---
title: jacks — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «jacks» in the school dictionary: Jacks is a children's game where you toss a small ball and pick up small metal or plastic pieces called jacks before catching it. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# jacks

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Jacks, you, plastic pieces, jack, tool, We · **What happens:** be, toss, pick up, call, catch, play · **To what, where:** game, small ball, small metal, jacks, ball, cards · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«jacks» in the school dictionary: its 4 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: [jacks in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/jacks.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Jacks is a children's game where you toss a small ball and pick up small metal or plastic pieces called jacks before catching it.

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:jacks:m1:1
# text = Jacks is a children's game where you toss a small ball and pick up small metal or plastic pieces called jacks before catching it.
1	Jacks	jack	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	9	advmod	_	_
8	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	toss	toss	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	ball	ball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	pick	pick	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	conj	_	_
15	up	up	ADP	RP	_	14	compound:prt	_	_
16	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
17	metal	metal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	_
18	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
19	plastic	plastic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	amod	_	_
20	pieces	piece	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	conj	_	_
21	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	20	acl	_	_
22	jacks	jack	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	21	xcomp	_	_
23	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	24	mark	_	_
24	catching	catch	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	14	advcl	_	_
25	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	24	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Jacks | a children's game |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **toss** | present | you | a small ball |  |  |  |  | vn crane-40.3.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ball=Patient |
| 3 | **pick up** | present | you *not said here* | small metal or plastic pieces |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent metal=Topic |
| 4 | **call** | participle | plastic pieces *not said here* | jacks |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 5 | **catch** | gerund | you *not said here* | ball |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=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 -->
Jacks are playing cards with a picture of a young man, worth between 10 and the queen.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:jacks:m2:1
# text = Jacks are playing cards with a picture of a young man, worth between 10 and the queen.
1	Jacks	jack	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	playing	play	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	cards	card	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	picture	picture	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
13	worth	worth	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
14	between	between	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	10	10	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	13	obl	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	queen	queen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **play** | present · progressive | Jacks | cards |  |  |  | with a picture of a young man and the queen | vn play-114.2-1 «NP V NP PP.co-agent»: agent=Agent card=Theme with picture=Co-Agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A jack is a tool that lifts a car off the ground.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:jacks:m3:1
# text = A jack is a tool that lifts a car off the ground.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	jack	jack	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	tool	tool	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	lifts	lift	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	off	off	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	ground	ground	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a jack | a tool |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **lift** | present | a tool | a car |  | the ground |  |  | vn put\_direction-9.4 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent car=Theme off ground=Destination |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: informal, Australia — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Jacks» means police; «be jack of» means be tired of.

<!-- fold The tree, 10 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:jacks:m4:1
# text = «Jacks» means police; «be jack of» means be tired of.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Jacks	jack	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
4	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	police	police	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
7	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	aux:pass	_	_
9	jack	jack	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	12	nsubj	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	_
12	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
13	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	14	cop	_	_
14	tired	tired	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	xcomp	_	_
15	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Jacks | police |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent police=Topic |
| 2 | **jack** *in a quote* | infinitive · passive |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is** *not said to happen* | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | tired *property* | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We played jacks at break time.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:jacks:x1:1
# text = We played jacks at break time.
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	jacks	jack	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	break	break	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **play** | past | We | jacks |  |  | time |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent jack=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She picked up three jacks before the ball bounced.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:jacks:x2:1
# text = She picked up three jacks before the ball bounced.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	picked	pick	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	up	up	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	jacks	jack	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
6	before	before	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	ball	ball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
9	bounced	bounce	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pick up** | past | She | three jacks |  |  | before the ball |  | vn discover-84-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent jack=Topic |
| 2 | **bounce** | participle | She *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He had two jacks in his hand of cards.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:jacks:x3:1
# text = He had two jacks in his hand of cards.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	4	nummod	_	_
4	jacks	jack	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	hand	hand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	cards	card	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | He | two jacks |  | his hand of cards |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent jack=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dad used a jack to lift the car.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:jacks:x4:1
# text = Dad used a jack to lift the car.
1	Dad	dad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	used	use	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	jack	jack	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	lift	lift	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | past | Dad | a jack |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent jack=Patient |
| 2 | **lift** | to-infinitive | Dad *not said here* | the car |  |  |  |  | vn put\_direction-9.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent car=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There are four jacks in a pack of cards.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:jacks:x5:1
# text = There are four jacks in a pack of cards.
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	2	expl	_	_
2	are	be	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	four	four	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	4	nummod	_	_
4	jacks	jack	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	pack	pack	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	cards	card	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **does** | present | four jacks |  |  | a pack of cards; there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in pack=Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Never crawl under a car held only by a jack.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:jacks:x6:1
# text = Never crawl under a car held only by a jack.
1	Never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	2	advmod	_	_
2	crawl	crawl	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	under	under	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	held	hold	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl	_	_
7	only	only	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
8	by	by	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	jack	jack	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl:agent	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **crawl** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  | a car |  |  | vn run-51.3.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme under car=Trajectory |
| 2 | **hold** | participle |  | a car *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- 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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