---
title: pitchfork — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «pitchfork» in the school dictionary: A pitchfork is a farm tool with a long handle and two or three metal prongs, used for lifting hay. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# pitchfork

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** pitchfork, Raining, farmers, It, he · **What happens:** be, use, lift, rain, mean, come · **To what, where:** farm tool, hay, pitchforks, nothing · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«pitchfork» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 3 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: [pitchfork in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/pitchfork.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A pitchfork is a farm tool with a long handle and two or three metal prongs, used for lifting hay.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pitchfork:m1:1
# text = A pitchfork is a farm tool with a long handle and two or three metal prongs, used for lifting hay.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	pitchfork	pitchfork	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	farm	farm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	tool	tool	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	handle	handle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
12	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	16	nummod	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	12	conj	_	_
15	metal	metal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	compound	_	_
16	prongs	prong	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
18	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	parataxis	_	_
19	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	20	mark	_	_
20	lifting	lift	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	18	advcl	_	_
21	hay	hay	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a pitchfork | a farm tool |  |  |  | with a long handle and two metal prongs | tree rules |
| 2 | **use** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **lift** | gerund |  | hay |  |  |  |  | vn put\_direction-9.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hay=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}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Raining pitchforks» means raining very hard.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pitchfork:m2:1
# text = «Raining pitchforks» means raining very hard.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Raining	rain	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	csubj	_	_
3	pitchforks	pitchfork	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
5	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	raining	rain	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	xcomp	_	_
7	very	very	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	hard	hard	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **rain** *in a quote* | gerund |  | pitchforks |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **mean** | present | Raining |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **rain** *not said to happen* | gerund | Raining *not said here* |  |  |  |  | hard *property* | vn weather-57 «It V PP.theme» |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The farmers came with rakes, brooms and pitchforks.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pitchfork:x1:1
# text = The farmers came with rakes, brooms and pitchforks.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	farmers	farmer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	rakes	rake	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	brooms	broom	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	conj	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	pitchforks	pitchfork	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | past | the farmers |  |  |  |  | with rakes and brooms and pitchforks | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It was so dark he could see nothing, and it was raining pitchforks.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pitchfork:x2:1
# text = It was so dark he could see nothing, and it was raining pitchforks.
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	so	so	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	dark	dark	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
6	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	parataxis	_	_
8	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
12	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
13	raining	rain	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	advcl	_	_
14	pitchforks	pitchfork	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | It |  |  |  |  | dark *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **see** | could | he | nothing |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer nothing=Stimulus |
| 3 | **rain** | past · progressive | it | pitchforks |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He lifted the hay with a pitchfork.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pitchfork:x3:1
# text = He lifted the hay with a pitchfork.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	lifted	lift	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	hay	hay	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	pitchfork	pitchfork	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lift** | past | He | the hay |  |  |  | with a pitchfork | vn put\_direction-9.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hay=Theme |

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**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.

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