---
title: task — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «task» in the school dictionary: A task is a piece of work that someone has to do, often given by someone else. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# task

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** task, that, they, first task, Your, Feeding · **What happens:** be, have, do, give, task, take · **To what, where:** piece, something, formal, someone, them, cat · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A task is a piece of work that someone has to do, often given by someone else.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:task:m1:1
# text = A task is a piece of work that someone has to do, often given by someone else.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	task	task	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	piece	piece	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
8	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
9	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	10	nsubj	_	_
10	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
14	often	often	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
15	given	give	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	conj	_	_
16	by	by	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	15	obl	_	_
18	else	else	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a task | a piece |  |  |  | of work | tree rules |
| 2 | **have** | present | that |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **do** | to-infinitive | that *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **give** | participle | that *not said here* |  |  |  |  | by someone; often *property* | vn break\_down-45.8 «NP V»: agent=Patient |

<!-- .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 be tasked with something is to be given a job to do (formal).

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:task:m2:1
# text = To be tasked with something is to be given a job to do (formal).
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	3	mark	_	_
2	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	tasked	task	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	with	with	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
5	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	9	nsubj:pass	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
8	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	aux:pass	_	_
9	given	give	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	advcl	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	job	job	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
12	to	to	PART	TO	_	13	mark	_	_
13	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	acl	_	_
14	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	formal	formal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **task** | to-infinitive · passive |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **give** | present · passive |  | something |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: subject=Recipient job=Theme |
| 3 | **do** | to-infinitive |  | formal |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent formal=Eventuality |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Take someone to task» means to tell them off for something they did.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:task:m3:1
# text = «Take someone to task» means to tell them off for something they did.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Take	take	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	7	nsubj	_	_
3	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	task	task	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
7	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	tell	tell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	xcomp	_	_
10	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	iobj	_	_
11	off	off	ADP	RP	_	9	compound:prt	_	_
12	for	for	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	9	obl	_	_
14	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
15	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** *in a quote* | infinitive |  |  | someone |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP ADVP»: agent=Instrument someone=Destination |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **tell off** *speech: assert* *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  | them *= they* |  |  | for something | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent they=Recipient |
| 4 | **do** | past | they |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Your first task is to read the story.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:task:x1:1
# text = Your first task is to read the story.
1	Your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	first	first	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	3	amod	_	_
3	task	task	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
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	read	read	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Your first task |  |  |  |  | read *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **task** |  | Your |  |  |  |  |  | nom task «act transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Feeding the cat is my task every morning.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:task:x2:1
# text = Feeding the cat is my task every morning.
1	Feeding	feed	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	csubj	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	task	task	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	8	det	_	_
8	morning	morning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **feed** | gerund |  |  | the cat |  |  |  | vn feeding-39.7 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cat=Recipient |
| 2 | **is a** | present | Feeding | my task |  |  | morning |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Stay on task, please.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:task:x3:1
# text = Stay on task, please.
1	Stay	stay	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	on	on	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	task	task	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
5	please	please	INTJ	UH	_	1	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stay** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  | task |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on task=Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
This task is harder than the last one.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:task:x4:1
# text = This task is harder than the last one.
1	This	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	2	det	_	_
2	task	task	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	harder	hard	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	_
5	than	than	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	last	last	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | this task |  |  |  |  | than the last one; hard *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Break a big task into smaller parts.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:task:x5:1
# text = Break a big task into smaller parts.
1	Break	break	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	task	task	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	into	into	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	smaller	small	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	7	amod	_	_
7	parts	part	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **break** | imperative | you *not said here* | a big task |  |  |  | into smaller parts *result* | vn break-45.1 «NP V NP PP.result»: agent=Agent task=Patient into part=Result |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The class finished the task in ten minutes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:task:x6:1
# text = The class finished the task in ten minutes.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	finished	finish	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	task	task	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	ten	ten	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	minutes	minute	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **finish** | past | the class | the task |  |  | minute |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Subeventuality task=Eventuality |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Each group had a different task.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:task:x7:1
# text = Each group had a different task.
1	Each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	det	_	_
2	group	group	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	had	have	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	different	different	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	task	task	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 | **have** | past | each group | a different task |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent task=Patient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The third task was the hardest.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:task:x8:1
# text = The third task was the hardest.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	third	third	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	3	amod	_	_
3	task	task	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	hardest	hard	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the third task |  |  |  |  | hard *property* | tree rules |

<!-- 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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