---
title: taxman — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «taxman» in the school dictionary: The taxman is the government office that collects taxes, spoken of as if it were one person. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# taxman

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** taxman, government office, person, Dad, You, Mum · **What happens:** be, collect, speak, grumble, take, pay · **To what, where:** government office, taxes, big part, taxman, much money, story · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«taxman» in the school dictionary: its 2 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: [taxman in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/taxman.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The taxman is the government office that collects taxes, spoken of as if it were one person.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:taxman:m1:1
# text = The taxman is the government office that collects taxes, spoken of as if it were one person.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	taxman	taxman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	government	government	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	office	office	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
8	collects	collect	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
9	taxes	tax	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
11	spoken	speak	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	parataxis	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
13	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	18	mark	_	_
14	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	18	mark	_	_
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
16	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	18	cop	_	_
17	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	18	nummod	_	_
18	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the taxman | the government office |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **collect** | present | the government office | taxes |  |  |  |  | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tax=Theme |
| 3 | **speak** *speech: other* | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is** *a condition, not said to happen* | past | taxman |  |  |  |  | of one person | tree rules |

<!-- .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 person who collects taxes for the government.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:taxman:m2:1
# text = A person who collects taxes for the government.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
4	collects	collect	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
5	taxes	tax	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	government	government	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **collect** | present | a person | taxes |  |  |  | for the government | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tax=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dad grumbled that the taxman takes a big part of his pay.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:taxman:x1:1
# text = Dad grumbled that the taxman takes a big part of his pay.
1	Dad	dad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	grumbled	grumble	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	taxman	taxman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	takes	take	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	part	part	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	pay	pay	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grumble** *speech: other* | past | Dad |  |  |  |  |  | vn complain-37.8 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **take** | present | the taxman | a big part of taxman's pay |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent part=Theme |
| 3 | **pay** |  | taxman |  |  |  |  |  | nom pay «possession transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
You must tell the taxman how much money you earn.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:taxman:x2:1
# text = You must tell the taxman how much money you earn.
1	You	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	tell	tell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	taxman	taxman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	7	advmod	_	_
7	much	much	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	ccomp	_	_
9	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	earn	earn	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|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 | **tell** *speech: assert* | must | You | the taxman |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent taxman=Recipient |
| 2 | **earn** | present | you | much money *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent money=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the story, the taxman came to the village every spring.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:taxman:x3:1
# text = In the story, the taxman came to the village every spring.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	taxman	taxman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	to	to	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	village	village	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
11	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	12	det	_	_
12	spring	spring	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | past | the taxman |  |  | the story | spring | to the village | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme to village=Initial\_Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum owes the taxman a little money this year.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:taxman:x4:1
# text = Mum owes the taxman a little money this year.
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	owes	owe	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	taxman	taxman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
8	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	9	det	_	_
9	year	year	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **owe** | present | Mum | the taxman |  |  | year |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.goal NP»: agent=Agent taxman=Goal money=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The shop has to keep records for the taxman.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:taxman:x5:1
# text = The shop has to keep records for the taxman.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	shop	shop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	keep	keep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	records	record	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	taxman	taxman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | the shop |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **keep** | to-infinitive | the shop *not said here* | records |  |  |  | for the taxman | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent record=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the Bible, Zacchaeus was a taxman who changed his ways.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:taxman:x6:1
# text = In the Bible, Zacchaeus was a taxman who changed his ways.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	Bible	Bible	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	Zacchaeus	Zacchaeus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
6	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	taxman	taxman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
10	changed	change	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	_
11	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	ways	way	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | Zacchaeus | a taxman |  | the Bible |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **change** | past | a taxman | Zacchaeus's ways |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent way=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Everyone has to pay the taxman, even famous people.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:taxman:x7:1
# text = Everyone has to pay the taxman, even famous people.
1	Everyone	everyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	2	nsubj	_	_
2	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	pay	pay	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	taxman	taxman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	even	even	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
9	famous	famous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Everyone |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **pay** | to-infinitive | Everyone *not said here* | the taxman |  |  |  |  | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent taxman=Asset |

<!-- 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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