---
title: fend — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «fend» in the school dictionary: To fend for yourself is to look after yourself without help. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# fend

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** fend, Baby turtles, Mum, we, knight, She · **What happens:** fend, be, fend off, defend, push away, have · **To what, where:** someone, yourself, tackler, start, dragon, questions

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To fend for yourself is to look after yourself without help.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fend:m1:1
# text = To fend for yourself is to look after yourself without help.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	fend	fend	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	_
3	for	for	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	yourself	yourself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=2|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	2	obl	_	_
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	look	look	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	after	after	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	yourself	yourself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=2|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	7	obl	_	_
10	without	without	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	help	help	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fend** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | for yourself | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  | after yourself | without help; look *property* | 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 fend off someone or something is to push it away or defend yourself against it.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fend:m2:1
# text = To fend off someone or something is to push it away or defend yourself against it.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	fend	fend	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	advcl	_	_
3	off	off	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	4	conj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	push	push	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	_
11	away	away	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
12	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	defend	defend	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	9	conj	_	_
14	yourself	yourself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=2|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	13	obj	_	_
15	against	against	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fend off** | to-infinitive |  | someone |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | away, push *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **defend** | infinitive |  | yourself |  |  |  | against it | vn defend-72.3 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent yourself=Beneficiary against it=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A fend or hand-off is pushing away a tackler with your arm.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fend:m3:1
# text = A fend or hand-off is pushing away a tackler with your arm.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fend	fend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
4	hand	hand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	off	off	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	pushing	push	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
9	away	away	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	tackler	tackler	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
12	with	with	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	14	nmod:poss	_	_
14	arm	arm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **push away** | present · progressive | a fend or hand off | a tackler |  |  |  | with your arm; away *property* | vn carry-11.4-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tackler=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Baby turtles must fend for themselves from the start.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fend:x1:1
# text = Baby turtles must fend for themselves from the start.
1	Baby	baby	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	turtles	turtle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	fend	fend	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	themselves	themselves	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	4	obl	_	_
7	from	from	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	start	start	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fend** | must | Baby turtles |  |  | the start |  | for turtles *= turtle* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
When Mum was ill, we had to fend for ourselves at dinner time.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fend:x2:1
# text = When Mum was ill, we had to fend for ourselves at dinner time.
1	When	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	4	mark	_	_
2	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	ill	ill	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
6	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	fend	fend	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	xcomp	_	_
10	for	for	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	ourselves	ourselves	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	9	obl	_	_
12	at	at	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	dinner	dinner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	compound	_	_
14	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | Mum |  |  |  |  | ill *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **have** | past | we |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **fend** | to-infinitive | we *not said here* |  |  |  | time | for ourselves | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The knight fended off the dragon with his shield.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fend:x3:1
# text = The knight fended off the dragon with his shield.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	knight	knight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	fended	fend	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	off	off	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	dragon	dragon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	shield	shield	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fend off** | past | the knight | the dragon |  |  |  | with knight's shield | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She fended off the reporters' questions.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fend:x4:1
# text = She fended off the reporters' questions.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	fended	fend	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	off	off	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	reporters	reporter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	'	's	PART	POS	_	5	case	_	_
7	questions	question	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fend off** | past | She | the reporters's questions |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **question** |  | the reporters |  |  |  |  |  | nom question «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The goalkeeper fended off a hard shot.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fend:x5:1
# text = The goalkeeper fended off a hard shot.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	goalkeeper	goalkeeper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	fended	fend	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	off	off	ADP	RP	_	3	compound:prt	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	shot	shot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fend off** | past | the goalkeeper | a hard shot |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Fox cubs learn to fend for themselves by autumn.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fend:x6:1
# text = Fox cubs learn to fend for themselves by autumn.
1	Fox	fox	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	cubs	cub	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	learn	learn	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	fend	fend	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	themselves	themselves	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	5	obl	_	_
8	by	by	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	autumn	autumn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **learn** | present | Fox cubs |  |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **fend** | to-infinitive | Fox cubs *not said here* |  |  |  | autumn | for cubs *= cub* | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The following morning, instead of one, three cows stood on the island, and they all ate seaweed and fended for themselves like the first one.

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fend:x7:1
# text = The following morning, instead of one, three cows stood on the island, and they all ate seaweed and fended for themselves like the first one.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	following	follow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	amod	_	_
3	morning	morning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
5	instead	instead	ADV	RB	ExtPos=ADP	7	case	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	fixed	_	_
7	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
9	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	10	nummod	_	_
10	cows	cow	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nsubj	_	_
11	stood	stand	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
12	on	on	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	island	island	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
17	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	19	nsubj	_	_
18	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	19	advmod	_	_
19	ate	eat	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	conj	_	_
20	seaweed	seaweed	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obj	_	_
21	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	22	cc	_	_
22	fended	fend	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	conj	_	_
23	for	for	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
24	themselves	themselves	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	22	obl	_	_
25	like	like	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	22	ccomp	_	_
26	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	28	det	_	_
27	first	first	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	28	amod	_	_
28	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **stand** | past | three cows |  |  | the island | morning | instead one | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent on island=Location |
| 3 | **eat** | past | cows *= cow* | seaweed |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent seaweed=Patient |
| 4 | **fend** | past | three cows *not said here* |  |  |  |  | for cows *= cow* | tree rules |
| 5 | **like** | present | three cows *not said here* | the first one |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot one=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 -->
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