---
title: chicken — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «chicken» in the school dictionary: A chicken is a farm bird that lays eggs. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# chicken

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** chicken, farm bird, people, farmer, Chickens, Mum · **What happens:** be, lay, eat, mean, do, have · **To what, where:** farm bird, eggs, meat, something, 12 chickens, 1 egg

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A chicken is a farm bird that lays eggs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chicken:m1:1
# text = A chicken is a farm bird that lays eggs.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	chicken	chicken	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	farm	farm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
8	lays	lay	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
9	eggs	egg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a chicken | a farm bird |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **lay** | present | a farm bird | eggs |  |  |  |  | vn create-26.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent egg=Result |

<!-- .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 -->
Chicken is also the meat of this bird, which people eat.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chicken:m2:1
# text = Chicken is also the meat of this bird, which people eat.
1	Chicken	chicken	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	also	also	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	meat	meat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	8	det	_	_
8	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	12	obj	_	_
11	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nsubj	_	_
12	eat	eat	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Chicken | the meat |  |  |  | of this bird | tree rules |
| 2 | **eat** | present | people | the meat |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent which=Patient |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In slang, «chicken» means scared, and to «chicken out» is to be too scared to do something.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chicken:m3:1
# text = In slang, «chicken» means scared, and to «chicken out» is to be too scared to do something.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	slang	slang	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	chicken	chicken	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
7	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	scared	scared	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	13	mark	_	_
12	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	chicken	chicken	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	advcl	_	_
14	out	out	ADP	RP	_	13	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	_
16	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	20	cop	_	_
17	to	to	PART	TO	_	20	mark	_	_
18	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	20	cop	_	_
19	too	too	ADV	RB	_	20	advmod	_	_
20	scared	scared	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	conj	_	_
21	to	to	PART	TO	_	22	mark	_	_
22	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	20	xcomp	_	_
23	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	22	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | chicken |  |  |  |  | in slang; scared *property* | vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Pivot in slang=Attribute |
| 2 | **is** | present | chicken *not said here* |  |  |  |  | scared *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **do** | to-infinitive | chicken *not said here* | something |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent something=Eventuality |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A farmer has 12 chickens and 5 cows.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chicken:x1:1
# text = A farmer has 12 chickens and 5 cows.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	farmer	farmer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	12	12	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	chickens	chicken	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
7	5	5	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
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 | **have** | present | a farmer | 12 chickens and 5 cows |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent chicken=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Each chicken lays 1 egg a day.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chicken:x2:1
# text = Each chicken lays 1 egg a day.
1	Each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	det	_	_
2	chicken	chicken	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	lays	lay	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	1	1	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	egg	egg	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lay** | present | each chicken | 1 egg |  |  | day |  | vn create-26.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent egg=Result |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Chickens and rabbits have 40 legs in all.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chicken:x3:1
# text = Chickens and rabbits have 40 legs in all.
1	Chickens	chicken	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	rabbits	rabbit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	conj	_	_
4	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	40	40	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	legs	leg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Chickens and rabbits | 40 legs |  | all |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent leg=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum buys 2 kg of chicken.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chicken:x4:1
# text = Mum buys 2 kg of chicken.
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	buys	buy	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	2	2	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	4	nummod	_	_
4	kg	kg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	chicken	chicken	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **buy** | present | Mum | 2 kg of chicken |  |  |  |  | vn accept-77.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent kg=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A chicken has 2 legs and 2 wings.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chicken:x5:1
# text = A chicken has 2 legs and 2 wings.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	chicken	chicken	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	2	2	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	legs	leg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
7	2	2	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	wings	wing	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 | **have** | present | a chicken | 2 legs and 2 wings |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent leg=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The chicks hatched from their eggs today.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chicken:x6:1
# text = The chicks hatched from their eggs today.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	chicks	chick	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	hatched	hatch	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	eggs	egg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
7	today	today	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hatch** | past | the chicks |  |  |  | today | from chicks's eggs | vn grow-26.2.1 «NP V NP.product PP.patient»: agent=Agent from egg=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We had roast chicken for Sunday lunch.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chicken:x7:1
# text = We had roast chicken for Sunday lunch.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	roast	roast	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	chicken	chicken	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	Sunday	Sunday	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	lunch	lunch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | We | roast chicken |  |  |  | for Sunday lunch | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent chicken=Patient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He wanted to jump but chickened out.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chicken:x8:1
# text = He wanted to jump but chickened out.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wanted	want	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	jump	jump	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	chickened	chicken	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	conj	_	_
7	out	out	ADP	RP	_	6	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **want** | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 2 | **jump** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | He *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **chicken out** | participle | He *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn withdraw-82-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
‘I’ll eat one of these chickens.’

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chicken:x9:1
# text = ‘I’ll eat one of these chickens.’
1	‘	'	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	’ll	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	eat	eat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	4	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	these	this	DET	DT	Number=Plur|PronType=Dem	8	det	_	_
8	chickens	chicken	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	’	'	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **eat** | future | I | one of this chickens |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent one=Patient |

<!-- 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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