---
title: subsistence — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «subsistence» in the school dictionary: Subsistence is having just enough food, water and money to stay alive, with nothing extra. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# subsistence

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Subsistence, Subsistence farming, money, Many families, Subsistence farmers, wages · **What happens:** have, stay, grow, feed, not sell, mean · **To what, where:** enough food, own family, money, basic living, subsistence farming, food · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Subsistence is having just enough food, water and money to stay alive, with nothing extra.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:subsistence:m1:1
# text = Subsistence is having just enough food, water and money to stay alive, with nothing extra.
1	Subsistence	subsistence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	having	have	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	just	just	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	enough	enough	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
8	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	stay	stay	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	acl	_	_
13	alive	alive	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
15	with	with	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	3	parataxis	_	_
17	extra	extra	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present · progressive | Subsistence | enough food and water and money |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent food=Patient |
| 2 | **stay** | to-infinitive | Subsistence *not said here* |  |  |  |  | alive *property* | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- .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 -->
Subsistence farming is growing just enough food to feed your own family, not to sell.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:subsistence:m2:1
# text = Subsistence farming is growing just enough food to feed your own family, not to sell.
1	Subsistence	subsistence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	farming	farming	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	growing	grow	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	just	just	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	enough	enough	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	feed	feed	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
10	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
11	own	own	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	family	family	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
14	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	16	advmod	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	sell	sell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow** | present · progressive | Subsistence farming | enough food |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location food=Theme |
| 2 | **feed** | to-infinitive | Subsistence farming *not said here* | your own family |  |  |  |  | vn feeding-39.7 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent family=Recipient |
| 3 | **not** **sell** | to-infinitive | Subsistence farming *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: formal, money — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Subsistence can mean money paid to cover basic living costs like meals when away for work.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:subsistence:m3:1
# text = Subsistence can mean money paid to cover basic living costs like meals when away for work.
1	Subsistence	subsistence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
5	paid	pay	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	cover	cover	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	_
8	basic	basic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	living	living	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	costs	cost	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
11	like	like	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	meals	meal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obl	_	_
13	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	14	mark	_	_
14	away	away	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
15	for	for	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can | Subsistence |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **pay** | participle |  | money *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **cover** | to-infinitive |  | basic living |  |  |  |  | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme living=Destination |
| 4 | **cost** | present | money |  |  |  |  | like meals; away *property* | vn cost-54.2 «NP V NP.value»: agent=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Many families in the past lived on subsistence farming.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:subsistence:x1:1
# text = Many families in the past lived on subsistence farming.
1	Many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	families	family	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	past	past	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	lived	live	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	subsistence	subsistence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	farming	farming	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **live** | past | Many families in the past |  |  | subsistence farming |  |  | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on farming=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Subsistence farmers grow food mainly to eat, not to sell.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:subsistence:x2:1
# text = Subsistence farmers grow food mainly to eat, not to sell.
1	Subsistence	subsistence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	farmers	farmer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	grow	grow	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	mainly	mainly	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	eat	eat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
9	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	sell	sell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow** | present | Subsistence farmers | food |  |  |  | mainly *property* | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location food=Theme |
| 2 | **eat** | to-infinitive | Subsistence farmers *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **not** **sell** | to-infinitive | Subsistence farmers *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Their wages were barely enough for subsistence.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:subsistence:x3:1
# text = Their wages were barely enough for subsistence.
1	Their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	wages	wage	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	barely	barely	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	enough	enough	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	subsistence	subsistence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | Their wages |  |  |  |  | for subsistence; enough *property* | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In geography we compared subsistence and commercial farming.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:subsistence:x4:1
# text = In geography we compared subsistence and commercial farming.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	geography	geography	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
3	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	compared	compare	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	subsistence	subsistence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
7	commercial	commercial	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	farming	farming	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **compare** | past | we | subsistence and commercial farming |  | geography |  |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subsistence=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Fishing was the village's means of subsistence.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:subsistence:x5:1
# text = Fishing was the village's means of subsistence.
1	Fishing	fishing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	village	village	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	subsistence	subsistence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | Fishing |  |  |  |  | 's the village | tree rules |
| 2 | **mean** | present | the village |  |  |  |  | of subsistence | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dad gets a subsistence allowance when he works away.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:subsistence:x6:1
# text = Dad gets a subsistence allowance when he works away.
1	Dad	dad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	gets	get	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	subsistence	subsistence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	allowance	allowance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	8	mark	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	works	work	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
9	away	away	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** | present | Dad | a subsistence allowance |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer allowance=Stimulus |
| 2 | **work away** | present | Dad |  |  |  |  | away *property* | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A poor blind Brahman and his wife were dependent on their son for their subsistence.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:subsistence:x7:1
# text = A poor blind Brahman and his wife were dependent on their son for their subsistence.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	poor	poor	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	blind	blind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	Brahman	Brahman	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
8	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	dependent	dependent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
10	on	on	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	son	son	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
13	for	for	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
15	subsistence	subsistence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | a poor blind Brahman and his wife |  |  |  |  | on Brahman's son; for Brahman's subsistence; dependent *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **subsist** |  | Brahman |  |  |  |  |  | nom subsistence «possession intransitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- 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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