---
title: sniper — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «sniper» in the school dictionary: A sniper is a soldier or gunman who shoots at people from a hidden place, often from far away with a special rifle. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# sniper

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** sniper, soldier gunman, character, player, soldiers, they · **What happens:** be, shoot, mean, stay, hide, say · **To what, where:** soldier gunman, hidden place, player, video games, range rifle, old tower · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«sniper» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 7 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: [sniper in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sniper.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A sniper is a soldier or gunman who shoots at people from a hidden place, often from far away with a special rifle.

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sniper:m1:1
# text = A sniper is a soldier or gunman who shoots at people from a hidden place, often from far away with a special rifle.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sniper	sniper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
5	soldier	soldier	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	gunman	gunman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	shoots	shoot	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
10	at	at	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obl	_	_
12	from	from	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	hidden	hidden	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	place	place	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
17	often	often	ADV	RB	_	20	advmod	_	_
18	from	from	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	far	far	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	20	advmod	_	_
20	away	away	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
21	with	with	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
22	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
23	special	special	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	24	amod	_	_
24	rifle	rifle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a sniper | a soldier gunman |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **shoot** | present | a soldier gunman |  |  | a hidden place |  | at people; away *property* | vn throw-17.1-1 «NP V NP PP.destinations»: agent=Agent at people=Destination |

<!-- .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: games, informal — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In video games, a sniper is a player or character who shoots from far away; "sniper" can also mean the long-range rifle itself.

<!-- fold The tree, 24 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sniper:m2:1
# text = In video games, a sniper is a player or character who shoots from far away; "sniper" can also mean the long-range rifle itself.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	video	video	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	games	game	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	sniper	sniper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	player	player	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	nsubj	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	character	character	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	_
12	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	13	nsubj	_	_
13	shoots	shoot	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	acl:relcl	_	_
14	from	from	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	far	far	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	16	advmod	_	_
16	away	away	ADV	RB	_	13	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
18	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	sniper	sniper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	19	punct	_	_
21	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	23	aux	_	_
22	also	also	ADV	RB	_	23	advmod	_	_
23	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
24	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	28	det	_	_
25	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	27	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	25	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	range	range	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	28	compound	_	_
28	rifle	rifle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	obj	_	_
29	itself	itself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Emp|Reflex=Yes	28	nmod:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	23	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a sniper | a player or character and sniper |  | video games |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **shoot** | present | character |  |  |  |  |  | vn throw-17.1-1 «NP V NP PP.initial\_location»: agent=Agent from away=Initial\_Location |
| 3 | **mean** | can | a player or character and sniper | the range rifle  sniper |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent rifle=Topic |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The soldiers stayed low because of sniper fire.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sniper:x1:1
# text = The soldiers stayed low because of sniper fire.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	soldiers	soldier	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	stayed	stay	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	low	low	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	3	advmod	_	_
5	because	because	ADP	IN	ExtPos=ADP	8	case	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	fixed	_	_
7	sniper	sniper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	fire	fire	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 | **stay** | past | the soldiers |  |  |  |  | because sniper fire; low *property* | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A sniper was hiding in the old tower.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sniper:x2:1
# text = A sniper was hiding in the old tower.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sniper	sniper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	hiding	hide	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	tower	tower	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hide** | past · progressive | a sniper |  |  | the old tower |  |  | vn concealment-16-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent in tower=Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the news, they said a sniper had shot at the town.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sniper:x3:1
# text = In the news, they said a sniper had shot at the town.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	news	news	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	sniper	sniper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj:pass	_	_
9	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	shot	shoot	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	ccomp	_	_
11	at	at	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	town	town	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | they |  |  | the news |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **shoot** | past · perfect · passive |  | a sniper |  | the town |  |  | vn throw-17.1-1 «NP V NP PP.destinations»: subject=Theme at town=Destination |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the game, my brother always picks the sniper.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sniper:x4:1
# text = In the game, my brother always picks the sniper.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
7	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	8	advmod	_	_
8	picks	pick	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	sniper	sniper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pick** | present | my brother | the sniper |  | the game |  | always *property* | vn chew-39.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sniper=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The sniper used a telescope sight on his rifle.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sniper:x5:1
# text = The sniper used a telescope sight on his rifle.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sniper	sniper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	used	use	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	telescope	telescope	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	sight	sight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	rifle	rifle	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 | **use** | past | the sniper | a telescope sight |  | sniper's rifle |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sight=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
During the war, snipers made the streets very dangerous.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sniper:x6:1
# text = During the war, snipers made the streets very dangerous.
1	During	during	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	war	war	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	snipers	sniper	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
6	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	streets	street	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
9	very	very	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	dangerous	dangerous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | snipers | the streets |  |  | during the war | dangerous *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset street=Product |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Stop sniping at your sister," said Dad, meaning stop making mean little comments.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sniper:x7:1
# text = "Stop sniping at your sister," said Dad, meaning stop making mean little comments.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Stop	stop	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	ccomp	_	_
3	sniping	snipe	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	xcomp	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	sister	sister	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
9	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	Dad	Dad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	meaning	mean	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	9	advcl	_	_
13	stop	stop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	_
14	making	make	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	13	acl	_	_
15	mean	mean	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
16	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
17	comments	comment	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stop** *in a quote* | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Affector clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **snipe** *in a quote* | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | at your sister | vn berry-13.7 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Dad |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 4 | **mean** | gerund | Dad *not said here* | stop |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent stop=Topic |
| 5 | **make** | gerund | stop *not said here* | mean little comments |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset comment=Product |

<!-- 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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