ma

«ma» in Mova's school dictionary: a homely word for mother, like «Mum» or «Mom», heard in… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 4 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (ma, mas — informal: mother); abbreviation (MA = Master of Arts; ma = milliamp); Mandarin pinyin «ma» — mixed

meaning for a pupil

1) (informal) «Ma» is a homely word for mother, like «Mum» or «Mom», heard in old stories, in the USA countryside and in Ireland. tree →

2) (Mandarin, pinyin) «Mā» means «mum»; «ma» with no tone is a little word at the end of a sentence that turns it into a question: «nǐ hǎo ma?» (are you well?). tree →

3) (abbreviation) «MA» is a Master of Arts, a university degree. tree →

4) (French) «Ma» means «my» before a feminine noun: «ma mère» is «my mother»; in Italian «ma» means «but». tree →

sense in the lessons

In stories, «Ma» and «Pa» are what children call their parents in old American tales such as «Little House on the Prairie». In Mandarin lessons pupils learn «māma» (mum) and the question word «ma». In Ireland and Scotland «me ma» means «my mum». In science «mA» is a milliamp, a tiny unit of electric current.

examples

• «Ma, can I go out to play?» asked the boy in the old story. tree →
• Pa fixed the fence while Ma baked bread. tree →
• In Mandarin, «nǐ hǎo ma?» means «how are you?» tree →
• «Māma» is the Mandarin word for «mum». tree →
• My aunt has an MA in history. tree →
• The tiny bulb needed only a few mA of current. tree →
• «Me ma says I have to be home for tea», said Sean. tree →
• Is you drowndid w'en yo' ma tucks you in de bed?" tree →

note

As «mother» it is informal and old-fashioned; in a letter or essay write «mother», «mum» (UK, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand) or «mom» (USA, Canada). Capital M when used as a name: «Ma said no». In pinyin the tone mark changes the meaning: «mā» (mum), «mǎ» (horse), «mà» (scold). «MA» and «mA» are abbreviations, not words.

In the corpora

• An old Crab tells her daughter "never to lose your temper", and the daughter snaps "Hold your tongue, Ma!
• «Ma lips are sealed.» Small treat secrets like that are fine.
• la bouche ("BOOSH") is the mouth and is feminine: ma bouche, even for a boy.
• Léa's postcard - "Je suis à Nice avec ma famille.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «ma» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.