---
title: guesswork — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «guesswork» in the school dictionary: Finding an answer by guessing, without enough facts or careful working out. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# guesswork

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**Who acts:** answer, My, recipe, Science, path, teacher · **What happens:** find, guess, work out, be, answer, take · **To what, where:** answer, enough facts, pure guesswork, guesswork, baking, evidence · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«guesswork» in the school dictionary: its meaning for a pupil and its 6 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: [guesswork in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/guesswork.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Finding an answer by guessing, without enough facts or careful working out.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:guesswork:m1:1
# text = Finding an answer by guessing, without enough facts or careful working out.
1	Finding	find	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
2	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
5	guessing	guess	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	1	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
7	without	without	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	enough	enough	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	facts	fact	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	careful	careful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	conj	_	_
12	working	work	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	11	advcl	_	_
13	out	out	ADP	RP	_	12	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **find** | gerund |  | a answer |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent answer=Topic |
| 2 | **guess** | gerund |  | enough facts |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fact=Theme |
| 3 | **work out** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V how S»: 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.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My answer was pure guesswork, but it was right!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:guesswork:x1:1
# text = My answer was pure guesswork, but it was right!
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	pure	pure	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	guesswork	guesswork	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
7	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
9	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | My answer | pure guesswork |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | past | answer |  |  |  |  | right *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **answer** |  | My |  |  |  |  |  | nom answer «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A recipe takes the guesswork out of baking.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:guesswork:x2:1
# text = A recipe takes the guesswork out of baking.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	recipe	recipe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	takes	take	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	guesswork	guesswork	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	out	out	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	baking	baking	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | present | a recipe | the guesswork |  | baking |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP PP.initial\_location»: agent=Agent guesswork=Theme out baking=Initial\_Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Science uses evidence, not guesswork.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:guesswork:x3:1
# text = Science uses evidence, not guesswork.
1	Science	science	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	uses	use	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	evidence	evidence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
5	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	guesswork	guesswork	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | present | Science | evidence |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent evidence=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Without a map, finding the path was guesswork.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:guesswork:x4:1
# text = Without a map, finding the path was guesswork.
1	Without	without	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	map	map	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	finding	find	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	path	path	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
8	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	guesswork	guesswork	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **find** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | without a map | vn declare-29.4-1-1 «NP V what S\_INF»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | past | the path | guesswork |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The teacher said, «I want calculations, not guesswork.»

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:guesswork:x5:1
# text = The teacher said, «I want calculations, not guesswork.»
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
5	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	want	want	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
8	calculations	calculation	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
11	guesswork	guesswork	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | the teacher |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **want** *in a quote* | present | the teacher *= teacher* | calculations and guesswork |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot calculation=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Weather forecasts used to involve much more guesswork.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:guesswork:x6:1
# text = Weather forecasts used to involve much more guesswork.
1	Weather	weather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	forecasts	forecast	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	used	use	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	involve	involve	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	much	much	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	more	more	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	8	amod	_	_
8	guesswork	guesswork	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | past | Weather forecasts |  |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **involve** | to-infinitive | Weather forecasts *not said here* | more guesswork |  |  |  |  | vn involve-107.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent guesswork=Theme |

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**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.

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