---
title: expense — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «expense» in the school dictionary: Expense is the amount of money something costs. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# expense

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Expense, something, you, Expenses, worker, they · **What happens:** be, cost, have, pay, spend, pay back · **To what, where:** amount, money, something, expense, them, huge expense · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Expense is the amount of money something costs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:expense:m1:1
# text = Expense is the amount of money something costs.
1	Expense	expense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	amount	amount	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
7	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	8	nsubj	_	_
8	costs	cost	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Expense | the amount |  |  |  | of money | tree rules |
| 2 | **cost** | present | something | money *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn cost-54.2 «NP V NP.value»: agent=Theme money=Value |

<!-- .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 -->
An expense is something you have to pay for.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:expense:m2:1
# text = An expense is something you have to pay for.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	expense	expense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	0	root	_	_
5	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	pay	pay	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a expense | something |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **have** | present | you |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **pay** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Expenses are money a worker spends for the job and is paid back for.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:expense:m3:1
# text = Expenses are money a worker spends for the job and is paid back for.
1	Expenses	expense	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	worker	worker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	spends	spend	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	acl:relcl	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	job	job	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
11	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	aux:pass	_	_
12	paid	pay	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	conj	_	_
13	back	back	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
14	for	for	ADP	IN	_	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Expenses | money |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **spend** | present | a worker | money *not said here* |  |  |  | for the job | vn pay-68 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent money=Asset for job=Theme |
| 3 | **pay back** | present · passive | a worker *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP» |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
At someone's expense means they paid for it, or that a joke made them look silly.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:expense:m4:1
# text = At someone's expense means they paid for it, or that a joke made them look silly.
1	At	at	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	expense	expense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
5	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	paid	pay	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	ccomp	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
12	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	joke	joke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nsubj	_	_
15	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	conj	_	_
16	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	obj	_	_
17	look	look	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	15	xcomp	_	_
18	silly	silly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present |  |  |  | someone's expense |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **pay** | past | they |  |  |  |  | for expense | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent for it=Theme |
| 3 | **make** | past | a joke | them *= they* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **look** | infinitive | them *= they* *not said here* |  |  |  |  | silly *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The new roof was a huge expense.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:expense:x1:1
# text = The new roof was a huge expense.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	roof	roof	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	huge	huge	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	expense	expense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | the new roof | a huge expense |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Food is the family's biggest expense.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:expense:x2:1
# text = Food is the family's biggest expense.
1	Food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	family	family	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	biggest	big	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	7	amod	_	_
7	expense	expense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Food | the family's biggest expense |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum's work pays her travel expenses.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:expense:x3:1
# text = Mum's work pays her travel expenses.
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	's	PART	POS	_	1	case	_	_
3	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	pays	pay	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
6	travel	travel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	expenses	expense	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pay** | present | Mum's work | work's travel expenses |  |  |  |  | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent expense=Asset |
| 2 | **work** |  | Mum |  |  |  |  |  | nom work «act intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They laughed at my expense.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:expense:x4:1
# text = They laughed at my expense.
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	laughed	laugh	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	at	at	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	expense	expense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **laugh** | past | They |  |  | my expense |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The trip was paid for at the school's expense.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:expense:x5:1
# text = The trip was paid for at the school's expense.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	trip	trip	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	paid	pay	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	's	PART	POS	_	8	case	_	_
10	expense	expense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pay** | past · passive |  | the trip |  |  |  | for the school's expense | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP PP.theme»: subject=Asset for expense=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Spare no expense for the party!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:expense:x6:1
# text = Spare no expense for the party!
1	Spare	spare	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	3	det	_	_
3	expense	expense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	party	party	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spare** | imperative | you *not said here* | no expense |  |  |  | for the party | vn bill-54.5 «NP V NP NP.asset»: agent=Agent expense=Asset |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Keep a list of your weekly expenses.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:expense:x7:1
# text = Keep a list of your weekly expenses.
1	Keep	keep	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	list	list	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
6	weekly	weekly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	expenses	expense	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | imperative | you *not said here* | a list of your weekly expenses |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent list=Theme |
| 2 | **list** |  |  | your weekly expenses |  |  |  |  | nom list «communication transitive»: of=patient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I have learned this at my own expense.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:expense:x8:1
# text = I have learned this at my own expense.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	have	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	learned	learn	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	this	this	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	3	obj	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
7	own	own	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	expense	expense	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 | **learn** | present · perfect | I | this |  | my own expense |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent this=Topic |

<!-- 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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