---
title: evolve — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «evolve» in the school dictionary: To evolve means to change slowly, over a very long time and many generations, as living things adapt to their surroundings: «whales evolved from land animals». Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# evolve

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** living things, whales, plan, character, Birds, Darwin · **What happens:** evolve, mean, change, adapt, develop, explain · **To what, where:** surroundings, something, games, millions, more food, small idea · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To evolve means to change slowly, over a very long time and many generations, as living things adapt to their surroundings: «whales evolved from land animals».

<!-- fold The tree, 26 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:evolve:m1:1
# text = To evolve means to change slowly, over a very long time and many generations, as living things adapt to their surroundings: «whales evolved from land animals».
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	evolve	evolve	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	csubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	change	change	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	slowly	slowly	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
8	over	over	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
10	very	very	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl:unmarked	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
14	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	generations	generation	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
17	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	20	mark	_	_
18	living	living	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	20	nsubj	_	_
20	adapt	adapt	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	_
21	to	to	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
22	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	23	nmod:poss	_	_
23	surroundings	surroundings	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	20	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	27	punct	_	_
25	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	27	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	whales	whale	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	27	nsubj	_	_
27	evolved	evolve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
28	from	from	ADP	IN	_	30	case	_	_
29	land	land	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	30	compound	_	_
30	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	27	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
31	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	27	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
32	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **evolve** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **change** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  | time | slowly *property* | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **adapt** | present | living things |  |  |  |  | to things's surroundings *goal* | vn adjust-26.9 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent to surroundings=Goal |
| 5 | **evolve** *in a quote* | past | whales |  |  |  |  | from land animals | vn grow-26.2.1 «NP V NP.product PP.patient»: agent=Agent from animal=Patient |

<!-- .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 -->
To evolve also means to develop or change gradually into something more complex or better: «the plan evolved over time».

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:evolve:m2:1
# text = To evolve also means to develop or change gradually into something more complex or better: «the plan evolved over time».
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	evolve	evolve	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	csubj	_	_
3	also	also	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	develop	develop	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	change	change	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	conj	_	_
9	gradually	gradually	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
10	into	into	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	8	obl	_	_
12	more	more	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	13	amod	_	_
13	complex	complex	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
14	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	better	good	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	20	punct	_	_
17	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	20	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	plan	plan	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nsubj	_	_
20	evolved	evolve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
21	over	over	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
22	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	20	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **evolve** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **develop** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **change** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | into something *result*; gradually *property* | vn turn-26.6.1-1 «NP.patient V PP.result»: agent=Patient into something=Result |
| 5 | **evolve** *in a quote* | past | the plan |  |  |  | time |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In some games, a character evolves into a new, stronger form.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:evolve:m3:1
# text = In some games, a character evolves into a new, stronger form.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	3	det	_	_
3	games	game	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	character	character	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	evolves	evolve	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	into	into	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
10	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
12	stronger	strong	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	13	amod	_	_
13	form	form	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **evolve** | present | a character |  |  | some games |  | into a new stronger form | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in game=Location |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Birds evolved from dinosaurs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:evolve:x1:1
# text = Birds evolved from dinosaurs.
1	Birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	evolved	evolve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	from	from	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	dinosaurs	dinosaur	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **evolve** | past | Birds |  |  |  |  | from dinosaurs | vn grow-26.2.1 «NP V NP.product PP.patient»: agent=Agent from dinosaur=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Living things evolve over millions of years.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:evolve:x2:1
# text = Living things evolve over millions of years.
1	Living	living	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	evolve	evolve	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	over	over	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	millions	million	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **evolve** | present | Living things |  |  | millions of years |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme over million=Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Darwin explained how animals evolve by natural selection.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:evolve:x3:1
# text = Darwin explained how animals evolve by natural selection.
1	Darwin	Darwin	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	explained	explain	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	5	advmod	_	_
4	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
5	evolve	evolve	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
6	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	natural	natural	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	selection	selection	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **explain** *speech: assert* | past | Darwin |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **evolve** | present | animals |  |  |  |  | by natural selection | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme by selection=Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Giraffes with longer necks could reach more food, so the species evolved.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:evolve:x4:1
# text = Giraffes with longer necks could reach more food, so the species evolved.
1	Giraffes	giraffe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
2	with	with	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	longer	long	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	4	amod	_	_
4	necks	neck	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	nmod	_	_
5	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	reach	reach	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	more	more	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	8	amod	_	_
8	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
10	so	so	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	species	species	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	nsubj	_	_
13	evolved	evolve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **reach** | could | Giraffes with longer necks | more food |  |  |  |  | vn body\_motion-49.2-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Agent food=Theme |
| 2 | **evolve** | past | the species |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The English language keeps evolving.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:evolve:x5:1
# text = The English language keeps evolving.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	English	English	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	language	language	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	keeps	keep	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	evolving	evolve	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | present | the English language |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **evolve** | gerund | the English language *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our project evolved from a small idea into a big show.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:evolve:x6:1
# text = Our project evolved from a small idea into a big show.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	project	project	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	evolved	evolve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	into	into	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	show	show	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **evolve** | past | Our project |  |  | a small idea |  | into a big show | vn grow-26.2.1 «NP.patient V PP.product»: agent=Patient into show=Product |
| 2 | **project** |  | Our |  |  |  |  |  | nom project «act transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My game character evolved into a dragon.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:evolve:x7:1
# text = My game character evolved into a dragon.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	character	character	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	evolved	evolve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	into	into	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	dragon	dragon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **evolve** | past | My game character |  |  |  |  | into a dragon | vn grow-26.2.1 «NP.patient V PP.product»: agent=Patient into dragon=Product |

<!-- 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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