---
title: laborious — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «laborious» in the school dictionary: Needing a lot of hard work, effort and time. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# laborious

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Copying, Digging, Adding, laborious spring cleaning, arms, Mole · **What happens:** need, show, copy, be, dig, add · **To what, where:** lot, much effort, whole book, laborious work, tunnel, 7

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Needing a lot of hard work, effort and time.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:laborious:m1:1
# text = Needing a lot of hard work, effort and time.
1	Needing	need	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	lot	lot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
8	effort	effort	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **need** | gerund |  | a lot of hard work and effort and time |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot lot=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}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: of writing or speech — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Slow and heavy, showing too much effort.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:laborious:m2:1
# text = Slow and heavy, showing too much effort.
1	Slow	slow	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
2	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	heavy	heavy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	showing	show	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	1	advcl	_	_
6	too	too	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	much	much	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	effort	effort	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | gerund |  | much effort |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent effort=Recipient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Copying the whole book by hand was laborious work.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:laborious:x1:1
# text = Copying the whole book by hand was laborious work.
1	Copying	copy	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	9	csubj	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	book	book	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	hand	hand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	laborious	laborious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **copy** | gerund |  | the whole book |  |  |  | by hand | vn transcribe-25.4 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent book=Theme by hand=Destination |
| 2 | **is a** | past | Copying | laborious work |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Digging the tunnel was slow and laborious.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:laborious:x2:1
# text = Digging the tunnel was slow and laborious.
1	Digging	dig	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	csubj	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	tunnel	tunnel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	slow	slow	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	laborious	laborious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dig** | gerund |  | the tunnel |  |  |  |  | vn poke-19-1-1-1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent tunnel=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | past | Digging |  |  |  |  | slow *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **be** |  | Digging *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Adding 7 forty times is laborious, so use 7 × 40 instead.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:laborious:x3:1
# text = Adding 7 forty times is laborious, so use 7 × 40 instead.
1	Adding	add	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	csubj	_	_
2	7	7	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	4	nummod	_	_
3	forty	forty	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	2	flat	_	_
4	times	time	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obl:unmarked	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	laborious	laborious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	so	so	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	use	use	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	6	parataxis	_	_
10	7	7	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	9	obj	_	_
11	×	×	SYM	SYM	_	12	case	_	_
12	40	40	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	10	nmod	_	_
13	instead	instead	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **add** *speech: assert* | gerund |  |  |  |  | time |  | vn mix-22.1-2 «NP V ADVP-Middle»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **is** | present | Adding |  |  |  |  | laborious *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **use** | infinitive |  | 7 |  |  |  | × 40; instead *property* | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent 7=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Mole's laborious spring-cleaning made his arms ache.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:laborious:x4:1
# text = The Mole's laborious spring-cleaning made his arms ache.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Mole	mole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	laborious	laborious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
5	spring	spring	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	cleaning	cleaning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	arms	arm	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nsubj	_	_
11	ache	ache	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | the Mole's laborious spring cleaning |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **ache** | present | cleaning's arms |  |  |  |  |  | vn marvel-31.3 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 3 | **clean** |  | the Mole |  |  |  |  |  | nom cleaning «act intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Before washing machines, washing clothes was laborious.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:laborious:x5:1
# text = Before washing machines, washing clothes was laborious.
1	Before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	2	mark	_	_
2	washing	wash	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	advcl	_	_
3	machines	machine	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
5	washing	wash	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	amod	_	_
6	clothes	clothes	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	8	nsubj	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	laborious	laborious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wash** | gerund | washing clothes *not said here* | machines |  |  |  |  | vn floss-41.2.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent machine=Patient |
| 2 | **wash** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn floss-41.2.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is** | past | washing clothes |  |  |  |  | laborious *property* | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
His laborious handwriting took ages.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:laborious:x6:1
# text = His laborious handwriting took ages.
1	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	laborious	laborious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	handwriting	handwriting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	took	take	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	ages	age	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | past | His laborious handwriting | ages |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent age=Theme |
| 2 | **handwrite** |  | His *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom handwriting «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

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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.

<!-- /div -->

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