---
title: merchant — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «merchant» in the school dictionary: A merchant is a person who buys and sells goods to make money, a trader. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# merchant

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** merchant, person, merchants, merchant ship, He, profit · **What happens:** be, buy, sell, make, sail, travel · **To what, where:** person, goods, money, cloth, 20 bags, them

<!-- .vabout -->
«merchant» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 9 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: [merchant in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/merchant.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A merchant is a person who buys and sells goods to make money, a trader.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merchant:m1:1
# text = A merchant is a person who buys and sells goods to make money, a trader.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	merchant	merchant	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	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	buys	buy	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	sells	sell	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	conj	_	_
10	goods	goods	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	9	obj	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	advcl	_	_
13	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	trader	trader	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a merchant | a person |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **buy** | present | a person |  |  |  |  |  | vn accept-77.1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **sell** | present | a person *not said here* | goods |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent goods=Theme |
| 4 | **make** | to-infinitive | a person *not said here* | money and a trader |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset money=Product |

<!-- .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 -->
In old times merchants sailed or travelled far to trade cloth, spices and gold.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merchant:m2:1
# text = In old times merchants sailed or travelled far to trade cloth, spices and gold.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	times	time	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
4	merchants	merchant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
5	sailed	sail	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	travelled	travel	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
8	far	far	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	7	advmod	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	trade	trade	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	xcomp	_	_
11	cloth	cloth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
13	spices	spice	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	conj	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	gold	gold	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sail** | past | merchants |  |  |  | time |  | vn nonvehicle-51.4.2-1 «NP.agent V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **travel** | past | merchants *not said here* |  |  |  |  | far *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **trade** | to-infinitive | merchants *not said here* | cloth and spices and gold |  |  |  |  | vn exchange-13.6.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cloth=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A merchant ship carries goods for trade, not soldiers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merchant:m3:1
# text = A merchant ship carries goods for trade, not soldiers.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	merchant	merchant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	ship	ship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	carries	carry	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	goods	goods	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	4	obj	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	trade	trade	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
9	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	10	advmod	_	_
10	soldiers	soldier	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **carry** | present | a merchant ship | goods |  |  |  | for trade and soldiers | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent goods=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A merchant buys 20 bags of rice for 5 dollars each.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merchant:x1:1
# text = A merchant buys 20 bags of rice for 5 dollars each.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	merchant	merchant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	buys	buy	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	20	20	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	bags	bag	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	rice	rice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	5	5	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	10	nummod	_	_
10	dollars	dollar	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
11	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	10	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **buy** | present | a merchant | 20 bags of rice |  |  |  | for 5 dollars | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent bag=Theme for dollar=Beneficiary |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He sells them for 7 dollars each.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merchant:x2:1
# text = He sells them for 7 dollars each.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sells	sell	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	7	7	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	dollars	dollar	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
7	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	6	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sell** | present | He | them *= they* |  |  |  | for 7 dollars | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.asset»: agent=Agent they=Theme for dollar=Asset |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What is his profit?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merchant:x3:1
# text = What is his profit?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	0	root	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	cop	_	_
3	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	profit	profit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | his profit |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **profit** |  | his *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom profit «possession intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The merchant has 300 metres of cloth.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merchant:x4:1
# text = The merchant has 300 metres of cloth.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	merchant	merchant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	300	300	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	metres	metre	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	cloth	cloth	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 | **have** | present | the merchant | 300 metres of cloth |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent metre=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Merchants carried silk and spices along long roads.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merchant:x5:1
# text = Merchants carried silk and spices along long roads.
1	Merchants	merchant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	carried	carry	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	silk	silk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	spices	spice	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	conj	_	_
6	along	along	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	roads	road	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **carry** | past | Merchants | silk and spices |  |  |  | along long roads | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent silk=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The merchant ship sailed into the harbour.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merchant:x6:1
# text = The merchant ship sailed into the harbour.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	merchant	merchant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	ship	ship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	sailed	sail	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	into	into	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	harbour	harbour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sail** | past | the merchant ship |  |  | the harbour |  |  | vn nonvehicle-51.4.2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent into harbour=Trajectory |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the story, a poor boy became a rich merchant.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merchant:x7:1
# text = In the story, a poor boy became a rich merchant.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	poor	poor	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	became	become	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	rich	rich	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	merchant	merchant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **become** | past | a poor boy | a rich merchant |  |  |  | in the story *result* | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient in story=Result |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The merchant weighed the tea on his scales.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merchant:x8:1
# text = The merchant weighed the tea on his scales.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	merchant	merchant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	weighed	weigh	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	tea	tea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	scales	scale	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **weigh** | past | the merchant | the tea |  | merchant's scales |  |  | vn register-54.1-2-1 «NP V NP.value»: agent=Theme tea=Value |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The merchants considered for some time.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:merchant:x9:1
# text = The merchants considered for some time.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	merchants	merchant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	considered	consider	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	6	det	_	_
6	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **consider** | past | the merchants |  |  |  | time |  | vn consider-29.9-1-1 «NP V whether/if S»: agent=Agent |

<!-- 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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