---
title: mischief — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «mischief» in the school dictionary: Mischief is naughty behaviour that is usually playful and not very harmful, like playing tricks. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# mischief

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Mischief, naughty behaviour, puppy, Grandma, eyes, he · **What happens:** be, not be, play, mean, cause, tease · **To what, where:** naughty behaviour, tricks, harm, purpose, mischief, slippers

<!-- .vabout -->
«mischief» in the school dictionary: its 3 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: [mischief in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/mischief.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mischief is naughty behaviour that is usually playful and not very harmful, like playing tricks.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:mischief:m1:1
# text = Mischief is naughty behaviour that is usually playful and not very harmful, like playing tricks.
1	Mischief	mischief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	naughty	naughty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	behaviour	behaviour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	usually	usually	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	playful	playful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	acl:relcl	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
10	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	12	advmod	_	_
11	very	very	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
12	harmful	harmful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
14	like	like	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
15	playing	play	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	advcl	_	_
16	tricks	trick	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Mischief | naughty behaviour |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | naughty behaviour |  |  |  |  | playful, usually *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **not** **be** |  | naughty behaviour *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **play** | gerund | naughty behaviour *not said here* | tricks |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent trick=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 -->
Mischief can also mean harm or trouble caused on purpose.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:mischief:m2:1
# text = Mischief can also mean harm or trouble caused on purpose.
1	Mischief	mischief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	also	also	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	harm	harm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	trouble	trouble	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
8	caused	cause	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	purpose	purpose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can | Mischief | harm or trouble |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent harm=Topic |
| 2 | **cause** | participle |  | harm or trouble *not said here* |  | purpose |  |  | vn result-27.2 «NP V PP»: agent=Precondition |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A wish to tease or play tricks, as in "a look of mischief".

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:mischief:m3:1
# text = A wish to tease or play tricks, as in "a look of mischief".
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	wish	wish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	tease	tease	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	acl	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	play	play	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
7	tricks	trick	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
9	as	as	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
11	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	look	look	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	parataxis	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	mischief	mischief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tease** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn ferret-35.6 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **play** | infinitive |  | tricks |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent trick=Theme clause=Eventuality |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The puppy got into mischief and chewed my slippers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:mischief:x1:1
# text = The puppy got into mischief and chewed my slippers.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	puppy	puppy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	got	get	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	into	into	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	mischief	mischief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	chewed	chew	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
8	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	slippers	slipper	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** | past | the puppy |  |  | mischief |  |  | vn escape-51.1 «NP V PP.destination»: agent=Theme into mischief=Destination |
| 2 | **chew** | past | the puppy *not said here* | my slippers |  |  |  |  | vn chew-39.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent slipper=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandma gave us jobs to keep us out of mischief.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:mischief:x2:1
# text = Grandma gave us jobs to keep us out of mischief.
1	Grandma	grandma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	iobj	_	_
4	jobs	job	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	keep	keep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
7	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	out	out	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	mischief	mischief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | Grandma | jobs | us |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent we=Recipient job=Theme |
| 2 | **keep** | to-infinitive | Grandma *not said here* | us |  | mischief |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent we=Theme out mischief=Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
His eyes were full of mischief as he hid the teacher's chalk.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:mischief:x3:1
# text = His eyes were full of mischief as he hid the teacher's chalk.
1	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	eyes	eye	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	mischief	mischief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
7	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
8	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	hid	hide	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	's	's	PART	POS	_	11	case	_	_
13	chalk	chalk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | His eyes |  |  |  |  | of mischief; full *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **hide** | past | he | the teacher's chalk |  |  |  |  | vn concealment-16-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent chalk=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The twins are always up to mischief.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:mischief:x4:1
# text = The twins are always up to mischief.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	twins	twin	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	7	advmod	_	_
5	up	up	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	mischief	mischief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the twins |  |  |  |  | up mischief; always *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The goblins made mischief in the village every night.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:mischief:x5:1
# text = The goblins made mischief in the village every night.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	goblins	goblin	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	mischief	mischief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	village	village	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	9	det	_	_
9	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | the goblins | mischief |  | the village | night |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent mischief=Product |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She gave me a look of mischief before pouring water on Dad.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:mischief:x6:1
# text = She gave me a look of mischief before pouring water on Dad.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	iobj	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	look	look	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	mischief	mischief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
8	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
9	pouring	pour	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	advcl	_	_
10	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
11	on	on	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	Dad	Dad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | She | a look of mischief | me |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent i=Recipient look=Theme |
| 2 | **pour** | gerund | She *not said here* | water |  |  |  | on Dad | vn preparing-26.3-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent water=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
(formal) The rumours were spread to make mischief between the two families.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:mischief:x7:1
# text = (formal) The rumours were spread to make mischief between the two families.
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	formal	formal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	2	punct	_	_
4	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	rumours	rumour	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj:pass	_	_
6	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux:pass	_	_
7	spread	spread	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	_
10	mischief	mischief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
11	between	between	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	14	nummod	_	_
14	families	family	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spread** | past · passive |  | the formal rumours |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 2 | **make** | to-infinitive |  | mischief |  |  |  | between the two families | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset mischief=Product |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
His hands are always kept in mischief.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:mischief:x8:1
# text = His hands are always kept in mischief.
1	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	hands	hand	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
4	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	5	advmod	_	_
5	kept	keep	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	mischief	mischief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | present · passive |  | His hands |  | mischief |  | always *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: subject=Theme in mischief=Location |

<!-- 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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