---
title: earwig — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «earwig» in the school dictionary: A small brown insect with a long body and a pair of pincers at its tail end. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# earwig

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** other people, We, earwig, Earwigs, you, our · **What happens:** listen, stop, earwig, converse, find, have · **To what, where:** earwigs, flowerpot, pincers, tail, ears, conversation · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«earwig» in the school dictionary: its 2 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: [earwig in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/earwig.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A small brown insect with a long body and a pair of pincers at its tail end.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:earwig:m1:1
# text = A small brown insect with a long body and a pair of pincers at its tail end.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	brown	brown	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	insect	insect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	body	body	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	pair	pair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	pincers	pincer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nmod	_	_
14	at	at	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
15	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	17	nmod:poss	_	_
16	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	compound	_	_
17	end	end	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Meaning 2 {#m2}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To listen secretly to other people's conversations, as in «Stop earwigging!».

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:earwig:m2:1
# text = To listen secretly to other people's conversations, as in «Stop earwigging!».
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	listen	listen	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	advcl	_	_
3	secretly	secretly	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
5	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	conversations	conversation	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
10	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	fixed	_	_
12	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	Stop	stop	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
14	earwigging	earwig	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	13	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **listen** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | to other people's conversations; secretly *property* | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent to conversation=Theme |
| 2 | **stop** *in a quote* | imperative |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Affector clause=Eventuality |
| 3 | **earwig** *in a quote* | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **converse** |  | other people |  |  |  |  |  | nom conversation «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We found earwigs under the flowerpot.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:earwig:x1:1
# text = We found earwigs under the flowerpot.
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	earwigs	earwig	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	under	under	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	flowerpot	flowerpot	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 | **find** | past | We | earwigs |  | the flowerpot |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent earwig=Topic |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An earwig has pincers on its tail.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:earwig:x2:1
# text = An earwig has pincers on its tail.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	earwig	earwig	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	pincers	pincer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Earwigs come out at night to eat.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:earwig:x3:1
# text = Earwigs come out at night to eat.
1	Earwigs	earwig	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	come	come	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	out	out	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	eat	eat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come out** | present | Earwigs |  |  |  | night | out *property* | vn become-109.1 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **eat** | to-infinitive | Earwigs *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Earwigs do not really crawl into your ears.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:earwig:x4:1
# text = Earwigs do not really crawl into your ears.
1	Earwigs	earwig	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
2	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
4	really	really	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	crawl	crawl	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	into	into	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	ears	ear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **crawl** | present · do-support | Earwigs |  |  | your ears |  |  | vn run-51.3.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme into ear=Destination |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Stop earwigging on our conversation!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:earwig:x5:1
# text = Stop earwigging on our conversation!
1	Stop	stop	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	earwigging	earwig	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	1	xcomp	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	conversation	conversation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stop** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Affector clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **earwig** | gerund | you *not said here* |  |  | our conversation |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **converse** |  | our |  |  |  |  |  | nom conversation «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum said I was earwigging when I listened at the door.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:earwig:x6:1
# text = Mum said I was earwigging when I listened at the door.
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	earwigging	earwig	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	ccomp	_	_
6	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	8	advmod	_	_
7	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	listened	listen	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	_
9	at	at	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	door	door	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Mum |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **earwig** | past · progressive | I |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **listen** | past | I |  |  |  |  | at the door | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent at door=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Effie's brother Harry fished something out of his tea, which he thought at first was an earwig.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:earwig:x7:1
# text = Effie's brother Harry fished something out of his tea, which he thought at first was an earwig.
1	Effie	Effie	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	's	PART	POS	_	1	case	_	_
3	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	Harry	Harry	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	appos	_	_
5	fished	fish	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	5	obj	_	_
7	out	out	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	tea	tea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
12	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	14	nsubj	_	_
13	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
14	thought	think	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
15	at	at	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	19	obl	_	_
17	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	19	cop	_	_
18	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	earwig	earwig	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fish** | past | Effie's brother | something |  | brother's tea |  |  | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent something=Theme out tea=Location |
| 2 | **think** *speech: other* | past |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is a** | past |  | a earwig |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- 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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