---
title: insect — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «insect» in the school dictionary: An insect is a small animal with six legs and a body in three parts (head, thorax, abdomen); most insects have wings and antennae. Ants, bees, butterflies, beetles and flies are insects. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# insect

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** insect, most insects, Ants, ladybird, Insects, Bees · **What happens:** be, have, pollinate, look, change, use · **To what, where:** small animal, wings, insects, small insect, six legs, useful insects · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An insect is a small animal with six legs and a body in three parts (head, thorax, abdomen); most insects have wings and antennae. Ants, bees, butterflies, beetles and flies are insects.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* An insect is a small animal with six legs and a body in three parts (head, thorax, abdomen); most insects have wings and antennae.

<!-- fold The tree, 24 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:insect:m1:1
# text = An insect is a small animal with six legs and a body in three parts (head, thorax, abdomen); most insects have wings and antennae.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	insect	insect	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	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	six	six	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	9	nummod	_	_
9	legs	leg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	body	body	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	15	nummod	_	_
15	parts	part	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nmod	_	_
16	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
19	thorax	thorax	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
21	abdomen	abdomen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	26	punct	_	_
24	most	most	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	25	amod	_	_
25	insects	insect	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	26	nsubj	_	_
26	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
27	wings	wing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	26	obj	_	_
28	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	29	cc	_	_
29	antennae	antennae	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	27	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a insect | a small animal |  |  |  | with six legs and a body in three parts | tree rules |
| 2 | **have** | present | most insects | wings and antennae |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent wing=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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* Ants, bees, butterflies, beetles and flies are insects.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:insect:m1:2
# text = Ants, bees, butterflies, beetles and flies are insects.
1	Ants	ant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
3	bees	bee	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	butterflies	butterfly	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	beetles	beetle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	conj	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	flies	fly	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	conj	_	_
10	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
11	insects	insect	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Ants and bees and butterflies and beetles and flies | insects |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A ladybird is a small insect.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:insect:x1:1
# text = A ladybird is a small insect.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	ladybird	ladybird	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	insect	insect	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 ladybird | a small insect |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Insects have six legs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:insect:x2:1
# text = Insects have six legs.
1	Insects	insect	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	six	six	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	4	nummod	_	_
4	legs	leg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Bees are useful insects that pollinate flowers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:insect:x3:1
# text = Bees are useful insects that pollinate flowers.
1	Bees	bee	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	useful	useful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	insects	insect	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
5	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	6	nsubj	_	_
6	pollinate	pollinate	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
7	flowers	flower	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Bees | useful insects |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **pollinate** | present | useful insects | flowers |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We looked for insects under the log.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:insect:x4:1
# text = We looked for insects under the log.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	looked	look	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	for	for	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	insects	insect	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
5	under	under	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	log	log	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **look** | past | We |  |  | the log |  | for insects | vn rummage-35.5 «NP V PP.location PP.theme»: agent=Agent for insect=Theme under log=Location |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The insect has two antennae.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:insect:x5:1
# text = The insect has two antennae.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	insect	insect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	antennae	antennae	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A caterpillar changes into a butterfly.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:insect:x6:1
# text = A caterpillar changes into a butterfly.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	caterpillar	caterpillar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	changes	change	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	into	into	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	butterfly	butterfly	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **change** | present | a caterpillar |  |  |  |  | into a butterfly *result* | vn turn-26.6.1-1 «NP.patient V PP.result»: agent=Patient into butterfly=Result |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Use insect repellent when camping.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:insect:x7:1
# text = Use insect repellent when camping.
1	Use	use	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	insect	insect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	repellent	repellent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	5	mark	_	_
5	camping	camp	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	1	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | imperative | you *not said here* | insect repellent |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent repellent=Patient |
| 2 | **camp** | gerund | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn odge-46-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Count the legs: if there are eight, it is not an insect.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:insect:x8:1
# text = Count the legs: if there are eight, it is not an insect.
1	Count	count	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	legs	leg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	8	punct	_	_
5	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	7	expl	_	_
7	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	eight	eight	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	1	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
11	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	cop	_	_
12	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	14	advmod	_	_
13	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	insect	insect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **count** | imperative | you *not said here* | the legs |  |  |  |  | vn multiply-108 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent leg=Theme |
| 2 | **is a** | present |  | eight and a insect |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **not** **is a** | present | it | a insect |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Away with you, vile insect!" said a Lion angrily to a Gnat that was buzzing around his head.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:insect:x9:1
# text = "Away with you, vile insect!" said a Lion angrily to a Gnat that was buzzing around his head.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Away	away	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
3	with	with	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
6	vile	vile	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	insect	insect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	7	punct	_	_
10	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	Lion	Lion	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
13	angrily	angrily	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	_
14	to	to	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	Gnat	gnat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	nsubj	_	_
17	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	19	nsubj	_	_
18	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	19	aux	_	_
19	buzzing	buzz	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	ccomp	_	_
20	around	around	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
21	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	22	nmod:poss	_	_
22	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | a Lion |  |  |  |  | away *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **buzz** | past · progressive | a Gnat |  |  | Gnat's head |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme around head=Location |

<!-- 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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