---
title: skipper — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «skipper» in the school dictionary: The captain of a ship or boat, especially a small one. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# skipper

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** small butterfly, person, skipper, She, tiny skipper butterfly, Dad · **What happens:** be, dart, skip, steer, score, win · **To what, where:** captain, flower, fishing boat, harbour, winning try, netball team · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«skipper» in the school dictionary: its 6 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: [skipper in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/skipper.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The captain of a ship or boat, especially a small one.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:skipper:m1:1
# text = The captain of a ship or boat, especially a small one.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	captain	captain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	ship	ship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	boat	boat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
9	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: informal, UK, Ireland, Australia, NZ — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The captain of a sports team.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:skipper:m2:1
# text = The captain of a sports team.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	captain	captain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	sports	sport	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	compound	_	_
6	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: informal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A friendly name for a boss or leader, like «Okay, skipper».

<!-- fold The tree, 11 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:skipper:m3:1
# text = A friendly name for a boss or leader, like «Okay, skipper».
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	friendly	friendly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	name	name	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	boss	boss	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	leader	leader	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
10	like	like	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
11	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	Okay	okay	INTJ	UH	_	14	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
14	skipper	skipper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Meaning 4 {#m4}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: verb — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To be the captain of a boat or team.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:skipper:m4:1
# text = To be the captain of a boat or team.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
2	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	captain	captain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	boat	boat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | to-infinitive |  | the captain |  |  |  | of a boat or team | tree rules |

## Meaning 5 {#m5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A small butterfly that darts quickly from flower to flower.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:skipper:m5:1
# text = A small butterfly that darts quickly from flower to flower.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	butterfly	butterfly	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	5	nsubj	_	_
5	darts	dart	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	acl:relcl	_	_
6	quickly	quickly	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
7	from	from	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	flower	flower	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	to	to	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	flower	flower	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dart** | present | a small butterfly |  |  | flower |  | to flower; quickly *property* | vn slide-11.2-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location PP.destination»: agent=Theme from flower=Initial\_Location to flower=Destination |

## Meaning 6 {#m6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A person who skips.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:skipper:m6:1
# text = A person who skips.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
4	skips	skip	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **skip** | present | a person |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The skipper steered the fishing boat into the harbour.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:skipper:x1:1
# text = The skipper steered the fishing boat into the harbour.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	skipper	skipper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	steered	steer	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	fishing	fishing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	boat	boat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	into	into	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	harbour	harbour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **steer** | past | the skipper | the fishing boat |  | the harbour |  |  | vn accompany-51.7 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent boat=Theme into harbour=Destination |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our skipper scored the winning try.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:skipper:x2:1
# text = Our skipper scored the winning try.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	skipper	skipper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	scored	score	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	winning	win	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	amod	_	_
6	try	try	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **score** | past | Our skipper | the winning try |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent try=Theme |
| 2 | **win** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She skippered the netball team to victory.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:skipper:x3:1
# text = She skippered the netball team to victory.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	skippered	skipper	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	netball	netball	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	victory	victory	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 | **skipper** | past | She | the netball team |  |  |  | to victory | vn captain-29.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent team=Beneficiary |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Aye, aye, skipper!" laughed the crew.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:skipper:x4:1
# text = "Aye, aye, skipper!" laughed the crew.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Aye	aye	INTJ	UH	_	4	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
4	aye	aye	INTJ	UH	_	9	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	skipper	skipper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
9	laughed	laugh	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	crew	crew	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **laugh** | past | skipper | the crew |  |  |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent crew=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
England's skipper lifted the trophy.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:skipper:x5:1
# text = England's skipper lifted the trophy.
1	England	England	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	's	PART	POS	_	1	case	_	_
3	skipper	skipper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	lifted	lift	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	trophy	trophy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lift** | past | England's skipper | the trophy |  |  |  |  | vn put\_direction-9.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent trophy=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A tiny skipper butterfly landed on the thistle.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:skipper:x6:1
# text = A tiny skipper butterfly landed on the thistle.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	tiny	tiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	skipper	skipper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	butterfly	butterfly	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	landed	land	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	thistle	thistle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **land** | past | a tiny skipper butterfly |  |  | the thistle |  |  | vn pocket-9.10-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent on thistle=Destination |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dad calls his boss "skipper" as a joke.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:skipper:x7:1
# text = Dad calls his boss "skipper" as a joke.
1	Dad	dad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	calls	call	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|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	boss	boss	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	skipper	skipper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
8	as	as	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	joke	joke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | present | Dad | Dad's boss |  |  |  | as a joke | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent boss=Recipient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Then the skipper said: "All good things defend you, Nigel, from sailing near that light.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:skipper:x8:1
# text = Then the skipper said: "All good things defend you, Nigel, from sailing near that light.
1	Then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	4	advmod	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	skipper	skipper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
6	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	All	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	9	det	_	_
8	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
10	defend	defend	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
11	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
13	Nigel	Nigel	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
15	from	from	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
16	sailing	sail	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	advcl	_	_
17	near	near	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	19	det	_	_
19	light	light	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | the skipper |  |  |  | then |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **defend** *in a quote* | present | all good things | you |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **sail** *in a quote* | gerund | the skipper *not said here* |  |  | that light |  |  | vn nonvehicle-51.4.2-1 «NP.agent V»: 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 -->

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