---
title: stencil — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «stencil» in the school dictionary: A stencil is a thin sheet of card, plastic or metal with shapes or letters cut out of it; you paint or colour through the holes to copy the shapes onto a surface underneath. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stencil/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [S](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/) / stencil

# stencil

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** stencil, letters, you, I, We, our · **What happens:** be, cut out, paint, copy, stencil, make · **To what, where:** thin sheet, stencil, holes, shapes, surface, picture

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A stencil is a thin sheet of card, plastic or metal with shapes or letters cut out of it; you paint or colour through the holes to copy the shapes onto a surface underneath.

<!-- fold The tree, 34 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:stencil:m1:1
# text = A stencil is a thin sheet of card, plastic or metal with shapes or letters cut out of it; you paint or colour through the holes to copy the shapes onto a surface underneath.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	stencil	stencil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	thin	thin	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	sheet	sheet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	card	card	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	plastic	plastic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	metal	metal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	_
13	with	with	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	shapes	shape	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nmod	_	_
15	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	letters	letter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	conj	_	_
17	cut	cut	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	16	acl	_	_
18	out	out	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	of	of	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
20	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	17	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	23	punct	_	_
22	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	23	nsubj	_	_
23	paint	paint	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
24	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	25	cc	_	_
25	colour	colour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	conj	_	_
26	through	through	ADP	IN	_	28	case	_	_
27	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	28	det	_	_
28	holes	hole	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	23	nmod	_	_
29	to	to	PART	TO	_	30	mark	_	_
30	copy	copy	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	23	acl	_	_
31	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	32	det	_	_
32	shapes	shape	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	30	obj	_	_
33	onto	onto	ADP	IN	_	35	case	_	_
34	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	35	det	_	_
35	surface	surface	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	30	obl	_	_
36	underneath	underneath	ADV	RB	_	35	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
37	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a stencil | a thin sheet and plastic with shapes or letters or metal and paint or colour |  |  |  | of card | tree rules |
| 2 | **cut out** | participle | letters *not said here* | stencil |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Affector it=Eventuality |
| 3 | **paint** |  | you |  |  | the holes |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **copy** | to-infinitive | a stencil *not said here* | the shapes |  | a surface |  |  | vn transcribe-25.4 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent shape=Theme onto surface=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}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To stencil is to make a pattern or letters this way.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:stencil:m2:1
# text = To stencil is to make a pattern or letters this way.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	stencil	stencil	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	csubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	pattern	pattern	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	letters	letter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	conj	_	_
10	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	11	det	_	_
11	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stencil** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | this way *obl:unmarked*; make *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A stencil can also be the picture made using it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:stencil:m3:1
# text = A stencil can also be the picture made using it.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	stencil	stencil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	cop	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	picture	picture	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	appos	_	_
8	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	using	use	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	xcomp	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | can |  | the picture |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **make** | past | a stencil |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **use** | gerund | a stencil *not said here* | stencil |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I used a star stencil to decorate my card.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:stencil:x1:1
# text = I used a star stencil to decorate my card.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	used	use	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	star	star	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	stencil	stencil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	decorate	decorate	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
8	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	card	card	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | past | I | a star stencil |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent stencil=Patient |
| 2 | **decorate** | to-infinitive | I *not said here* | my card |  |  |  |  | vn illustrate-25.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent card=Destination |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Hold the stencil still and dab paint over it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:stencil:x2:1
# text = Hold the stencil still and dab paint over it.
1	Hold	hold	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	stencil	stencil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	still	still	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
6	dab	dab	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	paint	paint	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	conj	_	_
8	over	over	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold** | imperative | you *not said here* | the stencil |  | paint | still |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent stencil=Theme over it=Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We stencilled our names on our school bags.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:stencil:x3:1
# text = We stencilled our names on our school bags.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	stencilled	stencill	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	names	name	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
7	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	bags	bag	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stencill** | past | We | our names |  | our school bags |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **name** |  | our |  |  |  |  |  | nom name «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Banksy is famous for stencil graffiti.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:stencil:x4:1
# text = Banksy is famous for stencil graffiti.
1	Banksy	Banksy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	famous	famous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	stencil	stencil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	graffiti	graffiti	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Banksy |  |  |  |  | for stencil graffiti; famous *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ancient hand stencils were found on cave walls.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:stencil:x5:1
# text = Ancient hand stencils were found on cave walls.
1	Ancient	ancient	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
2	hand	hand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	stencils	stencil	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	found	find	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	cave	cave	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	walls	wall	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **find** | past · passive |  | Ancient hand stencils |  | cave walls |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: subject=Topic |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The road workers stencilled "SLOW" on the road.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:stencil:x6:1
# text = The road workers stencilled "SLOW" on the road.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	road	road	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	workers	worker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
4	stencilled	stencilled	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
5	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	SLOW	slow	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
8	on	on	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	road	road	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Use a shape stencil to draw a perfect hexagon.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:stencil:x7:1
# text = Use a shape stencil to draw a perfect hexagon.
1	Use	use	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	shape	shape	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	stencil	stencil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	draw	draw	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	1	advcl	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	perfect	perfect	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	hexagon	hexagon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | imperative | you *not said here* | a shape stencil |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent stencil=Patient |
| 2 | **draw** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* | a perfect hexagon |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hexagon=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: [stench](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/stench/)
- next →: [step](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/step/)
- ↑ back to [S in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/S/)