---
title: drift — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «drift» in the school dictionary: To drift means to be carried slowly along by water or air, without control. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# drift

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** drift, someone, Leaves, I, snow, you · **What happens:** drift, mean, carry, move, change, drift off · **To what, where:** big pile, sand, drift, general meaning, boat, river · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«drift» in the school dictionary: its 4 meanings for a pupil and its 8 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: [drift in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/drift.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To drift means to be carried slowly along by water or air, without control.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:drift:m1:1
# text = To drift means to be carried slowly along by water or air, without control.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	drift	drift	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	csubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	aux:pass	_	_
6	carried	carry	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	ccomp	_	_
7	slowly	slowly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
8	along	along	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	by	by	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
14	without	without	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	control	control	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **drift** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **carry** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive · passive |  |  |  |  |  | along water or air; slowly *property* | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP» |

<!-- .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 drift means to move or change slowly without a plan: drift off to sleep, drift apart.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:drift:m2:1
# text = To drift means to move or change slowly without a plan: drift off to sleep, drift apart.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	drift	drift	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	csubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	move	move	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	change	change	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
8	slowly	slowly	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
9	without	without	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	plan	plan	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	13	punct	_	_
13	drift	drift	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
14	off	off	ADP	RP	_	13	compound:prt	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	sleep	sleep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
18	drift	drift	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	13	conj	_	_
19	apart	apart	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **drift** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **move** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | without a plan; slowly *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **change** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 5 | **drift off** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn change\_bodily\_state-40.8.4 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 6 | **sleep** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn snooze-40.4-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 7 | **drift apart** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | apart *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A drift is a big pile of snow or sand blown by the wind.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:drift:m3:1
# text = A drift is a big pile of snow or sand blown by the wind.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	drift	drift	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	pile	pile	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	snow	snow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	sand	sand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
11	blown	blow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	acl	_	_
12	by	by	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	wind	wind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a drift | a big pile or sand |  |  |  | of snow | tree rules |
| 2 | **blow** | participle |  | sand *not said here* |  |  |  | by the wind | vn split-23.2 «NP V apart»: agent=Patient |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The drift of what someone says is its general meaning.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:drift:m4:1
# text = The drift of what someone says is its general meaning.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	drift	drift	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	6	obj	_	_
5	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	nsubj	_	_
6	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
8	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
9	general	general	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	meaning	meaning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | someone | the drift |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |
| 2 | **is a** | present | the drift | drift's general meaning |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The boat drifted down the river.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:drift:x1:1
# text = The boat drifted down the river.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	boat	boat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	drifted	drift	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	down	down	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	river	river	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **drift** | participle |  | the boat *not said here* |  | the river |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme down river=Trajectory |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Leaves drifted slowly to the ground.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:drift:x2:1
# text = Leaves drifted slowly to the ground.
1	Leaves	leaf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	drifted	drift	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	slowly	slowly	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	ground	ground	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **drift** | past | Leaves |  |  | the ground |  | slowly *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme to ground=Destination |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I drifted off to sleep during the film.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:drift:x3:1
# text = I drifted off to sleep during the film.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	drifted	drift	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	off	off	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	sleep	sleep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
6	during	during	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	film	film	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **drift off** | past | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn change\_bodily\_state-40.8.4 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **sleep** | to-infinitive | I *not said here* |  |  |  | during the film |  | vn snooze-40.4-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The snow made huge drifts by the door.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:drift:x4:1
# text = The snow made huge drifts by the door.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	snow	snow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	huge	huge	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	drifts	drift	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	door	door	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | the snow | huge drifts |  |  |  | by the door | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset drift=Product |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Don't let your inflatable drift out to sea.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:drift:x5:1
# text = Don't let your inflatable drift out to sea.
1	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	let	let	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
5	inflatable	inflatable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	drift	drift	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	out	out	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
8	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **let** | imperative · do-support | you *not said here* | your inflatable drift |  |  |  | out *property* | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent drift=Theme |
| 2 | **drift** |  | your |  |  |  |  |  | nom drift «phenomenon transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The continents drift very slowly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:drift:x6:1
# text = The continents drift very slowly.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	continents	continent	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	drift	drift	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	very	very	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	slowly	slowly	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **drift** | present | the continents |  |  |  |  | slowly *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Do you get my drift?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:drift:x7:1
# text = Do you get my drift?
1	Do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
2	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	get	get	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	drift	drift	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** | present · do-support | you | my drift |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer drift=Stimulus |
| 2 | **drift** |  | my |  |  |  |  |  | nom drift «phenomenon transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The boat drifted farther and farther away.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:drift:x8:1
# text = The boat drifted farther and farther away.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	boat	boat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	drifted	drift	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	farther	far	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	7	advmod	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	farther	far	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	4	conj	_	_
7	away	away	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **drift** | past | the boat |  |  |  |  | away *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- 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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