---
title: sell — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «sell» in the school dictionary: To sell is to give something to someone for money. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# sell

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Something, people, baker, She, many cakes, He · **What happens:** sell, be, buy, agree, sell out · **To what, where:** it, book, idea, 75 cakes, lemonade, all

<!-- .vabout -->
«sell» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 10 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: [sell in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sell.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To sell is to give something to someone for money.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sell:m1:1
# text = To sell is to give something to someone for money.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	sell	sell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	csubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	give	give	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	obj	_	_
7	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	obl	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sell** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | to someone; give *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 -->
Something sells when people buy it, as in «The book sells well».

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sell:m2:1
# text = Something sells when people buy it, as in «The book sells well».
1	Something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sells	sell	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	5	advmod	_	_
4	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
5	buy	buy	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
8	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	book	book	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	_
13	sells	sell	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
14	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	13	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sell** | present | Something |  |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **buy** | present | people | it |  |  |  |  | vn accept-77.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |
| 3 | **sell** *in a quote* | present | Something *not said here* |  |  | the book |  | well *property* | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To sell an idea is to make people like it or agree with it.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sell:m3:1
# text = To sell an idea is to make people like it or agree with it.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	sell	sell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	_
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	make	make	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	_
9	like	like	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nmod	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	agree	agree	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	7	conj	_	_
13	with	with	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sell** | to-infinitive |  | a idea |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent idea=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | make *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **agree** *speech: agree* | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | with idea | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V PP.co-agent how S»: agent=Agent with it=Co-Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The baker sold 75 cakes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sell:x1:1
# text = The baker sold 75 cakes.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	baker	baker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	sold	sell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	75	75	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	cakes	cake	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sell** | past | the baker | 75 cakes |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cake=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She sells lemonade for 2 dollars a cup.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sell:x2:1
# text = She sells lemonade for 2 dollars a cup.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sells	sell	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	lemonade	lemonade	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	2	2	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	dollars	dollar	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	cup	cup	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sell** | present | She | lemonade |  |  |  | for 2 dollars  a cup | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.asset»: agent=Agent lemonade=Theme for dollar=Asset |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
How many cakes did he sell in all?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sell:x3:1
# text = How many cakes did he sell in all?
1	How	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	2	advmod	_	_
2	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	cakes	cake	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
4	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
5	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	sell	sell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sell** | past · do-support | many cakes |  |  | all |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He sold 8 more than yesterday.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sell:x4:1
# text = He sold 8 more than yesterday.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sold	sell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	8	8	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	4	nummod	_	_
4	more	more	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp|ExtPos=ADV	2	obj	_	_
5	than	than	ADP	IN	_	4	fixed	_	_
6	yesterday	yesterday	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sell** | past | He | 8 more |  |  | yesterday |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent more=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The concert tickets sold out in an hour.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sell:x5:1
# text = The concert tickets sold out in an hour.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	concert	concert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	tickets	ticket	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
4	sold	sell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	out	out	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	hour	hour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sell out** | participle |  | the concert tickets *not said here* |  |  | hour |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We sold old toys at a garage sale.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sell:x6:1
# text = We sold old toys at a garage sale.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sold	sell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	toys	toy	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	garage	garage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	sale	sale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sell** | past | We | old toys |  | a garage sale |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.asset»: agent=Agent toy=Theme at sale=Asset |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The shop sells shoes and bags.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sell:x7:1
# text = The shop sells shoes and bags.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	shop	shop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	sells	sell	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	shoes	shoe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	bags	bag	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sell** | present | the shop | shoes and bags |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent shoe=Theme |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The house is for sale.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sell:x8:1
# text = The house is for sale.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	house	house	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	sale	sale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the house |  |  |  |  | for sale | tree rules |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He sold his bike to his cousin.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sell:x9:1
# text = He sold his bike to his cousin.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sold	sell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	bike	bike	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	cousin	cousin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sell** | past | He | his bike | his cousin |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent bike=Theme to cousin=Recipient |

## Example 10 {#x10}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ice cream sells best in summer.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sell:x10:1
# text = Ice cream sells best in summer.
1	Ice	ice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	cream	cream	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	sells	sell	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	best	well	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	3	advmod	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	summer	summer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sell** | present | Ice cream |  |  |  | summer | well *property* | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent |

<!-- 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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