---
title: practical — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «practical» in the school dictionary: Practical means to do with doing real things rather than only ideas or theory. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# practical

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Practical, practical person, practical object, you, We, Grandma · **What happens:** mean, do, be, deal, make, work · **To what, where:** real things, things, lesson, experiments, practical experiment, practical shoes · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«practical» in the school dictionary: its 4 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: [practical in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/practical.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Practical means to do with doing real things rather than only ideas or theory.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:practical:m1:1
# text = Practical means to do with doing real things rather than only ideas or theory.
1	Practical	practical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	ccomp	_	_
5	with	with	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
6	doing	do	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	advcl	_	_
7	real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
9	rather	rather	ADV	RB	ExtPos=CCONJ	12	cc	_	_
10	than	than	ADP	IN	_	9	fixed	_	_
11	only	only	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
12	ideas	idea	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	conj	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	theory	theory	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Practical |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **do** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **do** | gerund |  | real things rather ideas or theory |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent thing=Eventuality |

<!-- .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 practical person is good at dealing with real problems and making things work.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:practical:m2:1
# text = A practical person is good at dealing with real problems and making things work.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	practical	practical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	at	at	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
7	dealing	deal	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	advcl	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	problems	problem	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	making	make	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	7	conj	_	_
13	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obj	_	_
14	work	work	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a practical person |  |  |  |  | good *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **deal** | gerund | a practical person *not said here* |  |  |  |  | with real problems | vn cope-83 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent with problem=Theme |
| 3 | **make** | gerund | a practical person *not said here* | things |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset thing=Product |
| 4 | **work** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A practical object or plan is useful and sensible.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:practical:m3:1
# text = A practical object or plan is useful and sensible.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	practical	practical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	object	object	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	plan	plan	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	useful	useful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	sensible	sensible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a practical object or plan |  |  |  |  | useful *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  | a practical object or plan *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A practical is a lesson or exam where you do experiments or real tasks.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:practical:m4:1
# text = A practical is a lesson or exam where you do experiments or real tasks.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	practical	practical	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	lesson	lesson	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	exam	exam	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
8	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	10	advmod	_	_
9	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	do	do	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
11	experiments	experiment	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	_
12	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
13	real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	tasks	task	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a practical | a lesson or exam |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **do** | present | you | experiments or real tasks |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent experiment=Eventuality |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We did a practical experiment with magnets.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:practical:x1:1
# text = We did a practical experiment with magnets.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	practical	practical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	experiment	experiment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	magnets	magnet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | past | We | a practical experiment |  |  |  | with magnets | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent experiment=Eventuality |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Wear practical shoes for the hike.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:practical:x2:1
# text = Wear practical shoes for the hike.
1	Wear	wear	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	practical	practical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	shoes	shoe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	hike	hike	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wear** | imperative | you *not said here* | practical shoes |  |  |  | for the hike | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1-1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent shoe=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandma is very practical; she can fix anything.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:practical:x3:1
# text = Grandma is very practical; she can fix anything.
1	Grandma	grandma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	very	very	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	practical	practical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
6	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
7	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	fix	fix	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	parataxis	_	_
9	anything	anything	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Grandma |  |  |  |  | practical *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **fix** | can | she | anything |  |  |  |  | vn shake-22.3-2 «NP V NP together»: agent=Agent anything=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It isn't practical to walk ten miles to school.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:practical:x4:1
# text = It isn't practical to walk ten miles to school.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	practical	practical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	walk	walk	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
7	ten	ten	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	miles	mile	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
9	to	to	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is** | present | It |  |  |  |  | practical *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **walk** | to-infinitive |  | ten miles |  | school |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V NP PP.trajectory»: agent=Agent mile=Theme to school=Trajectory |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our science practical is on Thursday.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:practical:x5:1
# text = Our science practical is on Thursday.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	science	science	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	practical	practical	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	Thursday	Thursday	PROPN	NNP	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** | present | Our science practical |  |  |  |  | on Thursday | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Learning to cook is a practical skill.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:practical:x6:1
# text = Learning to cook is a practical skill.
1	Learning	learn	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	csubj	_	_
2	to	to	PART	TO	_	3	mark	_	_
3	cook	cook	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	xcomp	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	practical	practical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	skill	skill	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 | **learn** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **cook** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn cooking-45.3 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **is a** | present | Learning | a practical skill |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He played a practical joke on his sister.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:practical:x7:1
# text = He played a practical joke on his sister.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	played	play	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	practical	practical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	joke	joke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	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	sister	sister	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **play** | past | He | a practical joke |  |  |  | on his sister | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent joke=Theme |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He was quite a practical boy.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:practical:x8:1
# text = He was quite a practical boy.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
3	quite	quite	DET	PDT	PronType=Ind	6	det:predet	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	practical	practical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	boy	boy	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 a** | past | He | quite practical boy |  |  |  |  | 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 -->
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