---
title: chitin — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «chitin» in the school dictionary: Chitin is the tough natural material that makes up the hard outer skeleton of insects, spiders, crabs and lobsters, and the cell walls of fungi. 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/C/chitin/)

<!-- 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/) / [C](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/) / chitin

# chitin

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Chitin, tough natural material, Crabs, Mushrooms, cicada, insects · **What happens:** be, make up, make, have, protect, leave · **To what, where:** tough natural material, hard outer skeleton, hard shell, chitin, shells, insects

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: science — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Chitin is the tough natural material that makes up the hard outer skeleton of insects, spiders, crabs and lobsters, and the cell walls of fungi.

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chitin:m1:1
# text = Chitin is the tough natural material that makes up the hard outer skeleton of insects, spiders, crabs and lobsters, and the cell walls of fungi.
1	Chitin	Chitin	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
4	tough	tough	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
5	natural	natural	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	material	material	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
8	makes	make	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
9	up	up	ADP	RP	_	8	compound:prt	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
11	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
12	outer	outer	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	skeleton	skeleton	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	insects	insect	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
17	spiders	spider	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
19	crabs	crab	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	conj	_	_
20	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
21	lobsters	lobster	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	26	punct	_	_
23	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	26	cc	_	_
24	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	26	det	_	_
25	cell	cell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	compound	_	_
26	walls	wall	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	conj	_	_
27	of	of	ADP	IN	_	28	case	_	_
28	fungi	fungus	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	26	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Chitin | the tough natural material and the cell walls of fungi |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **make up** | present | the tough natural material and the cell walls of fungi | the hard outer skeleton of insects and spiders and crabs and lobsters |  |  |  |  | vn comprise-107.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme skeleton=Pivot |

<!-- .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 -->
A beetle's hard shell is made of chitin.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chitin:x1:1
# text = A beetle's hard shell is made of chitin.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	beetle	beetle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	shell	shell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj:pass	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux:pass	_	_
7	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	chitin	chitin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present · passive |  | a beetle's hard shell |  |  |  | of chitin | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: subject=Product |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Crabs have chitin in their shells.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chitin:x2:1
# text = Crabs have chitin in their shells.
1	Crabs	crab	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	chitin	chitin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	shells	shell	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Chitin protects insects like a suit of armour.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chitin:x3:1
# text = Chitin protects insects like a suit of armour.
1	Chitin	Chitin	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	protects	protect	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	insects	insect	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	like	like	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	suit	suit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	armour	armour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **protect** | present | Chitin |  | insects |  |  | like a suit of armour | vn defend-72.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent insect=Beneficiary |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mushrooms have chitin in their cell walls.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chitin:x4:1
# text = Mushrooms have chitin in their cell walls.
1	Mushrooms	mushroom	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	chitin	chitin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
6	cell	cell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	walls	wall	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 | **have** | present | Mushrooms | chitin |  | Mushrooms's cell walls |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent chitin=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cicada left its chitin shell on the tree.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chitin:x5:1
# text = The cicada left its chitin shell on the tree.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cicada	cicada	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	left	leave	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
5	chitin	chitin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	shell	shell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	tree	tree	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 | **leave** | past | the cicada | cicada's chitin shell |  | the tree |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent shell=Theme on tree=Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Because chitin cannot stretch, insects must moult to grow.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:chitin:x6:1
# text = Because chitin cannot stretch, insects must moult to grow.
1	Because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
2	chitin	chitin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	stretch	stretch	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
7	insects	insect	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
8	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
9	moult	moult	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	grow	grow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **stretch** | can | chitin |  |  |  |  |  | vn bend-45.2 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **moult** | must | insects |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **grow** | to-infinitive | insects *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

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