---
title: impossibility — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «impossibility» in the school dictionary: Impossibility is the state of being impossible: something that cannot happen or cannot be done. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# impossibility

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Impossibility, thing, Rolling, Winning, square circle, two places · **What happens:** be, not happen, not do, roll, win, get · **To what, where:** state, thing, 7, one normal dice, impossibility, logical impossibility · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Impossibility is the state of being impossible: something that cannot happen or cannot be done.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:impossibility:m1:1
# text = Impossibility is the state of being impossible: something that cannot happen or cannot be done.
1	Impossibility	impossibility	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	state	state	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	7	cop	_	_
7	impossible	impossible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	9	punct	_	_
9	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	4	appos	_	_
10	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	13	nsubj	_	_
11	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	13	advmod	_	_
13	happen	happen	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	acl:relcl	_	_
14	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
15	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	18	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	18	advmod	_	_
17	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	18	aux:pass	_	_
18	done	do	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Impossibility | the state |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | impossible *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **not** **happen** | can |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **not** **do** | can · passive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V» |

<!-- .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 -->
An impossibility is a thing that cannot happen.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:impossibility:m2:1
# text = An impossibility is a thing that cannot happen.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	impossibility	impossibility	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	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
7	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	happen	happen	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a impossibility | a thing |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **happen** | can | a thing |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Rolling a 7 on one normal dice is an impossibility.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:impossibility:x1:1
# text = Rolling a 7 on one normal dice is an impossibility.
1	Rolling	roll	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	10	csubj	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	7	7	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	1	obj	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	7	nummod	_	_
6	normal	normal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	dice	dice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
9	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	impossibility	impossibility	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **roll** | gerund |  | a 7 |  | one normal dice |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V NP PP.trajectory»: agent=Agent 7=Theme on dice=Trajectory |
| 2 | **is a** | present | Rolling | a impossibility |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Winning without practice is close to an impossibility.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:impossibility:x2:1
# text = Winning without practice is close to an impossibility.
1	Winning	win	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	csubj	_	_
2	without	without	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	practice	practice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	close	close	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	impossibility	impossibility	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **win** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | without practice | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | Winning |  |  |  |  | to a impossibility; close *property* | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A square circle is a logical impossibility.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:impossibility:x3:1
# text = A square circle is a logical impossibility.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	square	square	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	circle	circle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	logical	logical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	impossibility	impossibility	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a square circle | a logical impossibility |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Being in two places at once is a physical impossibility.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:impossibility:x4:1
# text = Being in two places at once is a physical impossibility.
1	Being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	cop	_	_
2	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	4	nummod	_	_
4	places	place	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	4	obl	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	physical	physical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	impossibility	impossibility	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | gerund |  |  |  | two places |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is a** | present | two places | a physical impossibility |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Getting a ticket was almost an impossibility.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:impossibility:x5:1
# text = Getting a ticket was almost an impossibility.
1	Getting	get	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	csubj	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	ticket	ticket	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	almost	almost	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
6	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	impossibility	impossibility	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** | gerund |  | a ticket |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer ticket=Stimulus |
| 2 | **is a** | past | Getting | a impossibility |  |  |  | almost *property* | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The impossibility of the task made them want to try harder.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:impossibility:x6:1
# text = The impossibility of the task made them want to try harder.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	impossibility	impossibility	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	task	task	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	want	want	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	try	try	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	xcomp	_	_
11	harder	hard	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	10	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | the impossibility of the task | them *= they* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **want** | infinitive | them *= they* *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 3 | **try** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | them *= they* *not said here* |  |  |  |  | hard *property* | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They declared that the problem would never be solved, that the thing was an impossibility.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:impossibility:x7:1
# text = They declared that the problem would never be solved, that the thing was an impossibility.
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	declared	declare	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	problem	problem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj:pass	_	_
6	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
7	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
8	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	aux:pass	_	_
9	solved	solve	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
11	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nsubj	_	_
14	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
15	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	impossibility	impossibility	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **declare** *speech: other* | past | They |  |  |  |  |  | vn declare-29.4-1-1-1 «NP V what S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **not** **solve** | would · passive |  | the problem |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: subject=Topic |
| 3 | **is a** | past | the thing | a impossibility |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- 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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