---
title: ethics — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «ethics» in the school dictionary: Ethics are the ideas about what is right and wrong that guide how people act. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# ethics

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Ethics, ideas, that, people, philosophy, doctor · **What happens:** be, guide, act, think about, keep, argue · **To what, where:** ideas, school subject, rules, secrets, ethics class, animals · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ethics are the ideas about what is right and wrong that guide how people act.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ethics:m1:1
# text = Ethics are the ideas about what is right and wrong that guide how people act.
1	Ethics	ethic	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	ideas	idea	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
5	about	about	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
6	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	8	nsubj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	advcl	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	conj	_	_
11	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	12	nsubj	_	_
12	guide	guide	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
13	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	15	advmod	_	_
14	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	nsubj	_	_
15	act	act	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Ethics | the ideas |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | the ideas |  |  |  |  | right *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **be** |  | the ideas *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **guide** | present | that |  |  |  |  |  | vn accompany-51.7 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 5 | **act** | present | people |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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 -->
Ethics is a school subject or part of philosophy that thinks about right and wrong, fairness, and how to be good.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ethics:m2:1
# text = Ethics is a school subject or part of philosophy that thinks about right and wrong, fairness, and how to be good.
1	Ethics	ethics	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	subject	subject	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	part	part	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	philosophy	philosophy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
10	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
11	thinks	think	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	acl:relcl	_	_
12	about	about	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
13	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	xcomp	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
17	fairness	fairness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	23	punct	_	_
19	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	23	cc	_	_
20	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	23	advmod	_	_
21	to	to	PART	TO	_	23	mark	_	_
22	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	23	cop	_	_
23	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Ethics | a school subject or part of philosophy |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **think about** *speech: other* | present | philosophy |  |  |  |  | right *property* | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is** | to-infinitive | Ethics *not said here* |  |  |  |  | good *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The ethics of a job are its rules for honest behaviour, like a doctor keeping your secrets.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ethics:m3:1
# text = The ethics of a job are its rules for honest behaviour, like a doctor keeping your secrets.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	ethics	ethic	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	job	job	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	rules	rule	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	honest	honest	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	behaviour	behaviour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
13	like	like	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	doctor	doctor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	appos	_	_
16	keeping	keep	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	15	acl	_	_
17	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	18	nmod:poss	_	_
18	secrets	secret	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the ethics of a job | job's rules |  |  |  | for honest behaviour | tree rules |
| 2 | **keep** | gerund | a doctor *not said here* | your secrets |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent secret=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In ethics class we argued about whether lying is ever right.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ethics:x1:1
# text = In ethics class we argued about whether lying is ever right.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	ethics	ethic	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	compound	_	_
3	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
4	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	argued	argue	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	about	about	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
7	whether	whether	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
8	lying	lying	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
10	ever	ever	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	11	advmod	_	_
11	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **argue** *speech: disagree* | past | we |  |  | ethics class |  |  | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | lying |  |  |  | ever | right *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The ethics of keeping animals in zoos is a big question.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ethics:x2:1
# text = The ethics of keeping animals in zoos is a big question.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	ethics	ethic	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	4	mark	_	_
4	keeping	keep	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	acl	_	_
5	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	zoos	zoo	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	question	question	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | gerund | the ethics *not said here* | animals |  | zoos |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent animal=Theme in zoo=Location |
| 2 | **is a** | present | the ethics | a big question |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Doctors follow a strict code of ethics.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ethics:x3:1
# text = Doctors follow a strict code of ethics.
1	Doctors	doctor	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	follow	follow	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	strict	strict	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	code	code	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	ethics	ethic	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | present | Doctors | a strict code of ethics |  |  |  |  | vn chase-51.6 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent code=Theme |
| 2 | **code** |  |  | ethics |  |  |  |  | nom code «communication transitive»: of=patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The ethics olympiad asked teams to solve hard dilemmas.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ethics:x4:1
# text = The ethics olympiad asked teams to solve hard dilemmas.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	ethics	ethic	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	compound	_	_
3	olympiad	olympiad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	asked	ask	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	teams	team	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	solve	solve	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
8	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	dilemmas	dilemma	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | the ethics olympiad | teams |  |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP whether S\_INF»: agent=Agent team=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **solve** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | teams *not said here* | hard dilemmas |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent dilemma=Topic |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Gran has a strong work ethic and never misses a day.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ethics:x5:1
# text = Gran has a strong work ethic and never misses a day.
1	Gran	Gran	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	strong	strong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	ethic	ethic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	misses	miss	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Gran | a strong work |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent work=Patient |
| 2 | **not** **miss** | present | Gran *not said here* |  |  |  | day |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Taking the money would be against his ethics.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ethics:x6:1
# text = Taking the money would be against his ethics.
1	Taking	take	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	cop	_	_
6	against	against	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	ethics	ethic	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | gerund |  | the money |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent money=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | would |  |  |  |  |  | against his ethics | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ethics is about how we should treat each other.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ethics:x7:1
# text = Ethics is about how we should treat each other.
1	Ethics	ethics	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
3	about	about	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
4	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	7	advmod	_	_
5	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
6	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	treat	treat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
8	each	each	DET	DT	ExtPos=PRON|PronType=Rcp	7	obj	_	_
9	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	fixed	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | should · present | Ethics |  |  |  |  | treat *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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