---
title: role — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «role» in the school dictionary: A role is a part that an actor plays in a film, play or show. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# role

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** role, actor, someone, I, big sister, we · **What happens:** be, play, have, get, practise, do · **To what, where:** part, film, job, role, situation, big role · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«role» in the school dictionary: its 3 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: [role in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/role.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A role is a part that an actor plays in a film, play or show.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:role:m1:1
# text = A role is a part that an actor plays in a film, play or show.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	role	role	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	part	part	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	obj	_	_
7	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	actor	actor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	plays	play	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	film	film	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
14	play	play	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	_
15	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	show	show	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a role | a part |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **play** | present | a actor | a part |  | a film and play or show |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent that=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 -->
A role is a job, position or purpose someone or something has, like the role of a captain.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:role:m2:1
# text = A role is a job, position or purpose someone or something has, like the role of a captain.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	role	role	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	job	job	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	position	position	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	purpose	purpose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
10	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	13	nsubj	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	10	conj	_	_
13	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
15	like	like	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	role	role	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obj	_	_
18	of	of	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	captain	captain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a role | a job and position or purpose |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **have** | present | someone | the role of a captain |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent role=Patient |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A role is how important something is in a situation, as in "play a big role".

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:role:m3:1
# text = A role is how important something is in a situation, as in "play a big role".
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	role	role	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
4	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	5	advmod	_	_
5	important	important	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	10	nsubj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	situation	situation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
12	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
13	in	in	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
14	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	play	play	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	10	parataxis	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
17	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	role	role	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a role |  |  | a situation |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **play** *in a quote* | infinitive |  | a big role |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent role=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I got the role of the wolf in the school play.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:role:x1:1
# text = I got the role of the wolf in the school play.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	got	get	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	role	role	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	wolf	wolf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	play	play	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** | past | I | the role of the wolf in the school play |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer role=Stimulus |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What is the role of the heart in the body?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:role:x2:1
# text = What is the role of the heart in the body?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	0	root	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	role	role	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nsubj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	heart	heart	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	body	body	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the role of the heart in the body |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My big sister is my role model.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:role:x3:1
# text = My big sister is my role model.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	sister	sister	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
6	role	role	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	model	model	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 a** | present | My big sister | my role model |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In role play, we practised what to do if a stranger asks us to go with them.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:role:x4:1
# text = In role play, we practised what to do if a stranger asks us to go with them.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	role	role	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	play	play	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	practised	practise	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	9	obj	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	_
10	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	stranger	stranger	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
13	asks	ask	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	advcl	_	_
14	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	13	obj	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	go	go	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	xcomp	_	_
17	with	with	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **practise** | past | we |  |  | role play |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **do** | to-infinitive | we *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent what=Eventuality |
| 3 | **ask** *speech: ask* *a condition, not said to happen* | present | a stranger |  | us |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP whether S\_INF»: agent=Agent we=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 4 | **go** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | a stranger *not said here* |  |  |  |  | with them *= they* | vn help-72.1-2 «NP V PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent with they=Beneficiary |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Exercise plays an important role in staying healthy.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:role:x5:1
# text = Exercise plays an important role in staying healthy.
1	Exercise	exercise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	plays	play	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	important	important	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	role	role	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	in	in	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
7	staying	stay	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
8	healthy	healthy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **play** | present | Exercise | a important role |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent role=Theme |
| 2 | **stay** | gerund | Exercise *not said here* |  |  |  |  | healthy *property* | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Her role in the team is goalkeeper.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:role:x6:1
# text = Her role in the team is goalkeeper.
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	role	role	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	goalkeeper	goalkeeper	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 a** | present | Her role in the team | goalkeeper |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum took on the role of class rep this year.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:role:x7:1
# text = Mum took on the role of class rep this year.
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	took	take	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	role	role	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	rep	rep	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
9	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	10	det	_	_
10	year	year	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | past | Mum |  |  | the role of class rep | year |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent on role=Destination |

<!-- 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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