my brother | brother's arm |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer arm=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The science department has its own labs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:department:x5:1
# text = The science department has its own labs.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	science	science	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	department	department	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
6	own	own	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	labs	lab	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 | the science department | department's own labs |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent lab=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Department stores are busy before Christmas.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:department:x6:1
# text = Department stores are busy before Christmas.
1	Department	department	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	stores	store	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	busy	busy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	before	before	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	Christmas	Christmas	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Department stores |  |  |  | before Christmas | busy *property* | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Gallant little Wales has no name to rank alongside these; in this department the Cymru have shown less vigour than the Gaedhel.

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:department:x7:1
# text = Gallant little Wales has no name to rank alongside these; in this department the Cymru have shown less vigour than the Gaedhel.
1	Gallant	gallant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
2	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	Wales	Wales	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	6	det	_	_
6	name	name	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	rank	rank	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	acl	_	_
9	alongside	alongside	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	these	this	PRON	DT	Number=Plur|PronType=Dem	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	18	punct	_	_
12	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	14	det	_	_
14	department	department	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obl	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	Cymru	Cymru	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	18	nsubj	_	_
17	have	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	18	aux	_	_
18	shown	show	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	4	conj	_	_
19	less	less	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	20	amod	_	_
20	vigour	vigour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obj	_	_
21	than	than	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
22	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
23	Gaedhel	Gaedhel	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	20	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Gallant little Wales | no name |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent name=Patient |
| 2 | **rank** | to-infinitive | Gallant little Wales *not said here* | no name *not said here* |  |  |  | alongside these | vn masquerade-29.6 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **show** | present · perfect | the Cymru | less vigour |  |  |  | than the Gaedhel; in this department | vn crane-40.3.2 «NP V NP PP.recipient PP.theme»: agent=Agent vigour=Patient in department=Topic |

<!-- 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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