---
title: bacterium — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «bacterium» in the school dictionary: A bacterium is one tiny living thing made of a single cell, so small you need a microscope to see it. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bacterium/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [B](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/) / bacterium

# bacterium

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** bacterium, you, Bacteria, some, Washing, us · **What happens:** be, make, need, see, live, cause · **To what, where:** one tiny living thing, microscope, soil, illness, hands, bacteria

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A bacterium is one tiny living thing made of a single cell, so small you need a microscope to see it.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bacterium:m1:1
# text = A bacterium is one tiny living thing made of a single cell, so small you need a microscope to see it.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	bacterium	bacterium	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	7	nummod	_	_
5	tiny	tiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
6	living	living	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	acl	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	single	single	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	cell	cell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
14	so	so	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
15	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	xcomp	_	_
16	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
17	need	need	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	parataxis	_	_
18	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	microscope	microscope	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	_
20	to	to	PART	TO	_	21	mark	_	_
21	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	17	advcl	_	_
22	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	21	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a bacterium | one tiny living thing |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **make** | participle |  | one tiny living thing *not said here* |  |  |  | of a single cell | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |
| 3 | **need** | present | you | a microscope |  |  |  | small *property* | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADJ»: agent=Pivot microscope=Theme |
| 4 | **see** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* | microscope |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer it=Stimulus |

<!-- .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 -->
Bacteria (plural) live almost everywhere: in soil, water, air and inside our bodies; some are helpful and some cause illness.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bacterium:m2:1
# text = Bacteria (plural) live almost everywhere: in soil, water, air and inside our bodies; some are helpful and some cause illness.
1	Bacteria	bacterium	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
2	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	plural	plural	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	3	punct	_	_
5	live	live	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	almost	almost	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	everywhere	everywhere	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	soil	soil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
14	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
16	inside	inside	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	18	nmod:poss	_	_
18	bodies	body	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	22	punct	_	_
20	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	22	nsubj	_	_
21	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	22	cop	_	_
22	helpful	helpful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	parataxis	_	_
23	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	25	cc	_	_
24	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	25	nsubj	_	_
25	cause	cause	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	22	conj	_	_
26	illness	illness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **live** | present | Bacteria |  |  | soil and water and air and our bodies |  | everywhere *property* | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in soil=Location |
| 2 | **is** | present | some |  |  |  |  | helpful *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **cause** | present | some | illness |  |  |  |  | vn engender-27.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition illness=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A bacterium is too small to see without a microscope.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bacterium:x1:1
# text = A bacterium is too small to see without a microscope.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	bacterium	bacterium	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	too	too	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	_
8	without	without	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	microscope	microscope	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a bacterium |  |  |  |  | small *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **see** | to-infinitive | a bacterium *not said here* |  |  |  |  | without a microscope | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Washing your hands with soap removes bacteria.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bacterium:x2:1
# text = Washing your hands with soap removes bacteria.
1	Washing	wash	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	csubj	_	_
2	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
3	hands	hand	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	soap	soap	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
6	removes	remove	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	bacteria	bacteria	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wash** | gerund |  | your hands |  |  |  | with soap | vn floss-41.2.1 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent hand=Patient with soap=Instrument |
| 2 | **remove** | present | Washing | bacteria |  |  |  |  | vn fire-10.10 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bacteria=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Some bacteria help us digest our food.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bacterium:x3:1
# text = Some bacteria help us digest our food.
1	Some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	2	det	_	_
2	bacteria	bacterium	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	help	help	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	digest	digest	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **help** | present | some bacteria | us |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent we=Beneficiary clause=Theme |
| 2 | **digest** | infinitive | us *not said here* | our food |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Bacteria in milk turn it into yoghurt.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bacterium:x4:1
# text = Bacteria in milk turn it into yoghurt.
1	Bacteria	bacterium	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	in	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	milk	milk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
4	turn	turn	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obj	_	_
6	into	into	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	yoghurt	yoghurt	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **turn** | present | Bacteria in milk | milk |  | yoghurt |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V NP PP.trajectory»: agent=Agent it=Theme into yoghurt=Trajectory |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Harmful bacteria can grow on raw chicken.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bacterium:x5:1
# text = Harmful bacteria can grow on raw chicken.
1	Harmful	harmful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	bacteria	bacterium	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	grow	grow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	raw	raw	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	chicken	chicken	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow** | can | Harmful bacteria |  |  |  |  | on raw chicken | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on chicken=Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Keep food in the fridge so bacteria grow more slowly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bacterium:x6:1
# text = Keep food in the fridge so bacteria grow more slowly.
1	Keep	keep	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	fridge	fridge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
6	so	so	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
7	bacteria	bacterium	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
8	grow	grow	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	advcl	_	_
9	more	more	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	10	advmod	_	_
10	slowly	slowly	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | imperative | you *not said here* | food |  | the fridge |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent food=Theme in fridge=Location |
| 2 | **grow** | present | bacteria |  |  |  |  | slowly *property* | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
One bacterium can split into two, then four, then eight.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bacterium:x7:1
# text = One bacterium can split into two, then four, then eight.
1	One	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	bacterium	bacterium	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	split	split	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	into	into	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	9	advmod	_	_
9	four	four	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
11	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	12	advmod	_	_
12	eight	eight	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **split** | can | One bacterium | four |  |  |  | into two *result*; eight *obl* | vn break-45.1 «NP V PP.result»: agent=Patient into two=Result |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Antibiotics can kill bacteria but not viruses.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bacterium:x8:1
# text = Antibiotics can kill bacteria but not viruses.
1	Antibiotics	antibiotic	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	kill	kill	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	bacteria	bacterium	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
6	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	7	advmod	_	_
7	viruses	virus	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **kill** | can | Antibiotics | bacteria but viruses |  |  |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bacterium=Theme |

<!-- 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [bacteriophage](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bacteriophage/)
- next →: [bad](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bad/)
- ↑ back to [B in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/)