rule

«rule» in Mova's school dictionary: A rule tells what must or should be done: school rules… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (rule, rules); verb (rule, rules, ruled, ruling)

meaning for a pupil

1) A rule tells what must or should be done: school rules, the rules of a game. tree →

2) In maths, a rule tells how to get the next number, or how to change an input to an output. tree →

3) To rule is to be in charge of a country: the queen ruled for years. tree →

4) To rule a line is to draw it with a ruler. tree →

5) «As a rule» means usually. tree →

6) To rule out is to decide that something is not possible. tree →

sense in the lessons

In maths: a number pattern rule («add 3») or the rule of a game; also to rule a line; function machine rules; rules of divisibility. In science: rules (laws) that nature seems to follow. In everyday life and safety: class rules, road rules, rules keep games fair and people safe. In stories: a king rules a land; «rules are made to be broken» (a saying, not good advice).

examples

• The rule is «add 4»: 3, 7, 11, … tree →
• What is the rule of the pattern? tree →
• By the rules, each player gets 5 cards. tree →
• Use the rule to find the 10th number. tree →
• Rule a line under the title. tree →
• Our class rule is to listen when someone is speaking. tree →
• The queen ruled the country for a long time. tree →
• As a rule, we eat dinner at six. tree →
• The doctor ruled out a broken arm. tree →
• As a rule they are either fools or swindlers! tree →

note

In patterns the rule names the operation to repeat. Trap: check the rule on more than the first two numbers. The person who rules is a ruler; the tool for ruling lines is also a ruler. Rules of a game must be the same for every player.

In the corpora

• Starting a new job means learning new systems, names and rules all at once, so people come home tired.
• Bailiffs can collect money owed only after a court decision and many warnings, under strict rules, and cannot take essentials.
• Children can notice it kindly, laugh about it together and sometimes help everyone keep the rules.
• Families make phone rules so meals are for talking, and adults find them hard to keep because phones are built to grab attention.
• Immigration means people moving to live in another country; countries have rules about it, and people disagree about those rules.

Trees and pragmatics

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