---
title: patrol — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «patrol» in the school dictionary: To patrol an area is to go around it regularly to check that it is safe and that nothing is wrong. 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/P/patrol/)

<!-- 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/) / [P](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/) / patrol

# patrol

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** area, nothing, patrol, soldiers, Police officers, Lifeguards · **What happens:** patrol, be, check, do, mean, swim · **To what, where:** area, group, this, busy patrolling, patrol, park · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To patrol an area is to go around it regularly to check that it is safe and that nothing is wrong.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patrol:m1:1
# text = To patrol an area is to go around it regularly to check that it is safe and that nothing is wrong.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	patrol	patrol	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	_
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	area	area	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
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	go	go	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	around	around	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obl	_	_
10	regularly	regularly	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	check	check	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	_
13	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
14	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
15	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
16	safe	safe	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	ccomp	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
18	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	21	mark	_	_
19	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	21	nsubj	_	_
20	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	21	cop	_	_
21	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **patrol** | to-infinitive |  | a area |  |  |  |  | vn search-35.2 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent area=Location |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  | area |  | go, regularly *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **check** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is** | present | area |  |  |  |  | safe *property* | tree rules |
| 5 | **is** | present | nothing |  |  |  |  | wrong *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .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 -->
A patrol is a group of people, such as soldiers or police, who do this.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patrol:m2:1
# text = A patrol is a group of people, such as soldiers or police, who do this.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	patrol	patrol	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	group	group	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	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	soldiers	soldier	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	parataxis	_	_
12	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
15	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	16	nsubj	_	_
16	do	do	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	conj	_	_
17	this	this	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	16	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a patrol | a group |  |  |  | of people | tree rules |
| 2 | **do** | present | soldiers or police | this |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent this=Eventuality |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
On patrol means busy patrolling.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patrol:m3:1
# text = On patrol means busy patrolling.
1	On	on	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	patrol	patrol	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	busy	busy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	patrolling	patrolling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present |  | busy patrolling |  | patrol |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent patrolling=Topic |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Police officers patrol the park at night.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patrol:x1:1
# text = Police officers patrol the park at night.
1	Police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	compound	_	_
2	officers	officer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	patrol	patrol	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	park	park	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **patrol** | present | Police officers | the park |  |  | night |  | vn search-35.2 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent park=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Lifeguards patrol the beach in summer.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patrol:x2:1
# text = Lifeguards patrol the beach in summer.
1	Lifeguards	lifeguard	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	patrol	patrol	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	beach	beach	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	summer	summer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **patrol** | present | Lifeguards | the beach |  |  | summer |  | vn search-35.2 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent beach=Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The soldiers were out on patrol.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patrol:x3:1
# text = The soldiers were out on patrol.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	soldiers	soldier	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	out	out	ADP	RP	_	3	compound:prt	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	patrol	patrol	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the soldiers |  |  | patrol |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Swim between the flags where lifeguards patrol.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patrol:x4:1
# text = Swim between the flags where lifeguards patrol.
1	Swim	swim	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	between	between	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	flags	flag	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obl	_	_
5	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	7	advmod	_	_
6	lifeguards	lifeguard	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
7	patrol	patrol	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swim** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  | the flags |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme between flag=Trajectory |
| 2 | **patrol** | present | lifeguards |  |  |  |  |  | vn search-35.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The school crossing patrol helps us cross.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patrol:x5:1
# text = The school crossing patrol helps us cross.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	crossing	crossing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	patrol	patrol	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	helps	help	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	_
7	cross	cross	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **help** | present | the crossing patrol | us |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent we=Beneficiary clause=Theme |
| 2 | **cross** | infinitive | us *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our Scout patrol is called the Eagles.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patrol:x6:1
# text = Our Scout patrol is called the Eagles.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	Scout	scout	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	patrol	patrol	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	Eagles	eagle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | present · passive |  | Our Scout patrol |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: subject=Recipient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A guard dog patrols the yard.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patrol:x7:1
# text = A guard dog patrols the yard.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	guard	guard	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	patrols	patrol	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	yard	yard	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **patrol** | present | a guard dog | the yard |  |  |  |  | vn search-35.2 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent yard=Location |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It was the colonel himself who came with the patrol, and he was not a little surprised when he found the recruit safe and sound.

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:patrol:x8:1
# text = It was the colonel himself who came with the patrol, and he was not a little surprised when he found the recruit safe and sound.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	colonel	colonel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	himself	himself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Emp|Reflex=Yes	4	nmod:unmarked	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	patrol	patrol	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
13	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
14	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	18	cop	_	_
15	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	18	advmod	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	obl:unmarked	_	_
18	surprised	surprised	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	conj	_	_
19	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	21	advmod	_	_
20	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	21	nsubj	_	_
21	found	find	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	18	advcl	_	_
22	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
23	recruit	recruit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	obj	_	_
24	safe	safe	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	21	xcomp	_	_
25	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	26	cc	_	_
26	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	24	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | It | the colonel |  |  |  | himself *= he* *nmod:unmarked* | tree rules |
| 2 | **come** | past | the colonel |  |  |  |  | with the patrol | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **not** **is** | past | he |  |  |  |  | a little *obl:unmarked*; surprised *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **find** | past | he | the recruit |  |  |  | safe *property* | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent recruit=Topic |

<!-- 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: [patriotic](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/patriotic/)
- next →: [patron](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/patron/)
- ↑ back to [P in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/P/)