---
title: serf — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «serf» in the school dictionary: A serf was a farm worker long ago, in the Middle Ages, who had to live and work on a lord's land and could not leave it. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# serf

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** serf, Middle Ages, Serfs, lord, 12 serfs, son · **What happens:** be, have, live, work, not leave, not be · **To what, where:** farm worker, Middle Ages, serf, slaves, Serfs, 30 serfs

<!-- .vabout -->
«serf» in the school dictionary: its 2 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: [serf in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/serf.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A serf was a farm worker long ago, in the Middle Ages, who had to live and work on a lord's land and could not leave it.

<!-- fold The tree, 28 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:serf:m1:1
# text = A serf was a farm worker long ago, in the Middle Ages, who had to live and work on a lord's land and could not leave it.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	serf	serf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	farm	farm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	worker	worker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	long	long	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	8	advmod	_	_
8	ago	ago	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	Middle	Middle	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	13	flat	_	_
13	Ages	Age	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
15	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	16	nsubj	_	_
16	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	acl:relcl	_	_
17	to	to	PART	TO	_	18	mark	_	_
18	live	live	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	xcomp	_	_
19	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	work	work	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	18	conj	_	_
21	on	on	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
22	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
23	lord	lord	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	's	's	PART	POS	_	23	case	_	_
25	land	land	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obl	_	_
26	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	29	cc	_	_
27	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	29	aux	_	_
28	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	29	advmod	_	_
29	leave	leave	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	18	conj	_	_
30	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	29	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
31	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | a serf | a farm worker |  |  | in the Middle Ages | ago *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **have** | past | the Middle Ages |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **live** | to-infinitive | the Middle Ages *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **work** | infinitive | the Middle Ages *not said here* |  |  |  |  | on a lord's land | vn employment-95.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent on land=Theme |
| 5 | **not** **leave** | could | the Middle Ages *not said here* | serf |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=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 -->
Serfs were not slaves, because they could not be sold alone, but they were not free.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:serf:m2:1
# text = Serfs were not slaves, because they could not be sold alone, but they were not free.
1	Serfs	serf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	slaves	slave	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
6	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
7	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj:pass	_	_
8	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
9	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
10	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	aux:pass	_	_
11	sold	sell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	conj	_	_
12	alone	alone	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
14	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
15	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
16	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	18	cop	_	_
17	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	18	advmod	_	_
18	free	free	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is a** | past | Serfs | slaves |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **sell** | could · passive |  | Serfs *= serf* |  |  |  | alone *property* | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 3 | **not** **is** | past | Serfs *= serf* |  |  |  |  | free *property* | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The lord had 30 serfs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:serf:x1:1
# text = The lord had 30 serfs.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	lord	lord	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	30	30	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	serfs	serf	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 | **have** | past | the lord | 30 serfs |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent serf=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Each serf worked 3 days a week for the lord.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:serf:x2:1
# text = Each serf worked 3 days a week for the lord.
1	Each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	det	_	_
2	serf	serf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	worked	work	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	3	3	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	days	day	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl:unmarked	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	week	week	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl:unmarked	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	lord	lord	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | past | each serf |  |  |  | day; week | for the lord | vn employment-95.3 «NP V PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent for lord=Beneficiary |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
12 serfs worked in the fields.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:serf:x3:1
# text = 12 serfs worked in the fields.
1	12	12	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	serfs	serf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	worked	work	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	fields	field	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | past | 12 serfs |  |  |  |  | in the fields | vn employment-95.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent in field=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
How many serfs were left?

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:serf:x4:1
# text = How many serfs were left?
1	How	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	2	advmod	_	_
2	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	serfs	serf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	left	leave	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **leave** | past · passive |  | many serfs |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Serfs gave part of their harvest to the lord of the manor.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:serf:x5:1
# text = Serfs gave part of their harvest to the lord of the manor.
1	Serfs	serf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	part	part	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	harvest	harvest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	lord	lord	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	manor	manor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | Serfs | part of Serfs's harvest | the lord of the manor |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent part=Theme to lord=Recipient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A serf needed the lord's permission to marry or move away.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:serf:x6:1
# text = A serf needed the lord's permission to marry or move away.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	serf	serf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	needed	need	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	lord	lord	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	's	's	PART	POS	_	5	case	_	_
7	permission	permission	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	marry	marry	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	acl	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	move	move	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	conj	_	_
12	away	away	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **need** | past | a serf | the lord's permission |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot permission=Theme |
| 2 | **marry** | to-infinitive | a serf *not said here* | the lord's permission *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-3-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **move away** | infinitive | a serf *not said here* |  |  |  |  | away *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **permit** |  | the lord |  |  |  |  |  | nom permission «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the story, the serf's son dreamed of being free.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:serf:x7:1
# text = In the story, the serf's son dreamed of being free.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	serf	serf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	son	son	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	dreamed	dream	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	12	cop	_	_
12	free	free	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dream** | past | the serf's son |  |  | the story |  |  | vn cognize-85 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | free *property* | tree rules |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Serfdom ended in Russia long ago.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:serf:x8:1
# text = Serfdom ended in Russia long ago.
1	Serfdom	serfdom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	ended	end	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	Russia	Russia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
5	long	long	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	6	advmod	_	_
6	ago	ago	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

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

<!-- 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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