---
title: fruitcake — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «fruitcake» in the school dictionary: A fruitcake is a rich cake full of dried fruit like raisins, currants and cherries, often eaten at Christmas and weddings. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# fruitcake

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** fruitcake, person, Grandma, you, wedding cake, neighbour · **What happens:** be, dry, eat, seem, mean, bake · **To what, where:** rich cake, raisins, Christmas, person, silly, fruitcake

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A fruitcake is a rich cake full of dried fruit like raisins, currants and cherries, often eaten at Christmas and weddings.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fruitcake:m1:1
# text = A fruitcake is a rich cake full of dried fruit like raisins, currants and cherries, often eaten at Christmas and weddings.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fruitcake	fruitcake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	rich	rich	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	cake	cake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	dried	dry	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	amod	_	_
10	fruit	fruit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
11	like	like	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	raisins	raisin	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
14	currants	currant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	conj	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	cherries	cherry	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
18	often	often	ADV	RB	_	19	advmod	_	_
19	eaten	eat	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	12	acl	_	_
20	at	at	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
21	Christmas	Christmas	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	19	obl	_	_
22	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	23	cc	_	_
23	weddings	wedding	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	21	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a fruitcake | a rich cake |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **dry** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4-1 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **eat** | participle |  | raisins and currants and cherries *not said here* |  | Christmas and weddings |  | often *property* | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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, rude — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A fruitcake is a person who seems crazy or very strange; «nutty as a fruitcake» means very silly or mad.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fruitcake:m2:1
# text = A fruitcake is a person who seems crazy or very strange; «nutty as a fruitcake» means very silly or mad.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fruitcake	fruitcake	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	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	nsubj	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	seems	seem	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	crazy	crazy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	xcomp	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
10	very	very	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	strange	strange	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
13	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	nutty	nutty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	parataxis	_	_
15	as	as	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	fruitcake	fruitcake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	14	punct	_	_
19	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
20	very	very	ADV	RB	_	21	advmod	_	_
21	silly	silly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	obj	_	_
22	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	23	cc	_	_
23	mad	mad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	21	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	19	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a fruitcake | a person |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **seem** | present | a person |  |  |  |  | crazy *property* | vn seem-109-1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **mean** | present | a person | silly |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent silly=Topic |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandma bakes a fruitcake every Christmas.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fruitcake:x1:1
# text = Grandma bakes a fruitcake every Christmas.
1	Grandma	grandma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	bakes	bake	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	fruitcake	fruitcake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	6	det	_	_
6	Christmas	Christmas	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bake** | present | Grandma | a fruitcake |  |  |  | every Christmas *obl:unmarked* | vn build-26.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fruitcake=Product |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Would you like a slice of fruitcake with your tea?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fruitcake:x2:1
# text = Would you like a slice of fruitcake with your tea?
1	Would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
2	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	like	like	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	slice	slice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	fruitcake	fruitcake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	tea	tea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **like** | would | you | a slice of fruitcake |  |  |  | with your tea | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot slice=Theme |
| 2 | **slice** |  |  | fruitcake |  |  |  |  | nom slice «possession transitive»: of=patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The wedding cake was a rich fruitcake covered in icing.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fruitcake:x3:1
# text = The wedding cake was a rich fruitcake covered in icing.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	wedding	wedding	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	cake	cake	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	rich	rich	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	fruitcake	fruitcake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	covered	cover	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	acl	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	icing	icing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | the wedding cake | a rich fruitcake |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **cover** | participle |  | a rich fruitcake *not said here* |  |  |  | in icing | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent in icing=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The fruitcake was cut into 16 equal slices.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fruitcake:x4:1
# text = The fruitcake was cut into 16 equal slices.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fruitcake	fruitcake	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	cut	cut	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	into	into	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	16	16	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
7	equal	equal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	slices	slice	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cut** | past · passive |  | the fruitcake |  | 16 equal slices |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP.material PP.product»: subject=Material into slice=Product |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
(informal) Our neighbour talks to his tomatoes — he's a bit of a fruitcake.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fruitcake:x5:1
# text = (informal) Our neighbour talks to his tomatoes — he's a bit of a fruitcake.
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	informal	informal	NUM	LS	_	6	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	2	punct	_	_
4	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	neighbour	neighbour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	talks	talk	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	to	to	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	tomatoes	tomato	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	_
10	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	14	punct	_	_
11	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	cop	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	bit	bit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
15	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	fruitcake	fruitcake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **talk** | present | Our neighbour |  |  |  |  | to neighbour's tomatoes | vn talk-37.5 «NP V PP.co-agent»: agent=Agent to tomato=Co-Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | present | neighbour | a bit |  |  |  | of a fruitcake | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
(informal) «He's as nutty as a fruitcake,» laughed Dad.

<!-- fold The tree, 10 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fruitcake:x6:1
# text = (informal) «He's as nutty as a fruitcake,» laughed Dad.
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	informal	informal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	2	punct	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	as	as	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	nutty	nutty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	conj	_	_
9	as	as	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	fruitcake	fruitcake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	14	punct	_	_
14	laughed	laugh	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
15	Dad	Dad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	14	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | present | He |  |  |  |  | as a fruitcake; nutty *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **laugh** | past |  | Dad |  |  |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent dad=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Fruitcake keeps for weeks in a tin.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fruitcake:x7:1
# text = Fruitcake keeps for weeks in a tin.
1	Fruitcake	fruitcake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	keeps	keep	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	for	for	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	weeks	week	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	tin	tin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | present | Fruitcake |  |  | a tin | week |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent in tin=Location |

<!-- 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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