---
title: rationing — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «rationing» in the school dictionary: Rationing is a system in which the government limits how much food, fuel or clothes each person may have, because there is not enough for everyone, as in Britain during and after the Second World War. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragma
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/R/rationing/)

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

# rationing

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** government, person, it, Sweet rationing, sailors, wind · **What happens:** ration, be, limit, have, not be, share out · **To what, where:** system, much food, clothes, something, small amount, butter · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«rationing» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 7 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: [rationing in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/rationing.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Rationing is a system in which the government limits how much food, fuel or clothes each person may have, because there is not enough for everyone, as in Britain during and after the Second World War.

<!-- fold The tree, 36 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:rationing:m1:1
# text = Rationing is a system in which the government limits how much food, fuel or clothes each person may have, because there is not enough for everyone, as in Britain during and after the Second World War.
1	Rationing	ration	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	system	system	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	obl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	government	government	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	limits	limit	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
10	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	11	advmod	_	_
11	much	much	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
14	fuel	fuel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	_
15	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	clothes	clothes	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	12	conj	_	_
17	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	18	det	_	_
18	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nsubj	_	_
19	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	20	aux	_	_
20	have	have	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	26	punct	_	_
22	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	24	mark	_	_
23	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	24	expl	_	_
24	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	26	cop	_	_
25	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	26	advmod	_	_
26	enough	enough	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	conj	_	_
27	for	for	ADP	IN	_	28	case	_	_
28	everyone	everyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	26	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	32	punct	_	_
30	as	as	ADP	IN	_	32	case	_	_
31	in	in	ADP	IN	_	32	case	_	_
32	Britain	Britain	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
33	during	during	ADP	IN	_	39	case	_	_
34	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	35	cc	_	_
35	after	after	ADP	IN	_	33	conj	_	_
36	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	39	det	_	_
37	Second	Second	ADJ	NNP	Degree=Pos|NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	39	amod	_	_
38	World	World	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	39	compound	_	_
39	War	War	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
40	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ration** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | present |  | a system |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **limit** | present | the government | much food and fuel or clothes |  | a system | during the Second World War | as Britain | vn limit-76 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer food=Patient |
| 4 | **have** | may | each person | clothes *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent clothes=Patient |
| 5 | **not** **is** | present | the government *not said here* |  |  |  |  | for everyone; enough *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 -->
Rationing is any sharing out of something in small fixed amounts so it lasts, for example water on a boat or sweets in a holiday.

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:rationing:m2:1
# text = Rationing is any sharing out of something in small fixed amounts so it lasts, for example water on a boat or sweets in a holiday.
1	Rationing	ration	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	4	nsubj	_	_
4	sharing	share	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	out	out	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	4	obl	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
10	fixed	fix	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	11	amod	_	_
11	amounts	amount	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	_
12	so	so	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
14	lasts	last	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
16	for	for	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	example	example	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nmod	_	_
18	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	_
19	on	on	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
20	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
21	boat	boat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nmod	_	_
22	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	23	cc	_	_
23	sweets	sweet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	21	conj	_	_
24	in	in	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
25	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	26	det	_	_
26	holiday	holiday	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ration** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **share out** | present · progressive |  | something |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **fix** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn shake-22.3-2 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Patient |
| 4 | **last** | present | it |  |  |  |  | for water  example on a boat or sweets in a holiday | vn cost-54.2 «NP V NP.value»: agent=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
During the war, rationing meant each person got only a small amount of butter a week.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:rationing:x1:1
# text = During the war, rationing meant each person got only a small amount of butter a week.
1	During	during	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	war	war	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	rationing	ration	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	nsubj:pass	_	_
6	meant	mean	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
7	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	8	det	_	_
8	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	got	get	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	ccomp	_	_
10	only	only	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	amount	amount	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	butter	butter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	week	week	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ration** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **mean** | participle · passive |  |  |  |  | during the war |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **get** | past | each person | a small amount of butter |  |  | week |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer amount=Stimulus |
| 4 | **amount** |  |  | butter |  |  |  |  | nom amount «possession transitive»: of=patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sweet rationing ended in Britain in 1953.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:rationing:x2:1
# text = Sweet rationing ended in Britain in 1953.
1	Sweet	sweet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	rationing	rationing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	ended	end	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	Britain	Britain	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	1953	1953	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **end** | past | Sweet rationing |  |  | Britain |  | in 1953 | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The sailors began rationing their water when the wind dropped.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:rationing:x3:1
# text = The sailors began rationing their water when the wind dropped.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sailors	sailor	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	began	begin	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	rationing	ration	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	xcomp	_	_
5	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	10	advmod	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	wind	wind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	dropped	drop	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | past | the sailors |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **ration** | gerund | the sailors *not said here* | sailors's water |  |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent water=Theme |
| 3 | **drop** | past | the wind |  |  |  |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We're rationing the chocolate so it lasts all holiday.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:rationing:x4:1
# text = We're rationing the chocolate so it lasts all holiday.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	're	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	rationing	ration	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	chocolate	chocolate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	so	so	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	lasts	last	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
9	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	10	det	_	_
10	holiday	holiday	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ration** | present · progressive | We | the chocolate |  |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent chocolate=Theme |
| 2 | **last** | present | chocolate | all holiday |  |  |  |  | vn cost-54.2 «NP V NP.value»: agent=Theme holiday=Value |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Gran still remembers her ration book.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:rationing:x5:1
# text = Gran still remembers her ration book.
1	Gran	Gran	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	still	still	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	remembers	remember	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
5	ration	ration	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	book	book	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **remember** | present | Gran | Gran's ration book |  |  | still |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent book=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the drought there was water rationing, so no hosepipes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:rationing:x6:1
# text = In the drought there was water rationing, so no hosepipes.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	drought	drought	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
4	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	5	expl	_	_
5	was	be	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
7	rationing	ration	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
9	so	so	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
10	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	11	det	_	_
11	hosepipes	hosepipe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** | past | water |  |  | the drought; there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in drought=Location |
| 2 | **ration** | gerund | water *not said here* | no hosepipes |  |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent hosepipe=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
If 30 sweets are rationed over 10 days, each day gets 3.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:rationing:x7:1
# text = If 30 sweets are rationed over 10 days, each day gets 3.
1	If	if	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
2	30	30	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	3	nummod	_	_
3	sweets	sweet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
4	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	rationed	ration	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	12	advcl	_	_
6	over	over	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	10	10	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	days	day	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
10	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	11	det	_	_
11	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
12	gets	get	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
13	3	3	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ration** *a condition, not said to happen* | present · passive |  | 30 sweets |  |  | day |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: subject=Theme |
| 2 | **get** | present | each day | 3 |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer 3=Stimulus |

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