---
title: beluga — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «beluga» in the school dictionary: A beluga (or beluga whale) is a white whale of the Arctic with a round head, no back fin, and a very wide range of whistles and clicks; it is sometimes called the «sea canary». Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# beluga

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** beluga, white whale, beluga whale, Belugas, many sounds, pod · **What happens:** be, call, sell, make, swim up, turn · **To what, where:** white whale, beluga, large fish, eggs, many sounds, Belugas · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A beluga (or beluga whale) is a white whale of the Arctic with a round head, no back fin, and a very wide range of whistles and clicks; it is sometimes called the «sea canary».

<!-- fold The tree, 35 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:beluga:m1:1
# text = A beluga (or beluga whale) is a white whale of the Arctic with a round head, no back fin, and a very wide range of whistles and clicks; it is sometimes called the «sea canary».
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	beluga	beluga	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
3	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
5	beluga	beluga	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	whale	whale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	6	punct	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	whale	whale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	Arctic	Arctic	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	_
15	with	with	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
17	round	round	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
20	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	22	det	_	_
21	back	back	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	compound	_	_
22	fin	fin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	28	punct	_	_
24	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	28	cc	_	_
25	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	28	det	_	_
26	very	very	ADV	RB	_	27	advmod	_	_
27	wide	wide	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	28	amod	_	_
28	range	range	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	_
29	of	of	ADP	IN	_	30	case	_	_
30	whistles	whistle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	28	nmod	_	_
31	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	32	cc	_	_
32	clicks	click	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	30	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	37	punct	_	_
34	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	37	nsubj:pass	_	_
35	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	37	aux:pass	_	_
36	sometimes	sometimes	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	37	advmod	_	_
37	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	11	acl	_	_
38	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	41	det	_	_
39	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	41	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
40	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	41	compound	_	_
41	canary	canary	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	37	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
42	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	41	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
43	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a beluga | a white whale and a wide range of whistles and clicks |  |  |  | of the Arctic with a round head and no back fin | tree rules |
| 2 | **call** | present · passive | a white whale and a wide range of whistles and clicks *not said here* | beluga |  |  |  | sometimes *property* | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: subject=Recipient |

<!-- .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 beluga is also a very large fish, a kind of sturgeon, whose eggs are sold as expensive caviar.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:beluga:m2:1
# text = A beluga is also a very large fish, a kind of sturgeon, whose eggs are sold as expensive caviar.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	beluga	beluga	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
6	very	very	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	large	large	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	fish	fish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	kind	kind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	sturgeon	sturgeon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
15	whose	whose	PRON	WP$	Poss=Yes|PronType=Rel	16	nmod:poss	_	_
16	eggs	egg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	nsubj:pass	_	_
17	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	18	aux:pass	_	_
18	sold	sell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	11	acl	_	_
19	as	as	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
20	expensive	expensive	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	21	amod	_	_
21	caviar	caviar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a beluga | a large fish and a kind of sturgeon |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **sell** | present · passive |  | eggs |  |  |  | as expensive caviar | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The beluga whale is completely white.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:beluga:x1:1
# text = The beluga whale is completely white.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	beluga	beluga	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	whale	whale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	completely	completely	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the beluga whale |  |  |  |  | completely, white *property* | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Belugas make so many sounds they are called sea canaries.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:beluga:x2:1
# text = Belugas make so many sounds they are called sea canaries.
1	Belugas	beluga	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	make	make	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	so	so	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	sounds	sound	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
6	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj:pass	_	_
7	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux:pass	_	_
8	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl:relcl	_	_
9	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	canaries	canary	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present | Belugas | many sounds |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset sound=Product |
| 2 | **call** | present · passive | many sounds *not said here* | Belugas *= beluga* |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: subject=Recipient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A pod of belugas swam up the river.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:beluga:x3:1
# text = A pod of belugas swam up the river.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	pod	pod	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	belugas	beluga	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
5	swam	swim	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	up	up	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	river	river	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swim up** | past | a pod of belugas | the river |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme river=Trajectory |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Baby belugas are grey and turn white as they grow.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:beluga:x4:1
# text = Baby belugas are grey and turn white as they grow.
1	Baby	baby	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	belugas	beluga	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	grey	grey	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	turn	turn	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
7	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	xcomp	_	_
8	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
9	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	grow	grow	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Baby belugas |  |  |  |  | grey *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **turn** | present | Baby belugas *not said here* |  |  |  |  | white *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **grow** | present | belugas *= beluga* |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A beluga can move its head from side to side.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:beluga:x5:1
# text = A beluga can move its head from side to side.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	beluga	beluga	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	move	move	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	from	from	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	side	side	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
9	to	to	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	side	side	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **move** | can | a beluga | beluga's head |  | side to side |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V NP PP.trajectory»: agent=Agent head=Theme from side=Trajectory |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Belugas have no back fin, which helps them swim under ice.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:beluga:x6:1
# text = Belugas have no back fin, which helps them swim under ice.
1	Belugas	beluga	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	5	det	_	_
4	back	back	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	fin	fin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
8	helps	help	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
9	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	_
10	swim	swim	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	xcomp	_	_
11	under	under	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	ice	ice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Belugas | no back fin |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fin=Patient |
| 2 | **help** | present | no back fin | Belugas *= beluga* |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent they=Beneficiary clause=Theme |
| 3 | **swim** | infinitive | Belugas *= beluga* *not said here* |  |  | ice |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme under ice=Trajectory |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We sang the song «Baby Beluga» in the nursery.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:beluga:x7:1
# text = We sang the song «Baby Beluga» in the nursery.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sang	sing	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	song	song	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	Baby	Baby	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	Beluga	Beluga	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	7	punct	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	nursery	nursery	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sing** *speech: express* | past | We | the song |  | the nursery |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location song=Theme |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Beluga caviar comes from a huge fish, not a whale.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:beluga:x8:1
# text = Beluga caviar comes from a huge fish, not a whale.
1	Beluga	Beluga	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	caviar	caviar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	comes	come	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	huge	huge	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	fish	fish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
9	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	whale	whale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | present | Beluga caviar |  |  |  |  | from a huge fish and a whale | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from fish=Initial\_Location |

<!-- 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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