---
title: effective — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «effective» in the school dictionary: Something effective works well and gives the result you want. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# effective

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Something, you, Effective, glue, Washing, paper towel · **What happens:** work, give, want, mean, start, be · **To what, where:** result, force, wood, hands, effective way, germs · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«effective» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 9 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: [effective in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/effective.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Something effective works well and gives the result you want.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:effective:m1:1
# text = Something effective works well and gives the result you want.
1	Something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	3	nsubj	_	_
2	effective	effective	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	amod	_	_
3	works	work	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	3	advmod	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	gives	give	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	result	result	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	want	want	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | present | Something |  |  |  |  | well *property* | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **give** | present | Something *not said here* | the result |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent result=Theme |
| 3 | **want** | present | you | the result *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot result=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}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Effective from a time means starting to be in force or used from then.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:effective:m2:1
# text = Effective from a time means starting to be in force or used from then.
1	Effective	effective	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	nsubj	_	_
2	from	from	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
5	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	starting	start	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	xcomp	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
8	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	cop	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	force	force	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	conj	_	_
13	from	from	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Effective |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **start** *not said to happen* | gerund | Effective *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 3 | **is** | to-infinitive |  |  |  | force |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **use** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Effective can mean real or actual, even if not official.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:effective:m3:1
# text = Effective can mean real or actual, even if not official.
1	Effective	effective	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	actual	actual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
8	even	even	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
9	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
10	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
11	official	official	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can | Effective |  |  |  |  | real *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
This glue is very effective on wood.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:effective:x1:1
# text = This glue is very effective on wood.
1	This	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	2	det	_	_
2	glue	glue	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	very	very	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	effective	effective	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	wood	wood	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | this glue |  |  | wood |  | effective *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Washing your hands is an effective way to stop germs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:effective:x2:1
# text = Washing your hands is an effective way to stop germs.
1	Washing	wash	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	csubj	_	_
2	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
3	hands	hand	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	effective	effective	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	stop	stop	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	acl	_	_
10	germs	germ	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wash** | gerund |  | your hands |  |  |  |  | vn floss-41.2.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hand=Patient |
| 2 | **is a** | present | Washing | a effective way |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **stop** | to-infinitive |  | germs |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Subeventuality germ=Eventuality |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which paper towel was most effective at soaking up water?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:effective:x3:1
# text = Which paper towel was most effective at soaking up water?
1	Which	which	DET	WDT	PronType=Int	2	det	_	_
2	paper	paper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	towel	towel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	6	advmod	_	_
6	effective	effective	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
7	at	at	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
8	soaking	soak	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	advcl	_	_
9	up	up	ADP	RP	_	8	compound:prt	_	_
10	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | paper towel |  |  |  |  | effective *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **soak up** | gerund | paper towel *not said here* | water |  |  |  |  | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1 «NP V NP.source»: agent=Agent water=Source |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The new timetable is effective from Monday.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:effective:x4:1
# text = The new timetable is effective from Monday.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	timetable	timetable	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	effective	effective	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	from	from	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	Monday	Monday	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the new timetable |  |  |  | monday | effective *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Her speech was short but effective.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:effective:x5:1
# text = Her speech was short but effective.
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	effective	effective	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | Her speech |  |  |  |  | short *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  | Her speech *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **speak** |  | Her *= she* |  |  |  |  |  | nom speech «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sun cream is less effective if you don't put more on after swimming.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:effective:x6:1
# text = Sun cream is less effective if you don't put more on after swimming.
1	Sun	Sun	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	cream	cream	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	less	less	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	5	advmod	_	_
5	effective	effective	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
7	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
8	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	10	advmod	_	_
10	put	put	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	_
11	more	more	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	10	obj	_	_
12	on	on	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
13	after	after	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
14	swimming	swim	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Sun cream |  |  |  |  | effective, less *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **put** *a condition, not said to happen* | present · do-support | you | more |  |  |  |  | vn invest-13.5.4-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent more=Goal |
| 3 | **swim** | gerund | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cheaper shoes were just as effective.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:effective:x7:1
# text = The cheaper shoes were just as effective.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	cheaper	cheap	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	3	amod	_	_
3	shoes	shoe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
4	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	just	just	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
6	as	as	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	effective	effective	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the cheaper shoes |  |  |  |  | effective *property* | tree rules |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Practising a little every day is more effective than cramming.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:effective:x8:1
# text = Practising a little every day is more effective than cramming.
1	Practising	practise	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	csubj	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	obj	_	_
4	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	5	det	_	_
5	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl:unmarked	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	more	more	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	8	advmod	_	_
8	effective	effective	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
9	than	than	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
10	cramming	cram	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **practise** | gerund |  | a little |  |  | day |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | Practising |  |  |  |  | effective *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **cram** | gerund | Practising *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
But their very familiarity and colloquialism make them remarkably effective with English-speaking little ones.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:effective:x9:1
# text = But their very familiarity and colloquialism make them remarkably effective with English-speaking little ones.
1	But	but	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
2	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
3	very	very	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	familiarity	familiarity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	colloquialism	colloquialism	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
7	make	make	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	_
9	remarkably	remarkably	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	effective	effective	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	xcomp	_	_
11	with	with	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
12	English	English	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	14	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	speaking	speak	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	advcl	_	_
15	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	ones	one	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present | their familiarity and colloquialism | them *= they* |  |  |  | effective *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset they=Product |
| 2 | **speak** *speech: other* | gerund | their familiarity and colloquialism *not said here* | little ones |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- 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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