---
title: ecosystem — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «ecosystem» in the school dictionary: An ecosystem is all the living things in one place — plants, animals, fungi and tiny germs — together with the non-living things around them, like water, soil, air and sunlight, all affecting each other. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pra
---

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# ecosystem

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** ecosystem, all, things, computers, pond, Great Barrier Reef · **What happens:** be, affect, work, make, work together, harm · **To what, where:** living things, one place, each, group, computers, small ecosystem

<!-- .vabout -->
«ecosystem» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 8 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: [ecosystem in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/ecosystem.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An ecosystem is all the living things in one place — plants, animals, fungi and tiny germs — together with the non-living things around them, like water, soil, air and sunlight, all affecting each other.

<!-- fold The tree, 33 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ecosystem:m1:1
# text = An ecosystem is all the living things in one place — plants, animals, fungi and tiny germs — together with the non-living things around them, like water, soil, air and sunlight, all affecting each other.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	ecosystem	ecosystem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	7	det:predet	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	living	living	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	10	nummod	_	_
10	place	place	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
11	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	12	punct	_	_
12	plants	plant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
14	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
16	fungi	fungus	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	conj	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
18	tiny	tiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	germs	germ	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	conj	_	_
20	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	25	punct	_	_
21	together	together	ADV	RB	_	25	advmod	_	_
22	with	with	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
23	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	25	det	_	_
24	non-living	non-living	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	compound	_	_
25	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	conj	_	_
26	around	around	ADP	IN	_	27	case	_	_
27	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	25	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	30	punct	_	_
29	like	like	ADP	IN	_	30	case	_	_
30	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
31	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	32	punct	_	_
32	soil	soil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	34	punct	_	_
34	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	appos	_	_
35	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	36	cc	_	_
36	sunlight	sunlight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	34	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
37	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	39	punct	_	_
38	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	39	nsubj	_	_
39	affecting	affect	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	25	acl	_	_
40	each	each	DET	DT	ExtPos=PRON|PronType=Rcp	39	obj	_	_
41	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	40	fixed	_	SpaceAfter=No
42	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a ecosystem | all living things and plants and animals and fungi and tiny germs and the non-living things around things like water and soil |  | one place |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **affect** | gerund | all | each |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus each=Experiencer |

<!-- .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}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An ecosystem is a group of things or companies that work closely together, like apps, phones and computers made to work together.

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ecosystem:m2:1
# text = An ecosystem is a group of things or companies that work closely together, like apps, phones and computers made to work together.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	ecosystem	ecosystem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	group	group	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	companies	company	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	conj	_	_
10	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
11	work	work	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
12	closely	closely	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
13	together	together	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
15	like	like	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	apps	app	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
18	phones	phone	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	conj	_	_
19	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	computers	computer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	conj	_	_
21	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	20	acl	_	_
22	to	to	PART	TO	_	23	mark	_	_
23	work	work	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	21	xcomp	_	_
24	together	together	ADV	RB	_	23	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a ecosystem | a group |  |  |  | of things or companies | tree rules |
| 2 | **work** | present | things or companies |  |  |  |  | like apps and phones and computers; together *property* | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **make** | participle |  | computers *not said here* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **work together** | to-infinitive | computers *not said here* |  |  |  |  | together *property* | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A pond is a small ecosystem.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ecosystem:x1:1
# text = A pond is a small ecosystem.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	pond	pond	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	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	ecosystem	ecosystem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Great Barrier Reef is a huge ecosystem.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ecosystem:x2:1
# text = The Great Barrier Reef is a huge ecosystem.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	Great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	Barrier	Barrier	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	Reef	Reef	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	huge	huge	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	ecosystem	ecosystem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the Great Barrier Reef | a huge ecosystem |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Rabbits harmed the Australian ecosystem when they spread.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ecosystem:x3:1
# text = Rabbits harmed the Australian ecosystem when they spread.
1	Rabbits	rabbit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	harmed	harm	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	Australian	Australian	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	ecosystem	ecosystem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	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	spread	spread	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 | **harm** | past | Rabbits | the Australian ecosystem |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus ecosystem=Experiencer |
| 2 | **spread** | present | Rabbits *= rabbit* |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Every living thing in an ecosystem depends on others.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ecosystem:x4:1
# text = Every living thing in an ecosystem depends on others.
1	Every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	3	det	_	_
2	living	living	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	ecosystem	ecosystem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	depends	depend	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	others	other	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **depend** | present | every living thing in a ecosystem |  |  |  |  | on others | vn rely-70 «NP V PP.theme S\_ING»: agent=Agent on other=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Pollution can damage the whole ecosystem.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ecosystem:x5:1
# text = Pollution can damage the whole ecosystem.
1	Pollution	pollution	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	damage	damage	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	ecosystem	ecosystem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **damage** | can | Pollution | the whole ecosystem |  |  |  |  | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ecosystem=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We built a mini ecosystem in a jar.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ecosystem:x6:1
# text = We built a mini ecosystem in a jar.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	built	build	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	mini	mini	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	ecosystem	ecosystem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	jar	jar	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 | **build** | past | We | a mini ecosystem |  | a jar |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ecosystem=Product |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Removing wolves changed the ecosystem of Yellowstone.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ecosystem:x7:1
# text = Removing wolves changed the ecosystem of Yellowstone.
1	Removing	remove	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	nsubj	_	_
2	wolves	wolf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
3	changed	change	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	ecosystem	ecosystem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	Yellowstone	Yellowstone	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **remove** | gerund |  | wolves |  |  |  |  | vn fire-10.10 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent wolf=Theme |
| 2 | **change** | past |  | the ecosystem of Yellowstone |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ecosystem=Patient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My phone and tablet are part of the same ecosystem.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:ecosystem:x8:1
# text = My phone and tablet are part of the same ecosystem.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	phone	phone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	tablet	tablet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
5	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	part	part	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	same	same	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	ecosystem	ecosystem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | My phone and tablet | part |  |  |  | of the same ecosystem | 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
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