---
title: lawyer — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «lawyer» in the school dictionary: A person whose job is to know the law, give advice about it and speak for people in court. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# lawyer

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** person, you, aunt, lawyer, He, Mum · **What happens:** be, give, speak, argue, sound, help · **To what, where:** advice, lawyer, families, court, rules · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A person whose job is to know the law, give advice about it and speak for people in court.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lawyer:m1:1
# text = A person whose job is to know the law, give advice about it and speak for people in court.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	whose	whose	PRON	WP$	Poss=Yes|PronType=Rel	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	job	job	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	know	know	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	law	law	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
11	give	give	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	conj	_	_
12	advice	advice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
13	about	about	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nmod	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	speak	speak	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	conj	_	_
17	for	for	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	obl	_	_
19	in	in	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
20	court	court	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a person |  |  |  |  | know *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **give** | infinitive | a person *not said here* | advice |  |  |  | about job | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent advice=Theme |
| 3 | **speak** *speech: other* | infinitive | a person *not said here* |  |  |  |  | for people in court | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: 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.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Someone who argues very cleverly (you sound like a lawyer).

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lawyer:m2:1
# text = Someone who argues very cleverly (you sound like a lawyer).
1	Someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	0	root	_	_
2	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	3	nsubj	_	_
3	argues	argue	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	acl:relcl	_	_
4	very	very	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	cleverly	cleverly	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
6	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	sound	sound	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
9	like	like	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	lawyer	lawyer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **argue** *speech: disagree* | present |  |  |  |  |  | cleverly *property* | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **sound** | present | you |  |  |  |  | like a lawyer | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My aunt is a lawyer who helps families.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lawyer:x1:1
# text = My aunt is a lawyer who helps families.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	aunt	aunt	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	lawyer	lawyer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	helps	help	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	families	family	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | My aunt | a lawyer |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **help** | present | a lawyer | families |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent family=Beneficiary |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The lawyer spoke to the jury in court.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lawyer:x2:1
# text = The lawyer spoke to the jury in court.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	lawyer	lawyer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	spoke	speak	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	jury	jury	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	court	court	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 | **speak** *speech: other* | past | the lawyer |  |  | court |  | to the jury | vn talk-37.5 «NP V PP.co-agent»: agent=Agent to jury=Co-Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
You need a lawyer to help with the contract.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lawyer:x3:1
# text = You need a lawyer to help with the contract.
1	You	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	need	need	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	lawyer	lawyer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	help	help	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	acl	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	contract	contract	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **need** | present | You | a lawyer |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot lawyer=Theme |
| 2 | **help** | to-infinitive | You *not said here* | a lawyer *not said here* |  |  |  | with the contract | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent with contract=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He wants to be a lawyer when he grows up.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lawyer:x4:1
# text = He wants to be a lawyer when he grows up.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wants	want	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	lawyer	lawyer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	xcomp	_	_
7	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	9	advmod	_	_
8	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	grows	grow	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
10	up	up	ADP	RP	_	9	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **want** | present | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot |
| 2 | **is a** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | a lawyer |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **grow up** | present | lawyer |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"You argue like a lawyer!" said Mum.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lawyer:x5:1
# text = "You argue like a lawyer!" said Mum.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	You	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	argue	argue	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	ccomp	_	_
4	like	like	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	lawyer	lawyer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
9	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	Mum	Mum	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **argue** *speech: disagree* *in a quote* | present | You |  |  |  |  | like a lawyer | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **say** *speech: express* | past | Mum |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The lawyer read the rules very carefully.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lawyer:x6:1
# text = The lawyer read the rules very carefully.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	lawyer	lawyer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	read	read	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	rules	rule	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	very	very	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	carefully	carefully	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **read** | past | the lawyer | the rules |  |  |  | carefully *property* | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent rule=Topic |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I know that he never married, I believe he became a lawyer.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lawyer:x7:1
# text = I know that he never married, I believe he became a lawyer.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	know	know	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
5	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	married	marry	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
8	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	believe	believe	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
10	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	became	become	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	ccomp	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	lawyer	lawyer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **know** | present | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 2 | **not** **marry** | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-3-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **believe** | present | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 4 | **become** | past | he | a lawyer |  |  |  |  | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |

<!-- 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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