---
title: bison — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «bison» in the school dictionary: A bison is a large wild animal of the cattle family with a big shaggy head, curved horns and a hump on its back. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# bison

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** bison, American bison, European bison, Millions, We, herbivores · **What happens:** be, curve, live, call, graze, have · **To what, where:** large wild animal, North America, buffalo, forests, herd, big hump · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«bison» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 7 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: [bison in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/bison.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A bison is a large wild animal of the cattle family with a big shaggy head, curved horns and a hump on its back.

<!-- fold The tree, 24 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bison:m1:1
# text = A bison is a large wild animal of the cattle family with a big shaggy head, curved horns and a hump on its back.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	bison	bison	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
5	large	large	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
6	wild	wild	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	cattle	cattle	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	family	family	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
12	with	with	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
14	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
15	shaggy	shaggy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
18	curved	curve	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	19	amod	_	_
19	horns	horn	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	_
20	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	22	cc	_	_
21	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	hump	hump	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	conj	_	_
23	on	on	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
24	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	25	nmod:poss	_	_
25	back	back	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a bison | a large wild animal |  |  |  | of the cattle family with a big shaggy head; curved horns and a hump on bison's back *nmod* | tree rules |
| 2 | **curve** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn knead-26.5 «NP.material V PP.product»: agent=Material |

<!-- .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 -->
American bison live in North America and are often called buffalo; European bison (wisent) live in forests in Europe.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bison:m2:1
# text = American bison live in North America and are often called buffalo; European bison (wisent) live in forests in Europe.
1	American	American	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	bison	bison	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	live	live	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	North	North	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	America	America	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
8	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux:pass	_	_
9	often	often	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	conj	_	_
11	buffalo	buffalo	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
13	European	European	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	bison	bison	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nsubj	_	_
15	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	wisent	wisent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	16	punct	_	_
18	live	live	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
19	in	in	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
20	forests	forest	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	obl	_	_
21	in	in	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
22	Europe	Europe	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	20	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **live** | present | American bison |  |  | North America |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in america=Location |
| 2 | **call** | present · passive | American bison *not said here* | buffalo |  |  |  | often *property* | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V» |
| 3 | **live** | present | European bison |  |  | forests in Europe |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in forest=Location |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A herd of bison grazed on the plains.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bison:x1:1
# text = A herd of bison grazed on the plains.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	herd	herd	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	bison	bison	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	grazed	graze	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	plains	plain	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **graze** | participle |  | a herd of bison *not said here* |  |  |  | on the plains | vn dine-39.5 «NP V PP.patient»: agent=Agent on plain=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The bison has a big hump on its back.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bison:x2:1
# text = The bison has a big hump on its back.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	bison	bison	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	hump	hump	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	back	back	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | the bison | a big hump |  | bison's back |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hump=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Millions of bison once lived in North America.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bison:x3:1
# text = Millions of bison once lived in North America.
1	Millions	million	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	bison	bison	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
4	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	5	advmod	_	_
5	lived	live	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	North	North	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	America	America	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **live** | past | Millions of bison |  |  | North America |  | once *property* | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in america=Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We saw bison at the national park.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bison:x4:1
# text = We saw bison at the national park.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	saw	see	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	bison	bison	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	national	national	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	park	park	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **see** | past | We | bison |  | the national park |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer bison=Stimulus |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Bison are herbivores; they eat grass.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bison:x5:1
# text = Bison are herbivores; they eat grass.
1	Bison	bison	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	herbivores	herbivore	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	6	punct	_	_
5	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	eat	eat	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	acl:relcl	_	_
7	grass	grass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present |  | Bison herbivores |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **eat** | present | herbivores *= herbivore* | grass |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent grass=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A young bison is called a calf.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bison:x6:1
# text = A young bison is called a calf.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	bison	bison	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	calf	calf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | present · passive |  | a young bison |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: subject=Recipient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
If a herd has 40 bison and 9 calves are born, there are 49.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bison:x7:1
# text = If a herd has 40 bison and 9 calves are born, there are 49.
1	If	if	SCONJ	IN	_	4	mark	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	herd	herd	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	advcl	_	_
5	40	40	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	bison	bison	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	9	9	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	9	nummod	_	_
9	calves	calf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	conj	_	_
10	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux:pass	_	_
11	born	bear	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
13	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	14	expl	_	_
14	are	be	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	conj	_	_
15	49	49	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	14	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | a herd | 40 bison and 9 calves |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bison=Patient |
| 2 | **bear** | present · passive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S» |
| 3 | **be** | present | 49 |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

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**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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