---
title: scarce — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «scarce» in the school dictionary: Scarce means there is not enough of something, or very little is available: «Water is scarce in the desert.». Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# scarce

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Scarce, Water, I, Food, camels, Good seats · **What happens:** mean, not be, be, find, make, go away · **To what, where:** desert, yourself, way, fat, ourselves, old sailing ships · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Scarce means there is not enough of something, or very little is available: «Water is scarce in the desert.».

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scarce:m1:1
# text = Scarce means there is not enough of something, or very little is available: «Water is scarce in the desert.».
1	Scarce	scarce	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	6	expl	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	enough	enough	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	ccomp	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
11	very	very	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
12	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
13	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	cop	_	_
14	available	available	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	19	punct	_	_
16	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	Water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	nsubj	_	_
18	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	19	cop	_	_
19	scarce	scarce	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	parataxis	_	_
20	in	in	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Scarce |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **not** **is** | present |  |  |  | there |  | of something; enough *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | available *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **is** *in a quote* | present | Water |  |  | the desert |  | scarce *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 -->
Scarce means rare and hard to find.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scarce:m2:1
# text = Scarce means rare and hard to find.
1	Scarce	scarce	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	rare	rare	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	conj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	find	find	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Scarce |  |  |  |  | rare *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **find** | to-infinitive | Scarce *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn declare-29.4-1-1 «NP V what S\_INF»: agent=Agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Make yourself scarce» means go away quickly or keep out of the way.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scarce:m3:1
# text = «Make yourself scarce» means go away quickly or keep out of the way.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	csubj	_	_
3	yourself	yourself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=2|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	2	obj	_	_
4	scarce	scarce	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
6	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	go	go	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	6	ccomp	_	_
8	away	away	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
9	quickly	quickly	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	keep	keep	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	7	conj	_	_
12	out	out	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** *in a quote* | infinitive |  | yourself |  |  |  | scarce *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset yourself=Product |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **go away** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | away, quickly *property* | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **keep out** | infinitive |  | the way |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent way=Theme |

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Scarce can also mean hardly or only just, as in 'I could scarce see'.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scarce:m4:1
# text = Scarce can also mean hardly or only just, as in 'I could scarce see'.
1	Scarce	scarce	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	also	also	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	hardly	hardly	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
7	only	only	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	just	just	ADV	RB	_	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
10	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	fixed	_	_
12	'	'	PUNCT	``	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
14	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	16	aux	_	_
15	scarce	scarce	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	_
16	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	'	'	PUNCT	''	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can | Scarce |  |  |  |  | hardly *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **see** | could | I |  |  |  |  | scarce *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Food was scarce during the long winter.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scarce:x1:1
# text = Food was scarce during the long winter.
1	Food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	scarce	scarce	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	during	during	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	winter	winter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | Food |  |  |  | winter | scarce *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Water is scarce in the desert, so camels store fat.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scarce:x2:1
# text = Water is scarce in the desert, so camels store fat.
1	Water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	scarce	scarce	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	so	so	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
9	camels	camel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
10	store	store	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
11	fat	fat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Water |  |  | the desert |  | scarce *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **store** | present | camels | fat |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fat=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Good seats are scarce, so come early.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scarce:x3:1
# text = Good seats are scarce, so come early.
1	Good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	seats	seat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	scarce	scarce	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
6	so	so	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
8	early	early	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Good seats |  |  |  |  | scarce *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **come** | infinitive | Good seats *not said here* |  |  |  |  | early *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
When the teacher got angry, we made ourselves scarce.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scarce:x4:1
# text = When the teacher got angry, we made ourselves scarce.
1	When	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	4	advmod	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	got	get	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	advcl	_	_
5	angry	angry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
7	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	ourselves	ourselves	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	8	obj	_	_
10	scarce	scarce	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** | past | the teacher |  |  |  |  | angry *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **make** | past | we | ourselves |  |  |  | scarce *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ourselves=Product |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
This rare stamp is very scarce.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scarce:x5:1
# text = This rare stamp is very scarce.
1	This	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	3	det	_	_
2	rare	rare	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	stamp	stamp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	very	very	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	scarce	scarce	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	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 | this rare stamp |  |  |  |  | scarce *property* | tree rules |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Fresh fruit was scarce on the old sailing ships.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scarce:x6:1
# text = Fresh fruit was scarce on the old sailing ships.
1	Fresh	fresh	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	fruit	fruit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	scarce	scarce	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
7	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
8	sailing	sailing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	ships	ship	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | Fresh fruit |  |  | the old sailing ships |  | scarce *property* | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They scarce dared to speak or turn their heads.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scarce:x7:1
# text = They scarce dared to speak or turn their heads.
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	scarce	scarce	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	dared	dare	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	speak	speak	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	turn	turn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
8	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	heads	head	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dare** | present · passive |  | They |  |  |  |  | vn urge-58.1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: subject=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **speak** *speech: other* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **turn** | infinitive |  | their heads |  |  |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent head=Theme |

<!-- 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 -->

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