---
title: despatch — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «despatch» in the school dictionary: To despatch something is to send it off, especially a parcel, letter or message. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# despatch

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** old, task, despatch, general, She, knight · **What happens:** despatch, be, do, mean, kill, send · **To what, where:** something, job, someone, them, war, parcel

<!-- .vabout -->
«despatch» in the school dictionary: its 4 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: [despatch in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/despatch.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To despatch something is to send it off, especially a parcel, letter or message.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:despatch:m1:1
# text = To despatch something is to send it off, especially a parcel, letter or message.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	despatch	despatch	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	advcl	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	send	send	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	off	off	ADP	RP	_	6	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	parcel	parcel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
14	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	_
15	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	message	message	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **despatch** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | send *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 -->
To despatch someone is to send them somewhere to do a job.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:despatch:m2:1
# text = To despatch someone is to send them somewhere to do a job.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	3	mark	_	_
2	despatch	despatch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	advcl	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	send	send	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	somewhere	somewhere	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	6	advmod	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	advcl	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	job	job	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | send, somewhere *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **do** | to-infinitive |  | a job |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent job=Eventuality |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To despatch a task is to do it quickly; (old) to despatch someone can mean to kill them.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:despatch:m3:1
# text = To despatch a task is to do it quickly; (old) to despatch someone can mean to kill them.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	despatch	despatch	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	18	advcl	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	task	task	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	ccomp	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	_
9	quickly	quickly	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	18	punct	_	_
11	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	12	punct	_	_
14	to	to	PART	TO	_	15	mark	_	_
15	despatch	despatch	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	advcl	_	_
16	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	15	obj	_	_
17	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	18	aux	_	_
18	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
19	to	to	PART	TO	_	20	mark	_	_
20	kill	kill	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	18	xcomp	_	_
21	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	20	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	18	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **despatch** | to-infinitive | old *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | a task |  |  |  |  | do, quickly *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **despatch** | to-infinitive | old *not said here* | someone |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **mean** | can | old |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 5 | **kill** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | old *not said here* | them *= they* |  |  |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=Theme |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A despatch is a sending, or an official report or message, for example from a war.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:despatch:m4:1
# text = A despatch is a sending, or an official report or message, for example from a war.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	despatch	despatch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	sending	send	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
8	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	official	official	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	report	report	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	parataxis	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	message	message	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
14	for	for	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	example	example	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
16	from	from	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	war	war	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **send** | present · progressive | a despatch |  |  | a war |  | for example | vn send-11.1-1 «NP V NP PP.initial\_location»: agent=Agent from war=Initial\_Location |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Your parcel was despatched this morning.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:despatch:x1:1
# text = Your parcel was despatched this morning.
1	Your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	parcel	parcel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	despatched	despatch	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	6	det	_	_
6	morning	morning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **despatch** | past · passive |  | Your parcel |  |  | morning |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The ambulance was despatched to the accident.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:despatch:x2:1
# text = The ambulance was despatched to the accident.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	ambulance	ambulance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	despatched	despatch	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	accident	accident	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 | **despatch** | past · passive |  | the ambulance |  |  |  | to the accident | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The general sent a despatch to London.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:despatch:x3:1
# text = The general sent a despatch to London.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	general	general	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	sent	send	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	despatch	despatch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	London	London	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **send** | past | the general | a despatch | London |  |  |  | vn confine-92-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent despatch=Theme to london=Destination |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She despatched her homework in ten minutes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:despatch:x4:1
# text = She despatched her homework in ten minutes.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	despatched	despatch	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	homework	homework	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	ten	ten	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	7	nummod	_	_
7	minutes	minute	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **despatch** | past | She | her homework |  |  | minute |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the old story, the knight despatched the dragon.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:despatch:x5:1
# text = In the old story, the knight despatched the dragon.
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	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	knight	knight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	despatched	despatch	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	dragon	dragon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **despatch** | past | the knight | the dragon |  | the old story |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Despatch riders carried messages in the war.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:despatch:x6:1
# text = Despatch riders carried messages in the war.
1	Despatch	despatch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	riders	rider	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	carried	carry	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	messages	message	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	war	war	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **carry** | past | Despatch riders | messages |  | the war |  |  | vn fit-54.3 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent message=Value in war=Location |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They then despatched a herald on board of her, demanding the surrender of Medea and the Fleece.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:despatch:x7:1
# text = They then despatched a herald on board of her, demanding the surrender of Medea and the Fleece.
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	3	advmod	_	_
3	despatched	despatch	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	herald	herald	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	board	board	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
11	demanding	demand	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	surrender	surrender	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	Medea	Medea	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	Fleece	Fleece	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	15	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **despatch** | past | They | a herald |  | board of her | then |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **demand** *speech: request* | gerund | They *not said here* | the surrender of Medea and the Fleece |  |  |  |  | vn require-103-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme surrender=Precondition |
| 3 | **surrender** |  |  | Medea and the Fleece |  |  |  |  | nom surrender «feeling transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- 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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