---
title: spokesman — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «spokesman» in the school dictionary: A spokesman is a person chosen to speak officially for a group, company, team or government, especially to newspapers and TV. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# spokesman

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** spokesman, panda, police spokesman, class, captain, company spokeswoman · **What happens:** be, choose, speak, say, ask, stay away · **To what, where:** person, people, Amy, questions, short statement, spokesman · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A spokesman is a person chosen to speak officially for a group, company, team or government, especially to newspapers and TV.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spokesman:m1:1
# text = A spokesman is a person chosen to speak officially for a group, company, team or government, especially to newspapers and TV.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	spokesman	spokesman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	chosen	choose	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	speak	speak	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	_
9	officially	officially	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
10	for	for	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	group	group	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
14	company	company	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
16	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	_
17	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
18	government	government	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
20	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	22	advmod	_	_
21	to	to	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
22	newspapers	newspaper	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	appos	_	_
23	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	24	cc	_	_
24	TV	TV	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a spokesman | a person |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **choose** | participle |  | a person *not said here* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **speak** *speech: other* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | for a group and company and team or government; officially *property* | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A spokesman for the zoo said the panda was healthy.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spokesman:x1:1
# text = A spokesman for the zoo said the panda was healthy.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	spokesman	spokesman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	for	for	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	zoo	zoo	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	panda	panda	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
9	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	healthy	healthy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | a spokesman for the zoo |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | past | the panda |  |  |  |  | healthy *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The police spokesman asked people to stay away.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spokesman:x2:1
# text = The police spokesman asked people to stay away.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	compound	_	_
3	spokesman	spokesman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	asked	ask	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	iobj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	stay	stay	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
8	away	away	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | the police spokesman |  | people |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP whether S\_INF»: agent=Agent people=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **stay away** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the police spokesman *not said here* |  |  |  |  | away *property* | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our class chose Amy as spokesperson for the school council.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spokesman:x3:1
# text = Our class chose Amy as spokesperson for the school council.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	chose	choose	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	Amy	Amy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	as	as	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	spokesperson	spokesperson	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	council	council	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 | **choose** | past | Our class | Amy |  |  |  | as spokesperson; for the school council | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent amy=Theme for council=Beneficiary |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A spokesman for the team said the captain was injured.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spokesman:x4:1
# text = A spokesman for the team said the captain was injured.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	spokesman	spokesman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	for	for	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	team	team	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	captain	captain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
9	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	injured	injured	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | a spokesman for the team |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | past | the captain |  |  |  |  | injured *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The company spokeswoman answered the reporters' questions.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spokesman:x5:1
# text = The company spokeswoman answered the reporters' questions.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	company	company	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	spokeswoman	spokeswoman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	answered	answer	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	reporters	reporter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	'	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	questions	question	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **answer** *speech: assert* | past | the company spokeswoman | the reporters's questions |  |  |  |  | vn reciprocate-112-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent question=Eventuality |
| 2 | **question** |  | the reporters |  |  |  |  |  | nom question «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The government spokesman gave a short statement.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spokesman:x6:1
# text = The government spokesman gave a short statement.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	government	government	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	spokesman	spokesman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	statement	statement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | the government spokesman | a short statement |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent statement=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Sir," replied their spokesman, "we cannot find jewels enough."

<!-- fold The tree, 10 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:spokesman:x7:1
# text = "Sir," replied their spokesman, "we cannot find jewels enough."
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Sir	Sir	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
5	replied	reply	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	spokesman	spokesman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
9	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
11	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	13	advmod	_	_
13	find	find	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	parataxis	_	_
14	jewels	jewel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	obj	_	_
15	enough	enough	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **reply** *speech: assert* | past | Sir | their spokesman |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **find** *in a quote* | can | we | jewels |  |  |  |  | vn declare-29.4-1-1 «NP V NP ADJ»: agent=Agent jewel=Theme enough=Attribute |

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**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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