---
title: malpractice — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «malpractice» in the school dictionary: When a doctor, lawyer or other professional does their job very badly or carelessly, and someone is harmed because of it. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/malpractice/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [M](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/) / malpractice

# malpractice

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** doctor, Taking, hospital, Exam malpractice, your, teacher · **What happens:** harm, job, misuse, take, count, investigate · **To what, where:** someone, money, phone, exam, case, doctor

<!-- .vabout -->
«malpractice» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 8 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: [malpractice in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/malpractice.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
When a doctor, lawyer or other professional does their job very badly or carelessly, and someone is harmed because of it.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:malpractice:m1:1
# text = When a doctor, lawyer or other professional does their job very badly or carelessly, and someone is harmed because of it.
1	When	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	9	mark	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	doctor	doctor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	lawyer	lawyer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	_
8	professional	professional	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
9	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	20	aux	_	_
10	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	job	job	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
12	very	very	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
13	badly	badly	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	9	advmod	_	_
14	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	carelessly	carelessly	ADV	RB	_	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
18	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	20	nsubj	_	_
19	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	20	aux:pass	_	_
20	harmed	harm	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
21	because	because	ADP	IN	ExtPos=ADP	23	case	_	_
22	of	of	ADP	IN	_	21	fixed	_	_
23	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	20	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	20	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **harm** | present · passive · do-support |  | someone |  |  |  | because job | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Experiencer |
| 2 | **job** |  | doctor |  |  |  |  |  | nom job «act intransitive»: poss=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: formal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Wrong or dishonest behaviour in a job, such as cheating in exams or misusing money.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:malpractice:m2:1
# text = Wrong or dishonest behaviour in a job, such as cheating in exams or misusing money.
1	Wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
2	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	dishonest	dishonest	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	conj	_	_
4	behaviour	behaviour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	job	job	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
9	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=ADP	11	case	_	_
10	as	as	ADP	IN	_	9	fixed	_	_
11	cheating	cheating	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	_
12	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	exams	exam	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nmod	_	_
14	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	misusing	misuse	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	11	conj	_	_
16	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **misuse** | gerund |  | money |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Taking a phone into an exam counts as malpractice.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:malpractice:x1:1
# text = Taking a phone into an exam counts as malpractice.
1	Taking	take	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	csubj	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	phone	phone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	into	into	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	exam	exam	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
7	counts	count	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	as	as	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	malpractice	malpractice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | gerund |  | a phone |  | a exam |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent phone=Theme into exam=Destination |
| 2 | **count** | present | Taking |  |  |  |  | as malpractice | vn masquerade-29.6 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Agent as malpractice=Attribute |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The hospital investigated a case of malpractice.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:malpractice:x2:1
# text = The hospital investigated a case of malpractice.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	hospital	hospital	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	investigated	investigate	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	case	case	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	malpractice	malpractice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **investigate** | past | the hospital | a case of malpractice |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent case=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The doctor was sued for malpractice after the wrong operation.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:malpractice:x3:1
# text = The doctor was sued for malpractice after the wrong operation.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	doctor	doctor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	sued	sue	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	malpractice	malpractice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
7	after	after	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	operation	operation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sue** | past · passive |  | the doctor |  |  | after the wrong operation | for malpractice | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Exam malpractice can mean losing all your marks for that subject.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:malpractice:x4:1
# text = Exam malpractice can mean losing all your marks for that subject.
1	Exam	exam	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	malpractice	malpractice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	losing	lose	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	xcomp	_	_
6	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	8	det:predet	_	_
7	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	marks	mark	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	11	det	_	_
11	subject	subject	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can | Exam malpractice |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **lose** *not said to happen* | gerund | Exam malpractice *not said here* | your marks |  |  |  | for that subject | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent mark=Eventuality |
| 3 | **mark** |  | your |  |  |  |  |  | nom mark «cognition transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The lawyer was accused of malpractice for losing the client's money.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:malpractice:x5:1
# text = The lawyer was accused of malpractice for losing the client's money.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	lawyer	lawyer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	accused	accuse	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	malpractice	malpractice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
7	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
8	losing	lose	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	advcl	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	client	client	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	's	's	PART	POS	_	10	case	_	_
12	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **accuse** | past · passive |  | the lawyer |  |  |  | of malpractice | vn suspect-81 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: subject=Theme of malpractice=Attribute |
| 2 | **lose** | gerund |  | the client's money |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent money=Eventuality |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our teacher read out the rules about exam malpractice.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:malpractice:x6:1
# text = Our teacher read out the rules about exam malpractice.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	read	read	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	out	out	ADP	RP	_	3	compound:prt	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	rules	rule	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
7	about	about	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	exam	exam	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	malpractice	malpractice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Most doctors are very careful, and malpractice is rare.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:malpractice:x7:1
# text = Most doctors are very careful, and malpractice is rare.
1	Most	most	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	2	amod	_	_
2	doctors	doctor	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	very	very	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	careful	careful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
8	malpractice	malpractice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	rare	rare	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Most doctors |  |  |  |  | careful *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | malpractice |  |  |  |  | rare *property* | tree rules |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Copying from a friend's paper is malpractice.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:malpractice:x8:1
# text = Copying from a friend's paper is malpractice.
1	Copying	copy	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	csubj	_	_
2	from	from	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	friend	friend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	paper	paper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	malpractice	malpractice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **copy** | gerund |  |  |  | a friend's paper |  |  | vn scribble-25.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | present | Copying | malpractice |  |  |  |  | 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [mallet](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/mallet/)
- next →: [malt](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/malt/)
- ↑ back to [M in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/M/)