---
title: sportsman — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «sportsman» in the school dictionary: A sportsman is a man who plays sport, especially well or as his job. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# sportsman

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** sportsman, man, person, He, famous sportsman, good sportsman · **What happens:** be, play, job, accept, lose, go · **To what, where:** man, sport, famous sportsman, rugby, hands, keen sportsman · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«sportsman» in the school dictionary: its 3 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: [sportsman in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/sportsman.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A sportsman is a man who plays sport, especially well or as his job.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sportsman:m1:1
# text = A sportsman is a man who plays sport, especially well or as his job.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sportsman	sportsman	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	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	plays	play	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	sport	sport	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	7	advmod	_	_
12	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
13	as	as	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
15	job	job	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a sportsman | a man |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **play** | present | a man | sport |  |  |  | well *property* | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sport=Theme |
| 3 | **job** |  | man |  |  |  |  |  | nom job «act intransitive»: poss=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.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A person who plays fairly, is polite to the other side and accepts losing well.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sportsman:m2:1
# text = A person who plays fairly, is polite to the other side and accepts losing well.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
4	plays	play	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
5	fairly	fairly	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	polite	polite	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
9	to	to	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	side	side	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	accepts	accept	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	conj	_	_
15	losing	lose	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	14	xcomp	_	_
16	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	15	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **play** | present | a person |  |  |  |  | fairly *property* | vn performance-26.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | a person |  |  |  |  | to the other side; polite *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **accept** | present | a person *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn accept-77.1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 4 | **lose** | gerund | a person *not said here* |  |  |  |  | well *property* | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A man who goes hunting, shooting or fishing for sport.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sportsman:m3:1
# text = A man who goes hunting, shooting or fishing for sport.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
4	goes	go	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
5	hunting	hunt	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	shooting	shoot	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	conj	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	fishing	fish	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	conj	_	_
10	for	for	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	sport	sport	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go** | present | a man |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7 «NP V S-Quote»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **hunt** | gerund | a man *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **shoot** | gerund | a man *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn throw-17.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **fish** | gerund | a man *not said here* |  |  |  |  | for sport | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V PP.theme PP.location»: agent=Agent for sport=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He is a famous sportsman who plays rugby for New Zealand.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sportsman:x1:1
# text = He is a famous sportsman who plays rugby for New Zealand.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	famous	famous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	sportsman	sportsman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	plays	play	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	rugby	rugby	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	New	New	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	flat	_	_
11	Zealand	Zealand	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | He | a famous sportsman |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **play** | present | a famous sportsman | rugby |  |  |  | for New Zealand | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP PP.predicate»: agent=Agent rugby=Theme for zealand=Eventuality |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A good sportsman shakes hands even after losing.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sportsman:x2:1
# text = A good sportsman shakes hands even after losing.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	sportsman	sportsman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	shakes	shake	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	hands	hand	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
6	even	even	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
7	after	after	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
8	losing	lose	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **shake** | present | a good sportsman | hands |  |  |  |  | vn shake-22.3-2 «NP V NP together»: agent=Agent hand=Patient |
| 2 | **lose** | gerund | a good sportsman *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dad was a keen sportsman when he was young.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sportsman:x3:1
# text = Dad was a keen sportsman when he was young.
1	Dad	dad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	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	keen	keen	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	sportsman	sportsman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	9	advmod	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | Dad | a keen sportsman |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | past | he |  |  |  |  | young *property* | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She was named sportsperson of the year.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sportsman:x4:1
# text = She was named sportsperson of the year.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	named	name	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	sportsperson	sportsperson	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	xcomp	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	year	year	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **name** | past · passive |  | She |  |  |  |  | vn appoint-29.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The coach praised Liam's sportsmanship.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sportsman:x5:1
# text = The coach praised Liam's sportsmanship.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	coach	coach	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	praised	praise	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	Liam	Liam	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	sportsmanship	sportsmanship	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 | **praise** | past | the coach | Liam's sportsmanship |  |  |  |  | vn judgment-33.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sportsmanship=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Be a sportsman and help the other player up.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sportsman:x6:1
# text = Be a sportsman and help the other player up.
1	Be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	cop	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	sportsman	sportsman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
5	help	help	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	player	player	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
9	up	up	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | infinitive |  | a sportsman |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **help up** | present | a sportsman | the other player |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent player=Beneficiary |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"One could but try," the sportsman replied, and he held out his hand.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:sportsman:x7:1
# text = "One could but try," the sportsman replied, and he held out his hand.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	One	one	PRON	PRP	Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
3	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	try	try	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	sportsman	sportsman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	replied	reply	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
13	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
14	held	hold	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	advcl	_	_
15	out	out	ADP	RP	_	14	compound:prt	_	_
16	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	17	nmod:poss	_	_
17	hand	hand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **try** *in a quote* | could | One |  |  |  |  |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **reply** *speech: assert* | past | the sportsman |  |  |  |  |  | vn respond-113 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **hold out** | past | sportsman | sportsman's hand |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hand=Theme |

<!-- 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 -->
- ← previous: [sportive](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/sportive/)
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- ↑ back to [S in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/)