---
title: ramrod — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «ramrod» in the school dictionary: A ramrod is a long, thin rod once used to push powder and shot down the barrel of an old gun. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# ramrod

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** ramrod, long thin rod, straight, soldier, back · **What happens:** be, use, push, shoot down, mean, stand · **To what, where:** long thin rod, powder, barrel, Old guns

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«ramrod» 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: [ramrod in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/ramrod.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A ramrod is a long, thin rod once used to push powder and shot down the barrel of an old gun.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ramrod:m1:1
# text = A ramrod is a long, thin rod once used to push powder and shot down the barrel of an old gun.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	ramrod	ramrod	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
5	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
7	thin	thin	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	rod	rod	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	10	advmod	_	_
10	used	use	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	push	push	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	xcomp	_	_
13	powder	powder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	shot	shoot	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	conj	_	_
16	down	down	ADP	RP	_	15	compound:prt	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	barrel	barrel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obj	_	_
19	of	of	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
20	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
21	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	22	amod	_	_
22	gun	gun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a ramrod | a long thin rod |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **use** | past | a long thin rod *not said here* |  |  |  |  | once *property* | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 3 | **push** | to-infinitive | a long thin rod *not said here* | powder |  |  |  |  | vn carry-11.4-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent powder=Theme |
| 4 | **shoot down** | past | a long thin rod *not said here* | the barrel of a old gun |  |  |  |  | vn throw-17.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent barrel=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 -->
«As straight as a ramrod» means very stiff and upright.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ramrod:m2:1
# text = «As straight as a ramrod» means very stiff and upright.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	As	as	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	straight	straight	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	nsubj	_	_
4	as	as	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	ramrod	ramrod	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
8	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	very	very	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	stiff	stiff	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	xcomp	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	upright	upright	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The soldier stood as straight as a ramrod.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ramrod:x1:1
# text = The soldier stood as straight as a ramrod.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	soldier	soldier	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	stood	stand	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	as	as	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	straight	straight	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	_
6	as	as	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	ramrod	ramrod	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stand** | past | the soldier |  |  |  |  | straight *property* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Old guns were loaded with a ramrod.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ramrod:x2:1
# text = Old guns were loaded with a ramrod.
1	Old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	guns	gun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	loaded	load	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	ramrod	ramrod	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 | **load** | past · passive |  | Old guns |  |  |  | with a ramrod | vn spray-9.7-2 «NP V NP.destination PP.theme»: subject=Destination with ramrod=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Her back was straight as a ramrod.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ramrod:x3:1
# text = Her back was straight as a ramrod.
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	back	back	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	straight	straight	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
5	as	as	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	ramrod	ramrod	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** | past | Her back |  |  |  |  | as a ramrod; straight *property* | tree rules |

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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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