---
title: fence — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «fence» in the school dictionary: A fence is a wall of wood, metal or wire around a garden or field. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fence/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [F](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/) / fence

# fence

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** fence, Fencing, sport, 3 birds, He, many more birds · **What happens:** be, fight, sit, build, have, jump · **To what, where:** wall, fence, sport, strong defence, 12 posts, 10 metres

<!-- .vabout -->
«fence» in the school dictionary: its 4 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: [fence in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/fence.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A fence is a wall of wood, metal or wire around a garden or field.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fence:m1:1
# text = A fence is a wall of wood, metal or wire around a garden or field.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fence	fence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	wall	wall	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	wood	wood	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
9	metal	metal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	wire	wire	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	_
12	around	around	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	garden	garden	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	_
15	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	field	field	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a fence | a wall and metal around a garden or field or wire |  |  |  | of wood | tree rules |

<!-- .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 fence something in is to put a fence around it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fence:m2:1
# text = To fence something in is to put a fence around it.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	3	mark	_	_
2	fence	fence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	put	put	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	acl	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	fence	fence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	around	around	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

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

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Fencing is a sport of fighting with long thin swords.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fence:m3:1
# text = Fencing is a sport of fighting with long thin swords.
1	Fencing	fencing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	sport	sport	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
6	fighting	fight	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	acl	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
9	thin	thin	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	swords	sword	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Fencing | a sport |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **fight** | gerund | a sport *not said here* |  |  |  |  | with long thin swords | vn battle-36.4-1 «NP V PP.co-agent»: agent=Agent with sword=Co-Agent |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A fence can also be a strong defence or protection against harm.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fence:m4:1
# text = A fence can also be a strong defence or protection against harm.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fence	fence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	cop	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	strong	strong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	defence	defence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	protection	protection	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	_
11	against	against	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	harm	harm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | can | a fence | a strong defence or protection against harm |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
3 birds were sitting on the fence.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fence:x1:1
# text = 3 birds were sitting on the fence.
1	3	3	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	sitting	sit	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	fence	fence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sit** | past · progressive | 3 birds |  |  | the fence |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent on fence=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He built a fence 40 feet long.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fence:x2:1
# text = He built a fence 40 feet long.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	built	build	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	fence	fence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	40	40	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	feet	foot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl:unmarked	_	_
7	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **build** | past | He | a fence |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fence=Product |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The fence has 12 posts.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fence:x3:1
# text = The fence has 12 posts.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fence	fence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	12	12	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	posts	post	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | the fence | 12 posts |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent post=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
How many more birds than storks are on the fence?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fence:x4:1
# text = How many more birds than storks are on the fence?
1	How	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	2	advmod	_	_
2	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	more	more	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	4	amod	_	_
4	birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
5	than	than	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	storks	stork	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	_
7	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
8	on	on	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	fence	fence	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 | **is** | present | many more birds than storks |  |  | the fence |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cat jumped over the fence.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fence:x5:1
# text = The cat jumped over the fence.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	jumped	jump	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	over	over	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	fence	fence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **jump** | past | the cat |  |  | the fence |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme over fence=Trajectory |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
How much fence goes round a field 10 metres by 5 metres?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fence:x6:1
# text = How much fence goes round a field 10 metres by 5 metres?
1	How	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	2	advmod	_	_
2	much	much	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	fence	fence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	goes	go	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	round	round	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	field	field	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	10	10	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	9	nummod	_	_
9	metres	metre	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl:unmarked	_	_
10	by	by	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	5	5	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	12	nummod	_	_
12	metres	metre	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go** | present | much fence | 10 metres |  | a field |  | by 5 metres | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme round field=Initial\_Location |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dad painted the fence green.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fence:x7:1
# text = Dad painted the fence green.
1	Dad	dad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	painted	paint	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	fence	fence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	green	green	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **paint** | past | Dad | the fence green |  |  |  |  | vn image\_impression-25.1 «NP V NP.destination»: agent=Agent green=Destination |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Don't climb the fence; it is not safe.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fence:x8:1
# text = Don't climb the fence; it is not safe.
1	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	climb	climb	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	fence	fence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
9	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	10	advmod	_	_
10	safe	safe	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **climb** | imperative · do-support | you *not said here* | the fence |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Initial\_Location fence=Theme |
| 2 | **not** **is** | present | fence |  |  |  |  | safe *property* | tree rules |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Ho, thou firm fence of mine, be thou divided!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fence:x9:1
# text = "Ho, thou firm fence of mine, be thou divided!
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Ho	Ho	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	nsubj:pass	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
4	thou	thou	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=2|PronType=Prs|Style=Arch	6	nsubj	_	_
5	firm	firm	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	fence	fence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	appos	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	mine	my	PRON	PRP	Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
10	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	aux:pass	_	_
11	thou	thou	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=2|PronType=Prs|Style=Arch	12	nsubj	_	_
12	divided	divide	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fence** *in a quote* |  | thou |  |  |  |  | of mine | tree rules |
| 2 | **divide** *in a quote* | infinitive · passive |  | Ho |  |  |  |  | vn multiply-108-1 «NP V NP»: subject=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 -->
- ← previous: [fen](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fen/)
- next →: [fend](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/fend/)
- ↑ back to [F in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/F/)