---
title: fin — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «fin» in the school dictionary: A thin, flat part sticking out of a fish's or sea animal's body that helps it swim, steer and balance. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# fin

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** thin flat part, animal body, body, similar flat part, swimming, fish · **What happens:** stick out, help, swim, steer, balance, keep · **To what, where:** animal body, body, surfboard, Flippers, feet, fins · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A thin, flat part sticking out of a fish's or sea animal's body that helps it swim, steer and balance.

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fin:m1:1
# text = A thin, flat part sticking out of a fish's or sea animal's body that helps it swim, steer and balance.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
2	thin	thin	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	flat	flat	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	part	part	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	sticking	stick	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	acl	_	_
7	out	out	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	fish	fish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	's	's	PART	POS	_	10	case	_	_
12	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
13	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	compound	_	_
14	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	's	's	PART	POS	_	14	case	_	_
16	body	body	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
17	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	18	nsubj	_	_
18	helps	help	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	acl:relcl	_	_
19	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	obj	_	_
20	swim	swim	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	18	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
22	steer	steer	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	20	conj	_	_
23	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	24	cc	_	_
24	balance	balance	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	22	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stick out** | gerund | a thin flat part *not said here* | a fish's animal body |  |  |  |  | vn spray-9.7-1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent body=Theme |
| 2 | **help** | present | a fish's animal body | body |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent it=Beneficiary clause=Theme |
| 3 | **swim** | infinitive | body *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **steer** | infinitive | body *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn accompany-51.7 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 5 | **balance** | infinitive | body *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «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 -->
A similar flat part on a plane, rocket, car or surfboard that helps keep it steady.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fin:m2:1
# text = A similar flat part on a plane, rocket, car or surfboard that helps keep it steady.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	similar	similar	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	flat	flat	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	part	part	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	plane	plane	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
9	rocket	rocket	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
11	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	_
12	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	surfboard	surfboard	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	_
14	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	15	nsubj	_	_
15	helps	help	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
16	keep	keep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	15	xcomp	_	_
17	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	obj	_	_
18	steady	steady	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **help** | present | a similar flat part on a plane and rocket and car or surfboard |  |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **keep** | infinitive | a similar flat part on a plane and rocket and car or surfboard *not said here* | surfboard |  |  |  | steady *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Flippers worn on your feet for swimming (often called fins).

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fin:m3:1
# text = Flippers worn on your feet for swimming (often called fins).
1	Flippers	flipper	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
2	worn	wear	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	1	acl	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	feet	foot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	swimming	swimming	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
8	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	often	often	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	acl	_	_
11	fins	fin	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wear** | participle |  | Flippers *not said here* |  | your feet |  | for swimming | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1-1 «NP V PP-Conative»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **call** | participle | swimming *not said here* | fins |  |  |  | often *property* | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The fish moved its fins to swim forward.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fin:x1:1
# text = The fish moved its fins to swim forward.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fish	fish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	moved	move	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	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	fins	fin	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	swim	swim	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
8	forward	forward	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **move** | past | the fish | fish's fins |  |  |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent fin=Theme |
| 2 | **swim** | to-infinitive | the fish *not said here* |  |  |  |  | forward *property* | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A shark's dorsal fin stuck out of the water.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fin:x2:1
# text = A shark's dorsal fin stuck out of the water.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	shark	shark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	dorsal	dorsal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	fin	fin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	stuck	stick	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl	_	_
7	out	out	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stick out** | participle | a shark's dorsal fin *not said here* | the water |  |  |  |  | vn spray-9.7-1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent water=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dolphins have fins, but they breathe air.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fin:x3:1
# text = Dolphins have fins, but they breathe air.
1	Dolphins	dolphin	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	fins	fin	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
5	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
6	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	breathe	breathe	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
8	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Dolphins | fins |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fin=Patient |
| 2 | **breathe** | present | Dolphins *= dolphin* | air |  |  |  |  | vn breathe-40.1.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent air=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We wore fins to swim faster when snorkelling.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fin:x4:1
# text = We wore fins to swim faster when snorkelling.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wore	wear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	fins	fin	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	swim	swim	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
6	faster	fast	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	5	advmod	_	_
7	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	8	advmod	_	_
8	snorkelling	snorkelling	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 | **wear** | past | We | fins |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **swim** | to-infinitive | We *not said here* | snorkelling |  |  |  | fast *property* | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Rockets have fins to keep them flying straight.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fin:x5:1
# text = Rockets have fins to keep them flying straight.
1	Rockets	rocket	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	fins	fin	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	keep	keep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
6	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	_
7	flying	fly	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	xcomp	_	_
8	straight	straight	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Rockets | fins |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **keep** | to-infinitive | fins *not said here* | fins *= fin* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **fly** | gerund | fins *= fin* *not said here* |  |  |  |  | straight *property* | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The surfboard has three fins underneath.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fin:x6:1
# text = The surfboard has three fins underneath.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	surfboard	surfboard	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	fins	fin	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	underneath	underneath	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | the surfboard | three fins |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fin=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The fish used its tail fin to turn quickly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:fin:x7:1
# text = The fish used its tail fin to turn quickly.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fish	fish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	used	use	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	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	fin	fin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	turn	turn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
9	quickly	quickly	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | past | the fish | fish's tail fin |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fin=Patient |
| 2 | **turn** | to-infinitive | the fish *not said here* |  |  |  |  | quickly *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme 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 -->

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