---
title: scuffle — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «scuffle» in the school dictionary: A scuffle is a short, confused fight with pushing and grabbing, usually not very serious. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# scuffle

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** scuffle, short confused fight, brief scuffle, Police, We, He · **What happens:** be, push, grab, not be, scuffle, mean · **To what, where:** short confused fight, way, feet, scraping noise, lunch queue, Two boys · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A scuffle is a short, confused fight with pushing and grabbing, usually not very serious.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scuffle:m1:1
# text = A scuffle is a short, confused fight with pushing and grabbing, usually not very serious.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	scuffle	scuffle	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	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
7	confused	confused	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	fight	fight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	with	with	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
10	pushing	push	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	acl	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	grabbing	grab	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
14	usually	usually	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
15	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	17	advmod	_	_
16	very	very	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
17	serious	serious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a scuffle | a short confused fight |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **push** | gerund | a short confused fight *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn push-12-1-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **grab** | gerund | a short confused fight *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn steal-10.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **not** **be** |  | a scuffle *not said here* |  |  |  |  | usually *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 -->
To scuffle means to fight in this way.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scuffle:m2:1
# text = To scuffle means to fight in this way.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	scuffle	scuffle	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	csubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	fight	fight	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	8	det	_	_
8	way	way	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 | **scuffle** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn battle-36.4 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **fight** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  | this way |  |  | vn battle-36.4-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To scuffle (along) means to walk dragging your feet, or to make a scraping noise.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scuffle:m3:1
# text = To scuffle (along) means to walk dragging your feet, or to make a scraping noise.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	scuffle	scuffle	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	csubj	_	_
3	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	along	along	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	2	punct	_	_
6	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	walk	walk	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	ccomp	_	_
9	dragging	drag	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	advcl	_	_
10	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	feet	foot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
14	to	to	PART	TO	_	15	mark	_	_
15	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	advcl	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
17	scraping	scraping	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	compound	_	_
18	noise	noise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **scuffle** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | along *property* | vn battle-36.4 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **walk** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **drag** | gerund |  | your feet |  |  |  |  | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent foot=Theme |
| 5 | **make** | to-infinitive |  | a scraping noise |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset noise=Product |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A scuffle broke out in the lunch queue.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scuffle:x1:1
# text = A scuffle broke out in the lunch queue.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	scuffle	scuffle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	broke	break	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	out	out	ADP	RP	_	3	compound:prt	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	lunch	lunch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	queue	queue	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **break out** | past | a scuffle |  |  | the lunch queue |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in queue=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Two boys scuffled over a football.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scuffle:x2:1
# text = Two boys scuffled over a football.
1	Two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	boys	boy	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
3	scuffled	scuffle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	over	over	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	football	football	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **scuffle** | participle |  | Two boys *not said here* |  |  |  | over a football | vn battle-36.4 «NP V PP.theme NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent over football=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There was a brief scuffle, but no one was hurt.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scuffle:x3:1
# text = There was a brief scuffle, but no one was hurt.
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	2	expl	_	_
2	was	be	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	brief	brief	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	scuffle	scuffle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
7	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
8	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	9	det	_	_
9	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj:pass	_	_
10	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux:pass	_	_
11	hurt	hurt	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** | past | a brief scuffle |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **hurt** | past · passive |  | no one |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-2 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Police broke up a scuffle outside the stadium.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scuffle:x4:1
# text = Police broke up a scuffle outside the stadium.
1	Police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	broke	break	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	up	up	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	scuffle	scuffle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	outside	outside	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	stadium	stadium	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **break up** | past | Police | a scuffle |  |  |  | outside the stadium | vn break-45.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent scuffle=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We heard something scuffling in the attic.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scuffle:x5:1
# text = We heard something scuffling in the attic.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	heard	hear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	scuffling	scuffle	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	acl	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	attic	attic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hear** | past | We | something |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer something=Stimulus |
| 2 | **scuffle** | gerund |  |  |  | the attic |  |  | vn battle-36.4 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He scuffled along in his slippers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scuffle:x6:1
# text = He scuffled along in his slippers.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	scuffled	scuffle	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	along	along	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	slippers	slipper	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **scuffle** | past | He |  |  | his slippers |  | along *property* | vn battle-36.4 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The teacher stepped in before the scuffle got worse.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scuffle:x7:1
# text = The teacher stepped in before the scuffle got worse.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	stepped	step	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	RP	_	3	compound:prt	_	_
5	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	scuffle	scuffle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	got	get	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
9	worse	bad	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	8	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **step in** | past | the teacher |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **get** | past | the scuffle |  |  |  |  | bad *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Then a great scuffling of feet was heard, and in a few minutes the hall was clear.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:scuffle:x8:1
# text = Then a great scuffling of feet was heard, and in a few minutes the hall was clear.
1	Then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	8	advmod	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	scuffling	scuffling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj:pass	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	feet	foot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux:pass	_	_
8	heard	hear	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	few	few	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	minutes	minute	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	obl	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	hall	hall	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nsubj	_	_
17	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	18	cop	_	_
18	clear	clear	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hear** | past · passive |  | a great scuffling of feet |  |  | then |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: subject=Stimulus |
| 2 | **is** | past | the hall |  |  |  | minute | clear *property* | 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 -->

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