---
title: boll — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «boll» in the school dictionary: The round seed pod of the cotton plant (or flax plant) that opens to show the fluffy cotton fibres inside. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# boll

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** flax plant, Workers, boll weevil, boll, We, field · **What happens:** open, show, split, pick, damage, hold · **To what, where:** fluffy cotton fibres, cotton, white fluff, bolls, cotton crop, seeds

<!-- .vabout -->
«boll» in the school dictionary: its meaning for a pupil and its 6 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: [boll in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/boll.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The round seed pod of the cotton plant (or flax plant) that opens to show the fluffy cotton fibres inside.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:boll:m1:1
# text = The round seed pod of the cotton plant (or flax plant) that opens to show the fluffy cotton fibres inside.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	round	round	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	seed	seed	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	pod	pod	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	cotton	cotton	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	plant	plant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
9	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
11	flax	flax	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	plant	plant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	12	punct	_	_
14	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	15	nsubj	_	_
15	opens	open	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	acl:relcl	_	_
16	to	to	PART	TO	_	17	mark	_	_
17	show	show	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	15	xcomp	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
19	fluffy	fluffy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	21	amod	_	_
20	cotton	cotton	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	compound	_	_
21	fibres	fibre	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	obj	_	_
22	inside	inside	ADV	RB	_	21	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **open** | present | flax plant |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **show** | to-infinitive | flax plant *not said here* | the fluffy cotton fibres |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent fibre=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.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cotton boll split open, showing white fluff.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:boll:x1:1
# text = The cotton boll split open, showing white fluff.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cotton	cotton	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	boll	boll	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	split	split	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	open	open	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	showing	show	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	advcl	_	_
8	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	fluff	fluff	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **split** | present · passive |  | the cotton |  |  |  | open *property* | vn break-45.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |
| 2 | **show** | gerund |  | white fluff |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent fluff=Recipient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Workers picked the cotton from the bolls.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:boll:x2:1
# text = Workers picked the cotton from the bolls.
1	Workers	worker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	picked	pick	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	cotton	cotton	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	bolls	boll	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pick** | past | Workers | the cotton |  | the bolls |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent cotton=Theme from boll=Source |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The boll weevil damaged the cotton crop.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:boll:x3:1
# text = The boll weevil damaged the cotton crop.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	boll	boll	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	weevil	weevil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	damaged	damage	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	cotton	cotton	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	crop	crop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **damage** | past | the boll weevil | the cotton crop |  |  |  |  | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent crop=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Each boll holds seeds wrapped in soft fibres.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:boll:x4:1
# text = Each boll holds seeds wrapped in soft fibres.
1	Each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	det	_	_
2	boll	boll	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	holds	hold	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	seeds	seed	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	wrapped	wrap	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	soft	soft	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	fibres	fibre	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold** | present | each boll | seeds |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent seed=Theme |
| 2 | **wrap** | participle |  | seeds *not said here* |  | soft fibres |  |  | vn spray-9.7-1 «NP V PP.destination»: agent=Theme in fibre=Destination |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We looked at a dried cotton boll in class.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:boll:x5:1
# text = We looked at a dried cotton boll in class.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	looked	look	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
5	dried	dry	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	amod	_	_
6	cotton	cotton	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	boll	boll	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **look** | past | We |  |  |  |  | at a dried cotton boll in class | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent at boll=Theme |
| 2 | **dry** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4-1 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The field was full of bursting bolls.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:boll:x6:1
# text = The field was full of bursting bolls.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	field	field	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
6	bursting	burst	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	advcl	_	_
7	bolls	boll	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the field |  |  |  |  | full *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **burst** | gerund | the field *not said here* | bolls |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location boll=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.

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