---
title: fodder — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «fodder» in the school dictionary: Fodder is food such as hay, straw or grain given to farm animals like cows, horses and sheep. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# fodder

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Fodder, Cannon fodder, lives, farmer, Hay, mistake · **What happens:** be, give, use, mean, treat, not matter · **To what, where:** straw, farm animals, Fodder material, soldiers, fodder, barn · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Fodder is food such as hay, straw or grain given to farm animals like cows, horses and sheep.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fodder:m1:1
# text = Fodder is food such as hay, straw or grain given to farm animals like cows, horses and sheep.
1	Fodder	fodder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
3	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
4	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=ADP	6	case	_	_
5	as	as	ADP	IN	_	4	fixed	_	_
6	hay	hay	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
8	straw	straw	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	grain	grain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	_
11	given	give	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	acl	_	_
12	to	to	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	farm	farm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	compound	_	_
14	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obl	_	_
15	like	like	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	cows	cow	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
18	horses	horse	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	conj	_	_
19	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	sheep	sheep	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Fodder |  |  |  |  | such food hay and straw or grain | tree rules |
| 2 | **give** | participle |  | straw or grain *not said here* | farm animals like cows and horses and sheep |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent to animal=Recipient |

<!-- .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: informal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Fodder is material that is easily used for a particular purpose, often without much thought: «gossip fodder», «fodder for jokes».

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fodder:m2:1
# text = Fodder is material that is easily used for a particular purpose, often without much thought: «gossip fodder», «fodder for jokes».
1	Fodder	fodder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	material	material	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj:pass	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux:pass	_	_
6	easily	easily	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl:relcl	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	particular	particular	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	purpose	purpose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
13	often	often	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	_
14	without	without	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	much	much	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	thought	thought	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	20	punct	_	_
18	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	20	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	gossip	gossip	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	compound	_	_
20	fodder	fodder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	20	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
23	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	24	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	fodder	fodder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	conj	_	_
25	for	for	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
26	jokes	joke	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	24	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	20	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present |  | Fodder material |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **use** | present · passive |  | Fodder material |  |  |  | for a particular purpose; without much thought; easily *property* | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP PP.predicate»: subject=Theme for purpose=Eventuality |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Cannon fodder» means soldiers treated as if their lives do not matter.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fodder:m3:1
# text = «Cannon fodder» means soldiers treated as if their lives do not matter.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Cannon	cannon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	fodder	fodder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
5	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	soldiers	soldier	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
7	treated	treat	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	acl	_	_
8	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
9	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
10	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	lives	life	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	nsubj	_	_
12	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
13	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	14	advmod	_	_
14	matter	matter	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Cannon fodder | soldiers |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent soldier=Topic |
| 2 | **treat** | participle |  | soldiers *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn equip-13.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **not** **matter** | present · do-support | soldiers's lives |  |  |  |  |  | vn matter-91 «NP V»: agent=Stimulus |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The farmer stores fodder in the barn for winter.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fodder:x1:1
# text = The farmer stores fodder in the barn for winter.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	farmer	farmer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	stores	store	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	fodder	fodder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	barn	barn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	winter	winter	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 | **store** | present | the farmer | fodder |  | the barn | winter |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent fodder=Theme in barn=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Hay is the main fodder for horses.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fodder:x2:1
# text = Hay is the main fodder for horses.
1	Hay	hay	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	main	main	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	fodder	fodder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	horses	horse	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Hay | the main fodder |  |  |  | for horses | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The mistake became fodder for jokes online.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fodder:x3:1
# text = The mistake became fodder for jokes online.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	mistake	mistake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	became	become	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	fodder	fodder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	xcomp	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	jokes	joke	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
7	online	online	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **become** | past | the mistake | fodder |  |  |  | for jokes; online *property* | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The celebrity's outfit was fodder for gossip.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fodder:x4:1
# text = The celebrity's outfit was fodder for gossip.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	celebrity	celebrity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	outfit	outfit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	fodder	fodder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	gossip	gossip	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | the celebrity's outfit | fodder |  |  |  | for gossip | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Many soldiers in 1916 were treated as cannon fodder.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fodder:x5:1
# text = Many soldiers in 1916 were treated as cannon fodder.
1	Many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	soldiers	soldier	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	1916	1916	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	2	nmod	_	_
5	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux:pass	_	_
6	treated	treat	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
7	as	as	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	cannon	cannon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	fodder	fodder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **treat** | past · passive |  | Many soldiers in 1916 |  |  |  | as cannon fodder | vn characterize-29.2 «NP V NP S\_ING»: subject=Theme as fodder=Attribute |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Turnips are grown as winter fodder.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fodder:x6:1
# text = Turnips are grown as winter fodder.
1	Turnips	turnip	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	grown	grow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	as	as	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	winter	winter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	fodder	fodder	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 | **grow** | present · passive |  | Turnips |  |  |  | as winter fodder | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: subject=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
‘Yes; but I must have a good stable and most excellent fodder for my horse,’ said he.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fodder:x7:1
# text = ‘Yes; but I must have a good stable and most excellent fodder for my horse,’ said he.
1	‘	'	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	7	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	2	punct	_	_
4	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
5	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
6	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	have	have	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	20	ccomp	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	stable	stable	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
12	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	13	advmod	_	_
13	excellent	excellent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	fodder	fodder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	_
15	for	for	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	17	nmod:poss	_	_
17	horse	horse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	’	'	PUNCT	''	_	7	punct	_	_
20	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
21	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	20	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	20	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | must | I | a good stable and excellent fodder for my horse |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent stable=Patient |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | horse |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=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 -->

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