---
title: tact — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «tact» in the school dictionary: Tact is skill in saying or doing the right thing without upsetting people. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# tact

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Tact skill, Tact, quick cleverness, She, He · **What happens:** be, say, do, upset, deal, show · **To what, where:** Tact skill, right thing, people, quick cleverness, tact, bad news · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«tact» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 3 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: [tact in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/tact.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tact is skill in saying or doing the right thing without upsetting people.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tact:m1:1
# text = Tact is skill in saying or doing the right thing without upsetting people.
1	Tact	tact	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	skill	skill	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
5	saying	say	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	acl	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	doing	do	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	conj	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
11	without	without	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
12	upsetting	upset	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	advcl	_	_
13	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present |  | Tact skill |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | gerund | Tact skill *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **do** | gerund | Tact skill *not said here* | the right thing |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent thing=Eventuality |
| 4 | **upset** | gerund | Tact skill *not said here* | people |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus people=Experiencer |

<!-- .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 -->
Tact is quick cleverness in dealing with a person or a difficult job.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tact:m2:1
# text = Tact is quick cleverness in dealing with a person or a difficult job.
1	Tact	tact	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	quick	quick	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	cleverness	cleverness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
6	dealing	deal	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	acl	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	difficult	difficult	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	job	job	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Tact | quick cleverness |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **deal** | gerund | quick cleverness *not said here* |  |  |  |  | with a person or a difficult job | vn cope-83 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent with person=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She showed tact when she told him the bad news.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tact:x1:1
# text = She showed tact when she told him the bad news.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	showed	show	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	tact	tact	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
5	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	told	tell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
7	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	iobj	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	news	news	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | past | She | tact |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent tact=Recipient |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past | she | the bad news | him *= he* |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent he=Recipient news=Topic |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He used tact to calm the angry neighbour.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tact:x2:1
# text = He used tact to calm the angry neighbour.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	used	use	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	tact	tact	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	calm	calm	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	angry	angry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	neighbour	neighbour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | past | He | tact |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tact=Patient |
| 2 | **calm** | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | the angry neighbour |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus neighbour=Experiencer |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
With his usual tact, he persuaded the hero to come back.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tact:x3:1
# text = With his usual tact, he persuaded the hero to come back.
1	With	with	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
3	usual	usual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	tact	tact	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
6	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	persuaded	persuade	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	hero	hero	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	_
12	back	back	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **persuade** | past | he | the hero |  |  |  | with his usual tact | vn compel-59.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hero=Patient |
| 2 | **come back** | to-infinitive | he *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

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**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.

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