---
title: lichen — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «lichen» in the school dictionary: A lichen is a living thing that grows in crusty, leafy or bushy patches on rocks, walls, tree bark and gravestones; it is made of a fungus and a tiny alga (or bacteria) living together and helping each other. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and p
---

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# lichen

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** lichen, living thing, Lots, air, alga, Reindeer · **What happens:** be, grow, make, live together, help, cover · **To what, where:** living thing, crusty patches, lichen, each, old wall, lichen survey · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A lichen is a living thing that grows in crusty, leafy or bushy patches on rocks, walls, tree bark and gravestones; it is made of a fungus and a tiny alga (or bacteria) living together and helping each other.

<!-- fold The tree, 39 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lichen:m1:1
# text = A lichen is a living thing that grows in crusty, leafy or bushy patches on rocks, walls, tree bark and gravestones; it is made of a fungus and a tiny alga (or bacteria) living together and helping each other.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	lichen	lichen	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	living	living	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
8	grows	grow	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
10	crusty	crusty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	leafy	leafy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	conj	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	bushy	bushy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	conj	_	_
15	patches	patch	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
16	on	on	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	rocks	rock	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
19	walls	wall	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
21	tree	tree	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	compound	_	_
22	bark	bark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	conj	_	_
23	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	24	cc	_	_
24	gravestones	gravestone	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	28	punct	_	_
26	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	28	nsubj:pass	_	_
27	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	28	aux:pass	_	_
28	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	parataxis	_	_
29	of	of	ADP	IN	_	31	case	_	_
30	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	31	det	_	_
31	fungus	fungus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	28	obl	_	_
32	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	35	cc	_	_
33	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	35	det	_	_
34	tiny	tiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	35	amod	_	_
35	alga	alga	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	31	conj	_	_
36	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	38	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
37	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	38	cc	_	_
38	bacteria	bacterium	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	35	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
39	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	28	punct	_	_
40	living	live	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	28	xcomp	_	_
41	together	together	ADV	RB	_	40	advmod	_	_
42	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	43	cc	_	_
43	helping	help	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	40	conj	_	_
44	each	each	DET	DT	ExtPos=PRON|PronType=Rcp	43	obj	_	_
45	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	44	fixed	_	SpaceAfter=No
46	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a lichen | a living thing |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **grow** | present | a living thing |  |  | crusty patches on rocks and walls and tree bark and gravestones |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in patch=Location |
| 3 | **make** | present · passive |  | lichen |  |  |  | of a fungus and a tiny alga or bacteria | tree rules |
| 4 | **live together** | gerund | lichen *not said here* |  |  |  |  | together *property* | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 5 | **help** | gerund | lichen *not said here* | each |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent each=Beneficiary |

<!-- .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.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The old wall was covered in orange lichen.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lichen:x1:1
# text = The old wall was covered in orange lichen.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	wall	wall	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	covered	cover	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	orange	orange	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	lichen	lichen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cover** | past · passive |  | the old wall |  |  |  | in orange lichen | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP PP.theme»: subject=Destination in lichen=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Lots of lichen on trees shows the air is clean.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lichen:x2:1
# text = Lots of lichen on trees shows the air is clean.
1	Lots	lot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	lichen	lichen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	trees	tree	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nmod	_	_
6	shows	show	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	clean	clean	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | present | Lots of lichen on trees |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | the air |  |  |  |  | clean *property* | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Lichen is made of a fungus and an alga living together.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lichen:x3:1
# text = Lichen is made of a fungus and an alga living together.
1	Lichen	Lichen	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	fungus	fungus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	alga	alga	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
10	living	live	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	9	acl	_	_
11	together	together	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present · passive |  | Lichen |  |  |  | of a fungus and a alga | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: subject=Product |
| 2 | **live together** | gerund | a alga *not said here* |  |  |  |  | together *property* | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Reindeer eat lichen in winter.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lichen:x4:1
# text = Reindeer eat lichen in winter.
1	Reindeer	reindeer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	eat	eat	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	lichen	lichen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	winter	winter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We did a lichen survey around the school grounds.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lichen:x5:1
# text = We did a lichen survey around the school grounds.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	did	do	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	lichen	lichen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	survey	survey	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	around	around	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	grounds	grounds	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | past | We | a lichen survey |  | the school grounds |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent survey=Eventuality |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Lichens grow very slowly, only a few millimetres a year.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lichen:x6:1
# text = Lichens grow very slowly, only a few millimetres a year.
1	Lichens	lichen	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	grow	grow	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	very	very	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	slowly	slowly	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
6	only	only	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	few	few	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	millimetres	millimetre	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	year	year	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow** | present | Lichens | a few millimetres  a year |  |  |  | slowly *property* | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grey lichen spread across the gravestone.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lichen:x7:1
# text = Grey lichen spread across the gravestone.
1	Grey	grey	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	lichen	lichen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	spread	spread	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	across	across	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	gravestone	gravestone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spread** | participle |  | Grey lichen *not said here* |  | the gravestone |  |  | vn spray-9.7-1 «NP V PP.destination»: agent=Theme across gravestone=Destination |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Lichens can grow on bare rock where nothing else can.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lichen:x8:1
# text = Lichens can grow on bare rock where nothing else can.
1	Lichens	lichen	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	grow	grow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	bare	bare	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	rock	rock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	10	advmod	_	_
8	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	10	nsubj	_	_
9	else	else	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
10	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow** | can | Lichens |  |  | bare rock |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on rock=Location |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The roof, as far as one existed at all, was covered with moss and lichen.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:lichen:x9:1
# text = The roof, as far as one existed at all, was covered with moss and lichen.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	roof	roof	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj:pass	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
4	as	as	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	far	far	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	8	advmod	_	_
6	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
7	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nsubj	_	_
8	existed	exist	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	2	acl:relcl	_	_
9	at	at	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
12	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux:pass	_	_
13	covered	cover	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
14	with	with	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	moss	moss	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	lichen	lichen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **exist** | participle | one | the roof *not said here* |  | all |  | far *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **cover** | past · passive |  | the roof |  |  |  | with moss and lichen | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP PP.theme»: subject=Destination with moss=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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