---
title: footman — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «footman» in the school dictionary: A male servant in a grand house who wears a uniform, opens doors, serves food at table and carries messages. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# footman

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** grand house, male servant, Fish Footman, Frog Footman, both, footman · **What happens:** wear, open, serve, carry, bring, play · **To what, where:** uniform, doors, food, table, messages, invitation · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«footman» in the school dictionary: its 2 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: [footman in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/footman.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A male servant in a grand house who wears a uniform, opens doors, serves food at table and carries messages.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:footman:m1:1
# text = A male servant in a grand house who wears a uniform, opens doors, serves food at table and carries messages.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	male	male	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	servant	servant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	grand	grand	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	house	house	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
8	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	wears	wear	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	uniform	uniform	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
13	opens	open	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
14	doors	door	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
16	serves	serve	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	conj	_	_
17	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obj	_	_
18	at	at	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
19	table	table	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obl	_	_
20	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
21	carries	carry	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	conj	_	_
22	messages	message	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	21	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wear** | present | a grand house | a uniform |  |  |  |  | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1-1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent uniform=Theme |
| 2 | **open** | present | a male servant in a grand house | doors |  |  |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location door=Theme |
| 3 | **serve** | present | a male servant in a grand house *not said here* | food |  | table |  |  | vn masquerade-29.6-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent food=Attribute |
| 4 | **carry** | present | a male servant in a grand house *not said here* | messages |  |  |  |  | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent message=Theme |

<!-- .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 -->
In Alice in Wonderland, the Fish-Footman brings the Duchess an invitation from the Queen to play croquet, and the Frog-Footman takes it; both wear powdered wigs.

<!-- fold The tree, 28 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:footman:m2:1
# text = In Alice in Wonderland, the Fish-Footman brings the Duchess an invitation from the Queen to play croquet, and the Frog-Footman takes it; both wear powdered wigs.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	Alice	Alice	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	Wonderland	Wonderland	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
7	Fish	Fish	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	Footman	Footman	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	brings	bring	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	Duchess	Duchess	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
13	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	invitation	invitation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
15	from	from	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	Queen	Queen	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	_
18	to	to	PART	TO	_	19	mark	_	_
19	play	play	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	advcl	_	_
20	croquet	croquet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	27	punct	_	_
22	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	27	cc	_	_
23	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	26	det	_	_
24	Frog	Frog	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	26	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	24	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	Footman	Footman	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	27	nsubj	_	_
27	takes	take	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	conj	_	_
28	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	27	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	31	punct	_	_
30	both	both	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	31	nsubj	_	_
31	wear	wear	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	27	conj	_	_
32	powdered	powder	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	33	amod	_	_
33	wigs	wig	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	31	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
34	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bring** | present | the Fish Footman | a invitation | the Duchess | Alice in Wonderland |  |  | vn bring-11.3-1 «NP V NP NP»: agent=Agent duchess=Destination invitation=Theme |
| 2 | **play** | to-infinitive | the Fish Footman *not said here* | croquet |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent croquet=Theme |
| 3 | **take** | present | the Frog Footman | croquet |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |
| 4 | **wear** | present | both | powdered wigs |  |  |  |  | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1-1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent wig=Theme |
| 5 | **powder** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn braid-41.2.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The footman opened the carriage door for the Queen.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:footman:x1:1
# text = The footman opened the carriage door for the Queen.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	footman	footman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	opened	open	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	carriage	carriage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	door	door	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	Queen	Queen	PROPN	NNP	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 | **open** | past | the footman | the carriage door |  |  |  | for the Queen | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location door=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Fish-Footman handed over a letter almost as large as himself.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:footman:x2:1
# text = The Fish-Footman handed over a letter almost as large as himself.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	Fish	Fish	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	Footman	Footman	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	handed	hand	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	over	over	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	almost	almost	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
10	as	as	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	large	large	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	advcl	_	_
12	as	as	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	himself	himself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hand** | past | the Fish Footman |  |  | a letter |  |  | vn send-11.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Frog-Footman sat staring stupidly up at the sky.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:footman:x3:1
# text = The Frog-Footman sat staring stupidly up at the sky.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	Frog	Frog	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	Footman	Footman	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	sat	sit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	staring	stare	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	advcl	_	_
7	stupidly	stupidly	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	up	up	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
9	at	at	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	sky	sky	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sit** | past | the Frog Footman |  |  |  |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **stare** | gerund | the Frog Footman *not said here* |  |  |  |  | at the sky | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent at sky=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the big house, footmen served dinner in white gloves.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:footman:x4:1
# text = In the big house, footmen served dinner in white gloves.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	house	house	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
6	footmen	footman	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
7	served	serve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	dinner	dinner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	gloves	glove	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **serve** | past | footmen | dinner |  | the big house |  | in white gloves | vn fit-54.3 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent dinner=Value in house=Location |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The footman bowed and carried in the silver tray.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:footman:x5:1
# text = The footman bowed and carried in the silver tray.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	footman	footman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	bowed	bow	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	carried	carry	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	silver	silver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	tray	tray	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 | **bow** | past | the footman |  |  |  |  |  | vn acquiesce-95.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **carry** | past | the footman *not said here* |  |  | the silver tray |  |  | vn fit-54.3 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent in tray=Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Alice knocked, but the footman would not let her in.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:footman:x6:1
# text = Alice knocked, but the footman would not let her in.
1	Alice	Alice	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	knocked	knock	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
4	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	footman	footman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
7	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
8	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	let	let	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	ccomp	_	_
10	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	RP	_	9	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **knock** | past | Alice |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **let in** | would | the footman | Alice |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent she=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The two footmen got their curls tangled together when they bowed.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:footman:x7:1
# text = The two footmen got their curls tangled together when they bowed.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	3	nummod	_	_
3	footmen	footman	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	got	get	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	curls	curl	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
7	tangled	tangle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	acl	_	_
8	together	together	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
9	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	11	advmod	_	_
10	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	bowed	bow	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** | past | the two footmen | footmen's curls |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer curl=Stimulus |
| 2 | **tangle** | participle |  | footmen's curls *not said here* |  |  |  | together *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **bow** | past | footmen *= footman* |  |  |  |  |  | vn acquiesce-95.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
But on the way back the coachman and footman spoke to one another and said:

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:footman:x8:1
# text = But on the way back the coachman and footman spoke to one another and said:
1	But	but	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
2	on	on	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
5	back	back	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	coachman	coachman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	footman	footman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	_
10	spoke	speak	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	ccomp	_	_
11	to	to	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	10	obl	_	_
13	another	another	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	12	fixed	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	15	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **speak** *speech: other* | past | the coachman and footman |  | one | the way |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V PP.co-agent»: agent=Agent to one=Co-Agent |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past |  |  |  |  |  |  | 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
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