---
title: struggle — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «struggle» in the school dictionary: To struggle means to try very hard to do something difficult. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# struggle

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** struggle, I, Getting, cat, Plants, He · **What happens:** struggle, mean, try, do, fight, twist · **To what, where:** something, body, hard effort, baby bird, egg, struggle · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To struggle means to try very hard to do something difficult.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:struggle:m1:1
# text = To struggle means to try very hard to do something difficult.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	struggle	struggle	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	csubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	try	try	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
6	very	very	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	xcomp	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	xcomp	_	_
10	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	9	obj	_	_
11	difficult	difficult	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **struggle** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn battle-36.4 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **try** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | hard *property* | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 4 | **do** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Eventuality |

<!-- .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 struggle means to fight or twist your body to get free.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:struggle:m2:1
# text = To struggle means to fight or twist your body to get free.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	struggle	struggle	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	csubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	fight	fight	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	twist	twist	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
8	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	body	body	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	get	get	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	_
12	free	free	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **struggle** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn battle-36.4 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **fight** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn battle-36.4-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **twist** | infinitive |  | your body |  |  |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent body=Theme |
| 5 | **get** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | free *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A struggle is a hard effort or a fight.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:struggle:m3:1
# text = A struggle is a hard effort or a fight.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	struggle	struggle	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	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	effort	effort	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	fight	fight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a struggle | a hard effort or a fight |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I struggled with my long division at first.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:struggle:x1:1
# text = I struggled with my long division at first.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	struggled	struggle	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	with	with	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
5	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	division	division	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **struggle** | past | I |  |  |  |  | with my long division | vn battle-36.4 «NP V PP.co-agent»: agent=Agent with division=Co-Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The baby bird struggled to get out of its egg.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:struggle:x2:1
# text = The baby bird struggled to get out of its egg.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	baby	baby	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	struggled	struggle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	get	get	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
7	out	out	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	egg	egg	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **struggle** | participle |  | the baby bird *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn battle-36.4 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **get out** | to-infinitive |  | bird's egg |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Getting up early on Monday is a struggle.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:struggle:x3:1
# text = Getting up early on Monday is a struggle.
1	Getting	get	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	csubj	_	_
2	up	up	ADP	RP	_	1	compound:prt	_	_
3	early	early	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	1	advmod	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	Monday	Monday	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	struggle	struggle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get up** | gerund |  |  |  |  | monday | early *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **is a** | present | Getting | a struggle |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cat struggled out of my arms.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:struggle:x4:1
# text = The cat struggled out of my arms.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	struggled	struggle	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	out	out	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	arms	arm	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **struggle** | past | the cat |  |  | my arms |  |  | vn battle-36.4 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Plants struggle to grow in the desert.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:struggle:x5:1
# text = Plants struggle to grow in the desert.
1	Plants	plant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	struggle	struggle	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	grow	grow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **struggle** | present | Plants |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **grow** | to-infinitive | Plants *not said here* |  |  | the desert |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in desert=Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He was struggling to carry the heavy box, so I helped.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:struggle:x6:1
# text = He was struggling to carry the heavy box, so I helped.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	struggling	struggle	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	carry	carry	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	heavy	heavy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	box	box	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	so	so	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
11	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
12	helped	help	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **struggle** | past · progressive | He |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **carry** | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | the heavy box |  |  |  |  | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent box=Theme |
| 3 | **help** | past | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
If you see someone struggling in the water, shout for a lifeguard.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:struggle:x7:1
# text = If you see someone struggling in the water, shout for a lifeguard.
1	If	if	SCONJ	IN	_	3	mark	_	_
2	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	see	see	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	advcl	_	_
4	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	3	obj	_	_
5	struggling	struggle	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	acl	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
10	shout	shout	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	for	for	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	lifeguard	lifeguard	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **see** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | you | someone |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer someone=Stimulus |
| 2 | **struggle** | gerund |  |  |  | the water |  |  | vn battle-36.4 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **shout** *speech: express* | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | for a lifeguard | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V PP.recipient S\_INF»: agent=Agent for lifeguard=Recipient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The struggle began, and a terrible struggle it was.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:struggle:x8:1
# text = The struggle began, and a terrible struggle it was.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	struggle	struggle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	began	begin	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	struggle	struggle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | past | the struggle | a terrible struggle |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

<!-- 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 -->
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