---
title: handball — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «handball» in the school dictionary: Handball is a team game in which players throw and pass a ball with their hands and try to throw it into the other team's goal. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# handball

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Handball, players, player, playground game, hand, We · **What happens:** be, throw, pass, try, touch, hit · **To what, where:** team game, ball, goal, foul, football, playground game · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«handball» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings 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: [handball in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/handball.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Handball is a team game in which players throw and pass a ball with their hands and try to throw it into the other team's goal.

<!-- fold The tree, 27 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:handball:m1:1
# text = Handball is a team game in which players throw and pass a ball with their hands and try to throw it into the other team's goal.
1	Handball	handball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	obl	_	_
8	players	player	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
9	throw	throw	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	pass	pass	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	conj	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	ball	ball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
14	with	with	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	16	nmod:poss	_	_
16	hands	hand	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obl	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
18	try	try	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	conj	_	_
19	to	to	PART	TO	_	20	mark	_	_
20	throw	throw	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	18	xcomp	_	_
21	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	20	obj	_	_
22	into	into	ADP	IN	_	27	case	_	_
23	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	25	det	_	_
24	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	25	amod	_	_
25	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	27	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	's	's	PART	POS	_	25	case	_	_
27	goal	goal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Handball | a team game |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **throw** | present | players |  |  | a team game |  | with players's hands | vn throw-17.1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.destinations»: agent=Agent in which=Destination |
| 3 | **pass** | present | players *not said here* | a ball |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1-3 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme ball=Trajectory |
| 4 | **try** | infinitive | players *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 5 | **throw** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | players *not said here* | ball |  |  |  | into the other team's goal *result* | vn throw-17.1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.result»: agent=Causer it=Theme into goal=Result |

<!-- .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 football (soccer), a handball is a foul when a player other than the goalkeeper touches the ball with the hand or arm.

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:handball:m2:1
# text = In football (soccer), a handball is a foul when a player other than the goalkeeper touches the ball with the hand or arm.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	football	football	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
3	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	soccer	soccer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	handball	handball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	foul	foul	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
12	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	19	mark	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	player	player	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	nsubj	_	_
15	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
16	than	than	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	goalkeeper	goalkeeper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obl	_	_
19	touches	touch	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	advcl	_	_
20	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
21	ball	ball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obj	_	_
22	with	with	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
23	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
24	hand	hand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obl	_	_
25	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	26	cc	_	_
26	arm	arm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	24	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a handball | a foul |  | football |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **touch** | present | a player | the ball |  |  |  | with the hand or arm | vn touch-20-1 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent ball=Theme with hand=Instrument |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In some places, handball is a playground game of hitting a ball against a wall or into squares with the hand (also called «downball» or «four square»).

<!-- fold The tree, 27 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:handball:m3:1
# text = In some places, handball is a playground game of hitting a ball against a wall or into squares with the hand (also called «downball» or «four square»).
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	3	det	_	_
3	places	place	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	handball	handball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	playground	playground	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
10	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
11	hitting	hit	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	9	acl	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	ball	ball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
14	against	against	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	wall	wall	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
17	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
18	into	into	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
19	squares	square	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	conj	_	_
20	with	with	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	hand	hand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	nmod	_	_
23	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	25	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	also	also	ADV	RB	_	25	advmod	_	_
25	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	22	acl	_	_
26	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	27	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	downball	downball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	27	punct	_	_
29	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	32	cc	_	_
30	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	32	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
31	four	four	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	32	nummod	_	_
32	square	square	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	27	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	27	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
34	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	25	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
35	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | handball | a playground game |  | some places |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **hit** | gerund | a playground game *not said here* | a ball |  |  |  | against a wall or squares with the hand | vn hit-18.1-1 «NP V NP PP»: agent=Agent ball=Instrument against wall=Patient |
| 3 | **call** | participle | the hand *not said here* | downball or four square |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We played handball in PE today.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:handball:x1:1
# text = We played handball in PE today.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	played	play	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	handball	handball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	PE	PE	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	today	today	NOUN	NN	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 | **play** | past | We | handball |  | PE | today |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent handball=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The referee blew his whistle for a handball.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:handball:x2:1
# text = The referee blew his whistle for a handball.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	referee	referee	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	blew	blow	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	whistle	whistle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	handball	handball	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 | **blow** | past | the referee | referee's whistle |  |  |  | for a handball | vn build-26.1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent whistle=Material for handball=Beneficiary |
| 2 | **whistle** |  | referee |  |  |  |  |  | nom whistle «event intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In handball you can take only three steps holding the ball.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:handball:x3:1
# text = In handball you can take only three steps holding the ball.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	handball	handball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
3	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
4	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	take	take	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	only	only	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	steps	step	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
9	holding	hold	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	acl	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	ball	ball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | can | you | three steps |  | handball |  |  | vn fit-54.3 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent step=Value in handball=Location |
| 2 | **hold** | gerund | three steps *not said here* | the ball |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ball=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
At lunch we played handball in the four squares.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:handball:x4:1
# text = At lunch we played handball in the four squares.
1	At	at	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	lunch	lunch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
3	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	played	play	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	handball	handball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	four	four	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	9	nummod	_	_
9	squares	square	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **play** | past | we | handball |  | lunch |  | in the four squares | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent handball=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He was given a yellow card for a deliberate handball.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:handball:x5:1
# text = He was given a yellow card for a deliberate handball.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	given	give	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	yellow	yellow	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	card	card	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	deliberate	deliberate	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	handball	handball	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 | **give** | past · passive |  | He |  |  |  | for a deliberate handball | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP NP PP.asset»: subject=Recipient card=Theme for handball=Asset |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our handball team won the school tournament.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:handball:x6:1
# text = Our handball team won the school tournament.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	handball	handball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	won	win	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	tournament	tournament	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **win** | past | Our handball team | the school tournament |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tournament=Eventuality |

<!-- 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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