---
title: enforceable — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «enforceable» in the school dictionary: A rule, law or agreement that is enforceable can really be made to happen: people can be made to obey it, and there is a way to punish or stop those who break it. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# enforceable

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** agreement, rule, people, way, contract, court · **What happens:** be, make, happen, obey, punish, stop · **To what, where:** rule, people, agreement, those, way, promises

<!-- .vabout -->
«enforceable» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 6 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: [enforceable in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/enforceable.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A rule, law or agreement that is enforceable can really be made to happen: people can be made to obey it, and there is a way to punish or stop those who break it.

<!-- fold The tree, 34 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:enforceable:m1:1
# text = A rule, law or agreement that is enforceable can really be made to happen: people can be made to obey it, and there is a way to punish or stop those who break it.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	rule	rule	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj:pass	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
4	law	law	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	agreement	agreement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	enforceable	enforceable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	acl:relcl	_	_
10	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
11	really	really	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
12	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	aux:pass	_	_
13	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
14	to	to	PART	TO	_	15	mark	_	_
15	happen	happen	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	20	punct	_	_
17	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	20	nsubj:pass	_	_
18	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	20	aux	_	_
19	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	20	aux:pass	_	_
20	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	13	parataxis	_	_
21	to	to	PART	TO	_	22	mark	_	_
22	obey	obey	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	20	xcomp	_	_
23	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	22	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	27	punct	_	_
25	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	27	cc	_	_
26	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	27	expl	_	_
27	is	be	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	20	advcl	_	_
28	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	29	det	_	_
29	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	27	nsubj	_	_
30	to	to	PART	TO	_	31	mark	_	_
31	punish	punish	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	29	acl	_	_
32	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	33	cc	_	_
33	stop	stop	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	31	conj	_	_
34	those	that	PRON	DT	Number=Plur|PronType=Dem	33	obj	_	_
35	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	36	nsubj	_	_
36	break	break	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	34	acl:relcl	_	_
37	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	36	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
38	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | agreement |  |  |  |  | enforceable *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **make** | can · passive |  | a rule and law or agreement |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **happen** | to-infinitive | a rule and law or agreement *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **make** | can · passive |  | people |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **obey** | to-infinitive | people *not said here* | agreement |  |  |  |  | vn abide\_by-93.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |
| 6 | **be** | present | a way |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 7 | **punish** | to-infinitive | a way *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn prosecute-33.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 8 | **stop** | infinitive | a way *not said here* | those |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Subeventuality that=Eventuality |
| 9 | **break** | present |  | way |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer it=Patient |

<!-- .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: law — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A contract is enforceable if a court will make the people in it keep their promises.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:enforceable:m2:1
# text = A contract is enforceable if a court will make the people in it keep their promises.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	contract	contract	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	enforceable	enforceable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	court	court	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
8	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
9	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	_
12	in	in	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
14	keep	keep	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	advcl	_	_
15	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	16	nmod:poss	_	_
16	promises	promise	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a contract |  |  |  |  | enforceable *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **make** *a condition, not said to happen* | future | a court | the people |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset people=Product |
| 3 | **keep** | present | court | people's promises |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent promise=Theme |
| 4 | **promise** |  | people |  |  |  |  |  | nom promise «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A rule is only useful if it is enforceable.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:enforceable:x1:1
# text = A rule is only useful if it is enforceable.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	rule	rule	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	only	only	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	useful	useful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	enforceable	enforceable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a rule |  |  |  |  | useful *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | rule |  |  |  |  | enforceable *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A promise made in a playground game is not legally enforceable.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:enforceable:x2:1
# text = A promise made in a playground game is not legally enforceable.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	promise	promise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
3	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	playground	playground	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
9	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
10	legally	legally	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	enforceable	enforceable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | participle |  | a promise *not said here* |  | a playground game |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |
| 2 | **not** **is** | present | a promise |  |  |  |  | enforceable, legally *property* | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The teacher made the rule enforceable by collecting phones at the door.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:enforceable:x3:1
# text = The teacher made the rule enforceable by collecting phones at the door.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	rule	rule	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	enforceable	enforceable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	_
7	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
8	collecting	collect	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	_
9	phones	phone	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	_
10	at	at	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	door	door	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | the teacher | the rule |  |  |  | enforceable *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent rule=Product |
| 2 | **collect** | gerund | the teacher *not said here* | phones |  | the door |  |  | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent phone=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Is a ban on running in the corridor enforceable?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:enforceable:x4:1
# text = Is a ban on running in the corridor enforceable?
1	Is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	ban	ban	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	on	on	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
5	running	run	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	acl	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	corridor	corridor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	enforceable	enforceable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present |  | a ban |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **run** | gerund | a ban *not said here* |  |  | the corridor |  | enforceable *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in corridor=Trajectory |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The contract is enforceable, so both sides must keep it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:enforceable:x5:1
# text = The contract is enforceable, so both sides must keep it.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	contract	contract	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	enforceable	enforceable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
6	so	so	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
7	both	both	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	8	det	_	_
8	sides	side	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
9	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	keep	keep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the contract |  |  |  |  | enforceable *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **keep** | must | both sides | contract |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A law against littering is hard to enforce on an empty beach, so it is barely enforceable there.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:enforceable:x6:1
# text = A law against littering is hard to enforce on an empty beach, so it is barely enforceable there.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	law	law	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	against	against	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	littering	littering	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	enforce	enforce	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	csubj	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	empty	empty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	beach	beach	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
14	so	so	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
16	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	18	cop	_	_
17	barely	barely	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
18	enforceable	enforceable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	_
19	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	18	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a law against littering |  |  |  |  | hard *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **enforce** | to-infinitive |  |  |  | a empty beach |  |  | vn enforce-63 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is** | present | law |  |  | there |  | barely, enforceable *property* | 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 -->

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