---
title: shrewd — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «shrewd» in the school dictionary: Clever at understanding people and situations and at making good, practical decisions, especially about money or business. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# shrewd

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** shrewd shopkeeper, coin, That, you, Grandma, I · **What happens:** understand, make, be, know, save, not fool · **To what, where:** people, good practical decisions, shrewd move, pocket money, her, shrewd guess · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Clever at understanding people and situations and at making good, practical decisions, especially about money or business.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:shrewd:m1:1
# text = Clever at understanding people and situations and at making good, practical decisions, especially about money or business.
1	Clever	clever	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
2	at	at	SCONJ	IN	_	3	mark	_	_
3	understanding	understand	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	situations	situation	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	conj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	at	at	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
9	making	make	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	conj	_	_
10	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
12	practical	practical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	decisions	decision	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
15	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
16	about	about	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	parataxis	_	_
18	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
19	business	business	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **understand** | gerund |  | people and situations |  |  |  | clever *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer people=Stimulus |
| 2 | **make** | gerund |  | good practical decisions |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset decision=Product |

<!-- .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}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: of a guess or choice — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Wise and likely to be right.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:shrewd:m2:1
# text = Wise and likely to be right.
1	Wise	wise	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
2	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	likely	likely	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	conj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	cop	_	_
6	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The shrewd shopkeeper knew the coin was fake.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:shrewd:x1:1
# text = The shrewd shopkeeper knew the coin was fake.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	shrewd	shrewd	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	shopkeeper	shopkeeper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	knew	know	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	coin	coin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	fake	fake	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **know** | past | the shrewd shopkeeper |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **is** | past | the coin |  |  |  |  | fake *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
That was a shrewd move — you saved half your pocket money.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:shrewd:x2:1
# text = That was a shrewd move — you saved half your pocket money.
1	That	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	5	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	shrewd	shrewd	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	move	move	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	8	punct	_	_
7	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	saved	save	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
9	half	half	DET	PDT	NumForm=Word|NumType=Frac|PronType=Ind	12	det:predet	_	_
10	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
11	pocket	pocket	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | That | a shrewd move |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **save** | past | you | your pocket money |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent money=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandma is shrewd; you can't fool her with a story.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:shrewd:x3:1
# text = Grandma is shrewd; you can't fool her with a story.
1	Grandma	grandma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	shrewd	shrewd	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	8	punct	_	_
5	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
6	ca	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	8	advmod	_	_
8	fool	fool	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
9	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	_
10	with	with	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Grandma |  |  |  |  | shrewd *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **fool** | can | you | her *= she* |  |  |  | with a story | vn trick-59.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent she=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I made a shrewd guess that the answer was 12, and I was right.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:shrewd:x4:1
# text = I made a shrewd guess that the answer was 12, and I was right.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	shrewd	shrewd	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	guess	guess	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
9	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	12	12	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	2	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
13	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
14	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
15	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | I | a shrewd guess |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent guess=Product |
| 2 | **is a** | past | the answer | 12 |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | past | I |  |  |  |  | right *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A shrewd buyer checks the price per gram, not just the price.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:shrewd:x5:1
# text = A shrewd buyer checks the price per gram, not just the price.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	shrewd	shrewd	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	buyer	buyer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	checks	check	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	price	price	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	per	per	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	gram	gram	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
10	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	13	advmod	_	_
11	just	just	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	price	price	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **check** | present | a shrewd buyer | the price |  |  |  | per gram and the price | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent price=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The detective gave the suspect a shrewd look.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:shrewd:x6:1
# text = The detective gave the suspect a shrewd look.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	detective	detective	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	gave	give	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	suspect	suspect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	shrewd	shrewd	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	look	look	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | the detective | the suspect |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent suspect=Recipient look=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He shrewdly kept some money back for later.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:shrewd:x7:1
# text = He shrewdly kept some money back for later.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	shrewdly	shrewdly	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	kept	keep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	5	det	_	_
5	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	back	back	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	later	late	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep back** | past | He | some money |  |  |  | late, shrewdly *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent money=Theme |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Well, Donald was a shrewd fellow, and downhearted though he was, began to think if he could get any good out of Daisy's death.

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:shrewd:x8:1
# text = Well, Donald was a shrewd fellow, and downhearted though he was, began to think if he could get any good out of Daisy's death.
1	Well	well	INTJ	UH	_	7	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	Donald	Donald	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	shrewd	shrewd	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	fellow	fellow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	downhearted	downhearted	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	conj	_	_
11	though	though	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
12	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
13	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
15	began	begin	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	advcl	_	_
16	to	to	PART	TO	_	17	mark	_	_
17	think	think	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	15	xcomp	_	_
18	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	21	mark	_	_
19	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	21	nsubj	_	_
20	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	21	aux	_	_
21	get	get	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	17	ccomp	_	_
22	any	any	ADV	RB	_	23	advmod	_	_
23	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	21	xcomp	_	_
24	out	out	ADP	IN	_	28	case	_	_
25	of	of	ADP	IN	_	28	case	_	_
26	Daisy	Daisy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	28	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	's	's	PART	POS	_	26	case	_	_
28	death	death	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | Donald | a shrewd fellow |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  | Donald *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | past | Donald |  |  |  |  | begin *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **think** *speech: other* | to-infinitive | Donald *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 5 | **get** *a condition, not said to happen* | could | Donald |  |  |  |  | good *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |
| 6 | **die** |  | Daisy |  |  |  |  |  | nom death «event intransitive»: poss=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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