---
title: herring — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «herring» in the school dictionary: A herring is a small silver fish that lives in big groups in the North Atlantic and other cold seas. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# herring

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** herring, small silver fish, red herring, fact, shoal, Grandad · **What happens:** be, live, eat, smoke, pickle, lead · **To what, where:** small silver fish, big groups, fish, kipper, clue, you · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A herring is a small silver fish that lives in big groups in the North Atlantic and other cold seas.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:herring:m1:1
# text = A herring is a small silver fish that lives in big groups in the North Atlantic and other cold seas.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	herring	herring	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
5	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
6	silver	silver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	fish	fish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	lives	live	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	groups	group	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obl	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
15	North	North	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	16	compound	_	_
16	Atlantic	Atlantic	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
18	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	amod	_	_
19	cold	cold	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	amod	_	_
20	seas	sea	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a herring | a small silver fish |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **live** | present | a small silver fish |  |  | big groups in the North Atlantic and other cold seas |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in group=Location |

<!-- .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 -->
Herring is also the fish eaten as food, often smoked (a kipper) or pickled.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:herring:m2:1
# text = Herring is also the fish eaten as food, often smoked (a kipper) or pickled.
1	Herring	herring	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	also	also	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	fish	fish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	eaten	eat	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl	_	_
7	as	as	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	often	often	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	smoked	smoke	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	parataxis	_	_
12	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	kipper	kipper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	14	punct	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	pickled	pickle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Herring | the fish |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **eat** | participle |  | the fish *not said here* |  |  |  | as food | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **smoke** | participle |  | a kipper |  |  |  | often *property* | vn eat-39.1-1-1 «NP V NP.source»: agent=Agent kipper=Source |
| 4 | **pickle** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn cooking-45.3 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A red herring is a clue or fact that leads you the wrong way, on purpose or by accident.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:herring:m3:1
# text = A red herring is a clue or fact that leads you the wrong way, on purpose or by accident.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	red	red	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	herring	herring	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	clue	clue	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	fact	fact	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
9	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
10	leads	lead	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	_
11	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	obj	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
16	on	on	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	purpose	purpose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
18	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
19	by	by	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
20	accident	accident	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a red herring | a clue or fact |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **lead** | present | fact | you |  | purpose or accident |  | the wrong way *obl:unmarked* | vn accompany-51.7 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent you=Theme on purpose=Destination |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A shoal of herring flashed silver in the sea.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:herring:x1:1
# text = A shoal of herring flashed silver in the sea.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	shoal	shoal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	herring	herring	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	flashed	flash	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
6	silver	silver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **flash** | participle | a shoal of herring *not said here* | silver |  |  |  | in the sea | vn crane-40.3.2 «NP V NP PP.recipient PP.theme»: agent=Agent silver=Patient in sea=Topic |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandad eats pickled herring on toast.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:herring:x2:1
# text = Grandad eats pickled herring on toast.
1	Grandad	Grandad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	eats	eat	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	pickled	pickle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	amod	_	_
4	herring	herring	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	toast	toast	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 | **eat** | present | Grandad | pickled herring |  | toast |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent herring=Patient |
| 2 | **pickle** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn cooking-45.3 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A smoked herring is called a kipper.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:herring:x3:1
# text = A smoked herring is called a kipper.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	smoked	smoke	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	amod	_	_
3	herring	herring	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	kipper	kipper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **smoke** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **call** | present · passive |  | a smoked herring |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: subject=Recipient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Puffins and seals eat herring.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:herring:x4:1
# text = Puffins and seals eat herring.
1	Puffins	puffin	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	seals	seal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	conj	_	_
4	eat	eat	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	herring	herring	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **eat** | present | Puffins and seals | herring |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent herring=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The muddy footprint was a red herring; the thief came in through the window.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:herring:x5:1
# text = The muddy footprint was a red herring; the thief came in through the window.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	muddy	muddy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	footprint	footprint	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	red	red	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	herring	herring	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	thief	thief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
11	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	conj	_	_
12	in	in	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
13	through	through	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	window	window	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | the muddy footprint | a red herring |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **come in** | past | the thief |  |  | the window |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme through window=Initial\_Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
This word problem has a red herring: the age of the bus driver does not matter.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:herring:x6:1
# text = This word problem has a red herring: the age of the bus driver does not matter.
1	This	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	2	det	_	_
2	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	problem	problem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	red	red	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	herring	herring	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	age	age	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obl	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	bus	bus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	compound	_	_
14	driver	driver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	_
15	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	17	aux	_	_
16	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	17	advmod	_	_
17	matter	matter	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | word problem | a red herring |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent herring=Patient |
| 2 | **not** **matter** | present · do-support |  | the age of the bus driver |  |  |  |  | vn matter-91 «NP V»: agent=Stimulus |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The fishing boats came back full of herring.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:herring:x7:1
# text = The fishing boats came back full of herring.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	fishing	fishing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	boats	boat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	back	back	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
6	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	herring	herring	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come back** | past | the fishing boats |  |  |  |  | full *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP 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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