---
title: crabs — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «crabs» in the school dictionary: Sea or shore animals with a hard shell, ten legs and two big claws that walk sideways. 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/crabs/)

<!-- 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/) / crabs

# crabs

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** two big claws, We, Crabs, you, Hermit crabs, Dad · **What happens:** walk, eat, find, hold, not pinch, live · **To what, where:** meat, three little crabs, rock pool, sand, crabs, you

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sea or shore animals with a hard shell, ten legs and two big claws that walk sideways.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:crabs:m1:1
# text = Sea or shore animals with a hard shell, ten legs and two big claws that walk sideways.
1	Sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
2	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
3	shore	shore	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	conj	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	shell	shell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	ten	ten	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	11	nummod	_	_
11	legs	leg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
13	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	15	nummod	_	_
14	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	claws	claw	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	conj	_	_
16	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	17	nsubj	_	_
17	walk	walk	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	acl:relcl	_	_
18	sideways	sideways	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **walk** | present | two big claws |  |  |  |  | sideways *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- .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 -->
The meat of these animals, eaten as food.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:crabs:m2:1
# text = The meat of these animals, eaten as food.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	meat	meat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	these	this	DET	DT	Number=Plur|PronType=Dem	5	det	_	_
5	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	eaten	eat	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
8	as	as	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **eat** | participle |  | the meat of this animals *not said here* |  |  |  | as food | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We found three little crabs in the rock pool.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:crabs:x1:1
# text = We found three little crabs in the rock pool.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	found	find	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
4	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	crabs	crab	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	rock	rock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	pool	pool	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 | **find** | past | We | three little crabs |  | the rock pool |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent crab=Topic |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Crabs walk sideways across the sand.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:crabs:x2:1
# text = Crabs walk sideways across the sand.
1	Crabs	crab	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	walk	walk	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	sideways	sideways	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	across	across	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	sand	sand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **walk** | present | Crabs |  |  | the sand |  | sideways *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme across sand=Trajectory |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Hold crabs from behind so they can't pinch you.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:crabs:x3:1
# text = Hold crabs from behind so they can't pinch you.
1	Hold	hold	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	crabs	crab	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
3	from	from	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	behind	behind	ADV	RB	_	1	obl	_	_
5	so	so	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
6	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
7	ca	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	pinch	pinch	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	advcl	_	_
10	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold** | imperative | you *not said here* | crabs |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent crab=Theme |
| 2 | **not** **pinch** | can | crabs *= crab* | you |  |  |  |  | vn steal-10.5 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent you=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Hermit crabs live in empty shells.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:crabs:x4:1
# text = Hermit crabs live in empty shells.
1	Hermit	hermit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	crabs	crab	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	live	live	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	empty	empty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	shells	shell	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **live** | present | Hermit crabs |  |  | empty shells |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in shell=Location |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Crabs shed their hard shells when they grow.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:crabs:x5:1
# text = Crabs shed their hard shells when they grow.
1	Crabs	crab	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	shed	shed	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
4	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	shells	shell	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
6	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	8	advmod	_	_
7	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	grow	grow	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **shed** | past | Crabs | Crabs's hard shells |  |  |  |  | vn substance\_emission-43.4-1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location shell=Source |
| 2 | **grow** | present | Crabs *= crab* |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Put the crabs back in the water before you go home.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:crabs:x6:1
# text = Put the crabs back in the water before you go home.
1	Put	put	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	crabs	crab	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
4	back	back	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
8	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
9	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	go	go	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	advcl	_	_
11	home	home	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **put back** | imperative | you *not said here* | the crabs |  | the water |  |  | vn put-9.1-2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent crab=Theme in water=Destination |
| 2 | **go** | present | you |  |  |  |  | home *property* | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dad ordered crab cakes at the seaside restaurant.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:crabs:x7:1
# text = Dad ordered crab cakes at the seaside restaurant.
1	Dad	dad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	ordered	order	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	crab	crab	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	cakes	cake	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	seaside	seaside	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	restaurant	restaurant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **order** | past | Dad | crab cakes |  | the seaside restaurant |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP PP.source NP.asset»: agent=Agent cake=Theme at restaurant=Asset |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Crabs are crustaceans, not insects.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:crabs:x8:1
# text = Crabs are crustaceans, not insects.
1	Crabs	crab	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	crustaceans	crustacean	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
5	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	insects	insect	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Crabs | crustaceans and insects |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There grew water-plants, some quite fresh, and others looking sickly, which had water-snakes twining round them, and black crabs clinging to their stems.

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:crabs:x9:1
# text = There grew water-plants, some quite fresh, and others looking sickly, which had water-snakes twining round them, and black crabs clinging to their stems.
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	2	expl	_	_
2	grew	grow	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	plants	plant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
7	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	9	nsubj	_	_
8	quite	quite	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	fresh	fresh	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
12	others	other	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	nsubj	_	_
13	looking	look	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
14	sickly	sickly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
16	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	17	nsubj	_	_
17	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	parataxis	_	_
18	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	snakes	snake	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	obj	_	_
21	twining	twine	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	20	acl	_	_
22	round	round	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
23	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	21	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	27	punct	_	_
25	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	27	cc	_	_
26	black	black	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	27	amod	_	_
27	crabs	crab	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
28	clinging	cling	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	27	acl	_	_
29	to	to	ADP	IN	_	31	case	_	_
30	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	31	nmod:poss	_	_
31	stems	stem	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	28	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
32	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow** | past |  | water plants |  | there |  | black crabs *obl* | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location plant=Theme |
| 2 | **look** | gerund | others |  |  |  |  | sickly *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |
| 3 | **have** | past |  | water snakes |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent snake=Patient |
| 4 | **twine** | gerund | water snakes *not said here* |  |  |  |  | round others *= other* | vn coil-9.6 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme round they=Destination |
| 5 | **cling** | gerund | black crabs *not said here* |  |  |  |  | to others's stems | vn cling-22.5 «NP V PP.co-theme»: agent=Theme to stem=Co-Theme |
| 6 | **stem** |  | others *= other* |  |  |  |  |  | nom stem «communication transitive»: poss=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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [crabby](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crabby/)
- next →: [crack](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crack/)
- ↑ back to [C in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/)