---
title: moult — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «moult» in the school dictionary: To lose feathers, fur, hair or skin so that new ones can grow. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# moult

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** new ones, moulting, dog, chicken, caterpillar, Crabs · **What happens:** lose, grow, act, moult, have, make · **To what, where:** feathers, fewer feathers, chrysalis, shells, sofa, whole skin

<!-- .vabout -->
«moult» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 6 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: [moult in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/moult.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: of a bird, animal or insect — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To lose feathers, fur, hair or skin so that new ones can grow.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moult:m1:1
# text = To lose feathers, fur, hair or skin so that new ones can grow.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	lose	lose	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	feathers	feather	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	fur	fur	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	hair	hair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	skin	skin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
10	so	so	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
11	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
12	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	ones	one	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	nsubj	_	_
14	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	15	aux	_	_
15	grow	grow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lose** | to-infinitive |  | feathers |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent feather=Eventuality |
| 2 | **grow** | can | new ones |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «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 -->
Noun: the time or act of moulting.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moult:m2:1
# text = Noun: the time or act of moulting.
1	Noun	noun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	4	punct	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	appos	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	act	act	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	moulting	moulting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **act** |  | moulting |  |  |  |  |  | nom act «communication intransitive»: of=agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our dog moults every spring.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moult:x1:1
# text = Our dog moults every spring.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	moults	moult	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	5	det	_	_
5	spring	spring	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **moult** | present | Our dog |  |  |  | spring |  | vn entity\_specific\_cos-45.5 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The chicken is moulting, so she has fewer feathers.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moult:x2:1
# text = The chicken is moulting, so she has fewer feathers.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	chicken	chicken	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	moulting	moult	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
6	so	so	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
7	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
9	fewer	few	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	10	amod	_	_
10	feathers	feather	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **moult** | present · progressive | the chicken |  |  |  |  |  | vn entity\_specific\_cos-45.5 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **have** | present | chicken | fewer feathers |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent feather=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A caterpillar moults several times before it makes a chrysalis.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moult:x3:1
# text = A caterpillar moults several times before it makes a chrysalis.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	caterpillar	caterpillar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	moults	moult	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	several	several	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	times	time	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl:unmarked	_	_
6	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	makes	make	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	chrysalis	chrysalis	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **moult** | present | a caterpillar |  |  |  | time |  | vn entity\_specific\_cos-45.5 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **make** | present | caterpillar | a chrysalis |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.material V NP»: agent=Material chrysalis=Product |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Crabs moult their shells to grow.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moult:x4:1
# text = Crabs moult their shells to grow.
1	Crabs	crab	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	moult	moult	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	shells	shell	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	grow	grow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **moult** | present | Crabs | Crabs's shells |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **grow** | to-infinitive | Crabs *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There was cat hair all over the sofa during the moult.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moult:x5:1
# text = There was cat hair all over the sofa during the moult.
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	2	expl	_	_
2	was	be	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	hair	hair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
5	all	all	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
6	over	over	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	sofa	sofa	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
9	during	during	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	moult	moult	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** | past | cat hair |  |  | the sofa; there | during the moult |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme over sofa=Location |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Snakes moult their whole skin at once.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:moult:x6:1
# text = Snakes moult their whole skin at once.
1	Snakes	snake	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	moult	moult	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
4	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	skin	skin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **moult** | present | Snakes | Snakes's whole skin |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- 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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