---
title: swerve — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «swerve» in the school dictionary: To swerve is to change direction suddenly, especially to avoid hitting something: the car swerved to miss the dog. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# swerve

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** car, swerve, I, bus, cyclist, His · **What happens:** swerve, be, avoid, hit, miss, fall · **To what, where:** something, dog, sudden change, purpose, party, fallen tree · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To swerve is to change direction suddenly, especially to avoid hitting something: the car swerved to miss the dog.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swerve:m1:1
# text = To swerve is to change direction suddenly, especially to avoid hitting something: the car swerved to miss the dog.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	swerve	swerve	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	change	change	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	direction	direction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
7	suddenly	suddenly	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
9	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	avoid	avoid	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	_
12	hitting	hit	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	11	xcomp	_	_
13	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	17	punct	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nsubj	_	_
17	swerved	swerve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	acl:relcl	_	_
18	to	to	PART	TO	_	19	mark	_	_
19	miss	miss	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	17	xcomp	_	_
20	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
21	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swerve** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn meander-47.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | change, suddenly *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **avoid** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | especially *property* | vn avoid-52 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 4 | **hit** | gerund |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme something=Co-Theme |
| 5 | **swerve** | past | the car |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 6 | **miss** | to-infinitive | the car *not said here* | the dog |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer dog=Stimulus |

<!-- .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 swerve is a sudden change of direction.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swerve:m2:1
# text = A swerve is a sudden change of direction.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	swerve	swerve	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	sudden	sudden	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	change	change	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	direction	direction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a swerve | a sudden change |  |  |  | of direction | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: UK, slang — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To swerve something is to avoid it on purpose.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swerve:m3:1
# text = To swerve something is to avoid it on purpose.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	swerve	swerve	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	advcl	_	_
3	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	avoid	avoid	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	purpose	purpose	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 | **swerve** | to-infinitive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn meander-47.7-1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location something=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  | purpose |  | avoid *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
The example in this meaning, parsed on its own:

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I swerved that party.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swerve:m3e:1
# text = I swerved that party.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	swerved	swerve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	4	det	_	_
4	party	party	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swerve** | past | I | that party |  |  |  |  | vn meander-47.7-1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location party=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The bus swerved to avoid a fallen tree.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swerve:x1:1
# text = The bus swerved to avoid a fallen tree.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	bus	bus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	swerved	swerve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	avoid	avoid	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	fallen	fall	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	amod	_	_
8	tree	tree	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swerve** | past | the bus |  |  |  |  |  | vn meander-47.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **avoid** | to-infinitive | the bus *not said here* | a fallen tree |  |  |  |  | vn avoid-52 «NP V NP.location»: agent=Agent tree=Location |
| 3 | **fall** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cyclist swerved and nearly fell off.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swerve:x2:1
# text = The cyclist swerved and nearly fell off.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cyclist	cyclist	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	swerved	swerve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
5	nearly	nearly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	fell	fall	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
7	off	off	ADP	RP	_	6	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swerve** | past | the cyclist |  |  |  |  |  | vn meander-47.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **fall off** | past | the cyclist *not said here* |  |  |  |  | nearly *property* | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1-1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
His free kick swerved into the top corner of the goal.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swerve:x3:1
# text = His free kick swerved into the top corner of the goal.
1	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	free	free	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	kick	kick	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	swerved	swerve	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	into	into	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	top	top	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	corner	corner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	goal	goal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swerve** | participle |  | His free kick *not said here* |  | the top corner of the goal |  |  | vn meander-47.7-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme into corner=Location |
| 2 | **kick** |  | His *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom kick «act transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She swerved past two defenders and scored.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swerve:x4:1
# text = She swerved past two defenders and scored.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	swerved	swerve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	past	past	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	defenders	defender	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	scored	score	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swerve** | past | She |  |  | two defenders |  |  | vn meander-47.7-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme past defender=Location |
| 2 | **score** | participle | She *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The car made a sudden swerve.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swerve:x5:1
# text = The car made a sudden swerve.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	sudden	sudden	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	swerve	swerve	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 | **make** | past | the car | a sudden swerve |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.material V NP»: agent=Material swerve=Product |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Never run into the road: a driver may not be able to swerve in time.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swerve:x6:1
# text = Never run into the road: a driver may not be able to swerve in time.
1	Never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	2	advmod	_	_
2	run	run	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	into	into	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	road	road	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	12	punct	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	driver	driver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
9	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
10	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	12	advmod	_	_
11	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	cop	_	_
12	able	able	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	advcl	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	swerve	swerve	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	xcomp	_	_
15	in	in	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **run** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | into the road *result* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.result»: agent=Theme into road=Result |
| 2 | **not** **is** | may | a driver |  |  |  |  | able *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **swerve** | to-infinitive | a driver *not said here* |  |  |  | time |  | vn meander-47.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I'm going to swerve the maths club today, said Leo (slang).

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swerve:x7:1
# text = I'm going to swerve the maths club today, said Leo (slang).
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	'm	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	going	go	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	11	ccomp	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	swerve	swerve	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	maths	math	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	compound	_	_
8	club	club	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
9	today	today	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
11	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
12	Leo	Leo	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
13	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	slang	slang	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go** | present · progressive | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7 «NP V S-Quote»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **swerve** | to-infinitive | I *not said here* | the maths club |  |  | today |  | vn meander-47.7-1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location club=Theme |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Leo |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |

<!-- 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 -->

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