---
title: tort — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «tort» in the school dictionary: A tort is a wrong done to someone, such as hurting them through carelessness or damaging their property, for which they can sue in a civil court for money (damages), even though it may not be a crime. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# tort

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** tort, they, It, Negligence, careless driver, Tort law · **What happens:** do, be, hurt, damage, sue, not be · **To what, where:** them, carelessness, property, civil court, crime, tort · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«tort» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 6 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: [tort in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/tort.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A tort is a wrong done to someone, such as hurting them through carelessness or damaging their property, for which they can sue in a civil court for money (damages), even though it may not be a crime.

<!-- fold The tree, 38 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tort:m1:1
# text = A tort is a wrong done to someone, such as hurting them through carelessness or damaging their property, for which they can sue in a civil court for money (damages), even though it may not be a crime.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	tort	tort	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
5	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
6	done	do	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	amod	_	_
7	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=SCONJ	12	mark	_	_
11	as	as	ADP	IN	_	10	fixed	_	_
12	hurting	hurt	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	acl:relcl	_	_
13	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	_
14	through	through	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	carelessness	carelessness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	damaging	damage	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	12	conj	_	_
18	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	19	nmod:poss	_	_
19	property	property	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	25	punct	_	_
21	for	for	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
22	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	25	obl	_	_
23	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	25	nsubj	_	_
24	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	25	aux	_	_
25	sue	sue	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	acl:relcl	_	_
26	in	in	ADP	IN	_	29	case	_	_
27	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	29	det	_	_
28	civil	civil	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	29	amod	_	_
29	court	court	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	obl	_	_
30	for	for	ADP	IN	_	31	case	_	_
31	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	29	nmod	_	_
32	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	33	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	damages	damage	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	31	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
34	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	33	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
35	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	43	punct	_	_
36	even	even	ADV	RB	_	43	advmod	_	_
37	though	though	SCONJ	IN	_	43	mark	_	_
38	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	43	nsubj	_	_
39	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	43	aux	_	_
40	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	43	advmod	_	_
41	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	43	cop	_	_
42	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	43	det	_	_
43	crime	crime	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
44	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | a tort |  |  |  |  | to someone | tree rules |
| 3 | **hurt** | gerund |  | them *= they* |  | carelessness |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer they=Patient |
| 4 | **damage** | gerund |  | their property |  |  |  |  | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent property=Patient |
| 5 | **sue** | can | they |  |  | a civil court for money |  |  | tree rules |
| 6 | **not** **is a** | may | tort | a crime |  |  |  |  | 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 -->
It is not the same as «torte», a rich cake, or «taut», which means tight.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tort:m2:1
# text = It is not the same as «torte», a rich cake, or «taut», which means tight.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	same	same	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	as	as	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	torte	torte	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	rich	rich	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	cake	cake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
15	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
16	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	taut	taut	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
20	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	21	nsubj	_	_
21	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
22	tight	tight	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	21	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is** | present | It |  |  |  |  | as torte and a rich cake; same *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  | tight *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Negligence is a tort, like when a careless driver hits a parked car.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tort:x1:1
# text = Negligence is a tort, like when a careless driver hits a parked car.
1	Negligence	negligence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	tort	tort	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
6	like	like	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
7	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	11	mark	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	careless	careless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	driver	driver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
11	hits	hit	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	parked	park	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	14	amod	_	_
14	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Negligence | a tort |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **hit** | present | a careless driver | a parked car |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme car=Co-Theme |
| 3 | **park** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn put-9.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tort law decides who must pay when someone is harmed.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tort:x2:1
# text = Tort law decides who must pay when someone is harmed.
1	Tort	Tort	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	law	law	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	decides	decide	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	6	nsubj	_	_
5	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	pay	pay	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
7	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	10	advmod	_	_
8	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	10	nsubj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux:pass	_	_
10	harmed	harm	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **decide** | present | Tort law |  |  |  |  |  | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V what S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **pay** | must |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **harm** | present · passive |  | someone |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Experiencer |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Trespassing on land can be a tort.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tort:x3:1
# text = Trespassing on land can be a tort.
1	Trespassing	trespass	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	csubj	_	_
2	on	on	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	land	land	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
4	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	cop	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	tort	tort	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 | **trespass** | gerund |  |  |  | land |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is a** | can | Trespassing | a tort |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A lawyer explained that the tort case was about a dog bite.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tort:x4:1
# text = A lawyer explained that the tort case was about a dog bite.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	lawyer	lawyer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	explained	explain	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	tort	tort	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	case	case	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
8	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
9	about	about	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	bite	bite	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **explain** *speech: assert* | past | a lawyer |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | past | the tort case | a dog bite |  |  |  | about *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In a tort case, the winner usually gets money, not a prison sentence for the other side.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tort:x5:1
# text = In a tort case, the winner usually gets money, not a prison sentence for the other side.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	tort	tort	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	case	case	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	winner	winner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
8	usually	usually	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	gets	get	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
12	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	15	advmod	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	prison	prison	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	compound	_	_
15	sentence	sentence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
16	for	for	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
18	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	side	side	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** | present | the winner | money |  | a tort case |  | a prison sentence for the other side *obl*; usually *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer money=Stimulus |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Spreading lies that harm someone's name can be a tort called defamation.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tort:x6:1
# text = Spreading lies that harm someone's name can be a tort called defamation.
1	Spreading	spread	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	11	csubj	_	_
2	lies	lie	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
3	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
4	harm	harm	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
5	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	's	's	PART	POS	_	5	case	_	_
7	name	name	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
8	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
9	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	cop	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	tort	tort	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
12	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	11	acl	_	_
13	defamation	defamation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spread** | gerund |  | lies |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location lie=Theme |
| 2 | **harm** | present | lies | someone's name |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus name=Experiencer |
| 3 | **is a** | can | Spreading | a tort |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **call** | participle | a tort *not said here* | defamation |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 5 | **name** |  | someone |  |  |  |  |  | nom name «communication transitive»: 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 -->

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