---
title: bull — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «bull» in the school dictionary: A bull is an adult male cow. 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/bull/)

<!-- 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/) / bull

# bull

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** bull, bull's eye, sign, farmer, bull elephant, arrow · **What happens:** be, stand, say, beware, keep, hit · **To what, where:** adult male cow, male, centre, field, one bull, bull's eye · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«bull» in the school dictionary: its 3 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: [bull in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/bull.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A bull is an adult male cow.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bull:m1:1
# text = A bull is an adult male cow.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	bull	bull	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
5	adult	adult	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
6	male	male	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	cow	cow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a bull | a adult male cow |  |  |  |  | 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.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A bull can also be the male of some other big animals, such as elephants, whales and seals.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bull:m2:1
# text = A bull can also be the male of some other big animals, such as elephants, whales and seals.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	bull	bull	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
4	also	also	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	cop	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	male	male	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
9	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	12	det	_	_
10	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
11	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
14	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=ADP	16	case	_	_
15	as	as	ADP	IN	_	14	fixed	_	_
16	elephants	elephant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
18	whales	whale	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	conj	_	_
19	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	seals	seal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | can | a bull | the male |  |  |  | of some other big animals and elephants and whales and seals | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The bull's-eye is the centre of a target.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bull:m3:1
# text = The bull's-eye is the centre of a target.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	bull's	bull's	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	eye	eye	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	centre	centre	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	target	target	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the bull's eye | the centre |  |  |  | of a target | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The bull stood alone in the field.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bull:x1:1
# text = The bull stood alone in the field.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	bull	bull	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	stood	stand	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	alone	alone	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	field	field	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stand** | past | the bull |  |  | the field |  | alone *property* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent in field=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A sign said «Beware of the bull».

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bull:x2:1
# text = A sign said «Beware of the bull».
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sign	sign	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	Beware	beware	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	bull	bull	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | a sign |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **beware** *in a quote* | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | of the bull | vn marvel-31.3 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The farmer keeps one bull and many cows.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bull:x3:1
# text = The farmer keeps one bull and many cows.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	farmer	farmer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	keeps	keep	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	bull	bull	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
7	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	cows	cow	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | present | the farmer | one bull and many cows |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bull=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A bull elephant can be very large.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bull:x4:1
# text = A bull elephant can be very large.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	bull	bull	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	elephant	elephant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	cop	_	_
6	very	very	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	large	large	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | can | a bull elephant |  |  |  |  | large *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The arrow hit the bull's-eye.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bull:x5:1
# text = The arrow hit the bull's-eye.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	arrow	arrow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	hit	hit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
5	bull's	bull's	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	eye	eye	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hit** | past | the arrow | the bull's eye |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme eye=Co-Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He ran like a bull in a china shop.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bull:x6:1
# text = He ran like a bull in a china shop.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	ran	run	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	like	like	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	bull	bull	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	china	china	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	shop	shop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **run** | past | He |  |  | a china shop |  | like a bull | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in shop=Trajectory |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Take the bull by the horns and ask her.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:bull:x7:1
# text = Take the bull by the horns and ask her.
1	Take	take	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	bull	bull	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	horns	horn	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obl	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	ask	ask	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	1	conj	_	_
9	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	iobj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | imperative | you *not said here* |  | the bull |  |  | by the horns | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP ADVP»: agent=Instrument bull=Destination |
| 2 | **ask** *speech: ask* | infinitive | you *not said here* |  | her *= she* |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent she=Recipient |

<!-- 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: [bulky](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bulky/)
- next →: [bulldog](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/bulldog/)
- ↑ back to [B in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/B/)