---
title: blackbird — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «blackbird» in the school dictionary: In the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, the blackbird is a common garden bird: the male is black with an orange-yellow beak, and the female is brown. It sings beautifully. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# blackbird

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** blackbird, male, female, male blackbird, female blackbird, We · **What happens:** be, sing, mean, wing, pull, have · **To what, where:** common garden bird, UK, several different birds, worm, lawn, bright orange beak

<!-- .vabout -->
«blackbird» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 9 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: [blackbird in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/blackbird.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, the blackbird is a common garden bird: the male is black with an orange-yellow beak, and the female is brown. It sings beautifully.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* In the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, the blackbird is a common garden bird: the male is black with an orange-yellow beak, and the female is brown.

<!-- fold The tree, 29 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blackbird:m1:1
# text = In the UK, Ireland, Australia and New Zealand, the blackbird is a common garden bird: the male is black with an orange-yellow beak, and the female is brown.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	UK	UK	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	18	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	Ireland	Ireland	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	Australia	Australia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	New	New	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	flat	_	_
10	Zealand	Zealand	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	blackbird	blackbird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nsubj	_	_
14	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	18	cop	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
16	common	common	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
17	garden	garden	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	compound	_	_
18	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	23	punct	_	_
20	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
21	male	male	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	nsubj	_	_
22	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	23	cop	_	_
23	black	black	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	parataxis	_	_
24	with	with	ADP	IN	_	29	case	_	_
25	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	29	det	_	_
26	orange	orange	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	28	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	26	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	yellow	yellow	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	29	amod	_	_
29	beak	beak	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	35	punct	_	_
31	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	35	cc	_	_
32	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	33	det	_	_
33	female	female	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	35	nsubj	_	_
34	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	35	cop	_	_
35	brown	brown	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	23	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
36	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	18	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the blackbird | a common garden bird |  | the UK and Ireland and Australia and New Zealand |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | the male |  |  |  |  | with a yellow beak; black *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | present | the female |  |  |  |  | brown *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* It sings beautifully.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blackbird:m1:2
# text = It sings beautifully.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sings	sing	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	beautifully	beautifully	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sing** *speech: express* | present | female |  |  |  |  | beautifully *property* | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In North America, «blackbird» means several different birds with black feathers, like the red-winged blackbird.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blackbird:m2:1
# text = In North America, «blackbird» means several different birds with black feathers, like the red-winged blackbird.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	North	North	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	America	America	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	blackbird	blackbird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
8	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	several	several	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
10	different	different	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	_
12	with	with	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	black	black	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	feathers	feather	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
16	like	like	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
18	red	red	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	winged	wing	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	21	amod	_	_
21	blackbird	blackbird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | blackbird | several different birds and the winged blackbird |  |  |  | with black feathers; in North America | vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Pivot bird=Theme in america=Attribute |
| 2 | **wing** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn nonvehicle-51.4.2-1 «NP.agent V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A blackbird pulled a worm out of the lawn.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blackbird:x1:1
# text = A blackbird pulled a worm out of the lawn.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	blackbird	blackbird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	pulled	pull	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	worm	worm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	out	out	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	lawn	lawn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pull** | past | a blackbird | a worm |  | the lawn |  |  | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP PP.initial\_location»: agent=Agent worm=Theme out lawn=Initial\_Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The male blackbird has a bright orange beak.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blackbird:x2:1
# text = The male blackbird has a bright orange beak.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	male	male	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	blackbird	blackbird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
6	bright	bright	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
7	orange	orange	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	beak	beak	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | the male blackbird | a bright orange beak |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent beak=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The female blackbird is brown, not black.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blackbird:x3:1
# text = The female blackbird is brown, not black.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	female	female	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	blackbird	blackbird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	brown	brown	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	8	advmod	_	_
8	black	black	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the female blackbird |  |  |  |  | brown *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **be** |  | the female blackbird *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We heard a blackbird singing early in the morning.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blackbird:x4:1
# text = We heard a blackbird singing early in the morning.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	heard	hear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	blackbird	blackbird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	singing	sing	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	acl	_	_
6	early	early	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	5	advmod	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	morning	morning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hear** | past | We | a blackbird |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer blackbird=Stimulus |
| 2 | **sing** *speech: express* | gerund | a blackbird *not said here* |  |  |  | morning | early *property* | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Four and twenty blackbirds were baked in a pie.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blackbird:x5:1
# text = Four and twenty blackbirds were baked in a pie.
1	Four	four	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	4	nummod	_	_
2	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	twenty	twenty	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	1	conj	_	_
4	blackbirds	blackbird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj:pass	_	_
5	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux:pass	_	_
6	baked	bake	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	pie	pie	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bake** | past · passive |  | Four blackbirds |  |  |  | in a pie | vn cooking-45.3 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: subject=Patient in pie=Instrument |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A blackbird built a nest in our hedge.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blackbird:x6:1
# text = A blackbird built a nest in our hedge.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	blackbird	blackbird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	built	build	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	nest	nest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	hedge	hedge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **build** | past | a blackbird | a nest |  | our hedge |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset nest=Product |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Red-winged blackbirds live in marshes in Canada.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blackbird:x7:1
# text = Red-winged blackbirds live in marshes in Canada.
1	Red	red	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	1	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	winged	wing	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	amod	_	_
4	blackbirds	blackbird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
5	live	live	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	marshes	marsh	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	Canada	Canada	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wing** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn nonvehicle-51.4.2-1 «NP.agent V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **live** | present | winged blackbirds |  |  | marshes |  | in Canada | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in marsh=Location |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Blackbirds eat worms, insects and berries.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blackbird:x8:1
# text = Blackbirds eat worms, insects and berries.
1	Blackbirds	blackbird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	eat	eat	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	worms	worm	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	insects	insect	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	conj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	berries	berry	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **eat** | present | Blackbirds | worms and insects and berries |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent worm=Patient |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
This great master painter could whistle like a blackbird.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:blackbird:x9:1
# text = This great master painter could whistle like a blackbird.
1	This	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	4	det	_	_
2	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	master	master	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	painter	painter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	whistle	whistle	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	like	like	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	blackbird	blackbird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **whistle** | could | this master painter |  |  |  |  | like a blackbird | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- 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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