---
title: horsefly — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «horsefly» in the school dictionary: A horsefly is a large fly whose females bite people and animals and drink their blood. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/horsefly/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [H](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/) / horsefly

# horsefly

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** horsefly, females, bite, Its, female horseflies, horse · **What happens:** be, bite, drink, swell, itch, hurt · **To what, where:** large fly, people, blood, me, tail, horseflies

<!-- .vabout -->
«horsefly» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 9 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: [horsefly in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/horsefly.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A horsefly is a large fly whose females bite people and animals and drink their blood.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:horsefly:m1:1
# text = A horsefly is a large fly whose females bite people and animals and drink their blood.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	horsefly	horsefly	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	large	large	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	fly	fly	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	whose	whose	PRON	WP$	Poss=Yes|PronType=Rel	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	females	female	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
9	bite	bite	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
10	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	conj	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	drink	drink	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	conj	_	_
15	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	16	nmod:poss	_	_
16	blood	blood	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a horsefly | a large fly |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **bite** | present | females | people and animals |  |  |  |  | vn swat-18.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent people=Patient |
| 3 | **drink** | present | females *not said here* | females's blood |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent blood=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 -->
Its bite is painful and can swell and itch.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:horsefly:m2:1
# text = Its bite is painful and can swell and itch.
1	Its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	bite	bite	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	painful	painful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
6	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	swell	swell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	itch	itch	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Its bite |  |  |  |  | painful *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **swell** | can | Its bite *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1-1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |
| 3 | **itch** | infinitive | Its bite *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn pain-40.8.1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |
| 4 | **bite** |  | Its *= it* |  |  |  |  |  | nom bite «state transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A horsefly bit me by the river.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:horsefly:x1:1
# text = A horsefly bit me by the river.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	horsefly	horsefly	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	bit	bite	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	river	river	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bite** | past | a horsefly | me |  |  |  | by the river | vn swat-18.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent i=Patient by river=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Horsefly bites really hurt.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:horsefly:x2:1
# text = Horsefly bites really hurt.
1	Horsefly	horsefly	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	bites	bite	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	really	really	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	hurt	hurt	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bite** | present | Horsefly |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **hurt** | participle | Horsefly *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Only female horseflies bite.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:horsefly:x3:1
# text = Only female horseflies bite.
1	Only	only	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
2	female	female	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	horseflies	horsefly	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	bite	bite	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bite** | present | female horseflies |  |  |  |  |  | vn swat-18.2 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The horse swished its tail to keep the horseflies away.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:horsefly:x4:1
# text = The horse swished its tail to keep the horseflies away.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	horse	horse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	swished	swish	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	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	keep	keep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	horseflies	horsefly	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	_
10	away	away	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swish** | past | the horse | horse's tail |  |  |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location tail=Theme |
| 2 | **keep away** | to-infinitive | the horse *not said here* | the horseflies |  |  |  | away *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent horsefly=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Horseflies have huge, colourful eyes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:horsefly:x5:1
# text = Horseflies have huge, colourful eyes.
1	Horseflies	horsefly	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	huge	huge	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	colourful	colourful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	eyes	eye	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Horseflies | huge colourful eyes |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent eye=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Put a cold cloth on a horsefly bite.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:horsefly:x6:1
# text = Put a cold cloth on a horsefly bite.
1	Put	put	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	cold	cold	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	cloth	cloth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	horsefly	horsefly	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	bite	bite	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **put** | imperative | you *not said here* | a cold cloth |  | a horsefly bite |  |  | vn put-9.1-2 «NP V PP.destination NP»: agent=Agent cloth=Theme on bite=Destination |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We saw a big horsefly buzzing round the picnic.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:horsefly:x7:1
# text = We saw a big horsefly buzzing round the picnic.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	saw	see	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	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	horsefly	horsefly	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	buzzing	buzz	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	acl	_	_
7	round	round	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	picnic	picnic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **see** | past | We | a big horsefly |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer horsefly=Stimulus |
| 2 | **buzz** | gerund | a big horsefly *not said here* |  |  |  |  | round the picnic | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Horseflies like warm, damp summer days.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:horsefly:x8:1
# text = Horseflies like warm, damp summer days.
1	Horseflies	horsefly	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
2	like	like	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
3	warm	warm	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	damp	damp	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
6	summer	summer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	days	day	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
As he lay there unable to move, a swarm of horseflies settled on him and sucked his blood undisturbed, for he was too weak even to shake them off.

<!-- fold The tree, 29 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:horsefly:x9:1
# text = As he lay there unable to move, a swarm of horseflies settled on him and sucked his blood undisturbed, for he was too weak even to shake them off.
1	As	as	SCONJ	IN	_	3	mark	_	_
2	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	lay	lie	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	3	advmod	_	_
5	unable	unable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	move	move	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	swarm	swarm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	horseflies	horsefly	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nmod	_	_
13	settled	settle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	12	acl	_	_
14	on	on	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	obl	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	sucked	suck	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
18	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	19	nmod:poss	_	_
19	blood	blood	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	_
20	undisturbed	undisturbed	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	26	punct	_	_
22	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	26	mark	_	_
23	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	26	nsubj	_	_
24	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	26	cop	_	_
25	too	too	ADV	RB	_	26	advmod	_	_
26	weak	weak	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	conj	_	_
27	even	even	ADV	RB	_	29	advmod	_	_
28	to	to	PART	TO	_	29	mark	_	_
29	shake	shake	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	26	advcl	_	_
30	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	29	obj	_	_
31	off	off	ADP	RP	_	29	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
32	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lie** | past | he | a swarm of horseflies |  | there |  | unable *property* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **move** | to-infinitive | he *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **settle** | participle |  | horseflies *not said here* |  |  |  | on him *= he* | vn correspond-36.1 «NP V PP.theme S»: agent=Agent on he=Topic |
| 4 | **suck** | past | he *not said here* | his blood |  |  |  | undisturbed *property* | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1-1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent blood=Theme |
| 5 | **is** | past | he |  |  |  |  | weak *property* | tree rules |
| 6 | **shake off** | to-infinitive | he *not said here* | horseflies *= horsefly* |  |  |  |  | vn shake-22.3-2 «NP V NP together»: agent=Agent they=Patient |

<!-- 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 -->
- ← previous: [horseflesh](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/horseflesh/)
- next →: [horsehair](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/horsehair/)
- ↑ back to [H in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/H/)