---
title: nit — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «nit» in the school dictionary: A nit is the egg or young of a head louse, a tiny insect that lives in human hair. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# nit

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** nit, tiny insect, nits, Mum, you, my · **What happens:** be, live, pick, check, comb out, stick · **To what, where:** egg, human hair, silly foolish person, nits, class, hair · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«nit» in the school dictionary: its 3 meanings for a pupil and its 8 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: [nit in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/nit.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A nit is the egg or young of a head louse, a tiny insect that lives in human hair.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nit:m1:1
# text = A nit is the egg or young of a head louse, a tiny insect that lives in human hair.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	nit	nit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	egg	egg	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	young	young	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	louse	louse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	tiny	tiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	insect	insect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
16	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	17	nsubj	_	_
17	lives	live	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	acl:relcl	_	_
18	in	in	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	human	human	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	amod	_	_
20	hair	hair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a nit | the egg or young of a head louse and a tiny insect |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **live** | present | a tiny insect |  |  | human hair |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in hair=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}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: informal, UK, Australia, NZ — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A nit or nitwit is a silly, foolish person.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nit:m2:1
# text = A nit or nitwit is a silly, foolish person.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	nit	nit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	nitwit	nitwit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
7	silly	silly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
9	foolish	foolish	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a nit or nitwit | a silly foolish person |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To pick nits or nit-pick is to find small, unimportant faults.

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nit:m3:1
# text = To pick nits or nit-pick is to find small, unimportant faults.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	pick	pick	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	advcl	_	_
3	nits	nit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
5	nit	nit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	pick	pick	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	find	find	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
13	unimportant	unimportant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	faults	fault	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pick** | to-infinitive |  | nits or nit pick |  |  |  |  | vn chew-39.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent nit=Patient |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | find, small *property* | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There are nits in our class, so check your hair.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nit:x1:1
# text = There are nits in our class, so check your hair.
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	2	expl	_	_
2	are	be	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	nits	nit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	so	so	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	check	check	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	parataxis	_	_
10	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	hair	hair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **does** | present | nits |  |  | our class; there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in class=Location |
| 2 | **check** | infinitive |  | your hair |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hair=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum combed out my nits with a nit comb.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nit:x2:1
# text = Mum combed out my nits with a nit comb.
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	combed	comb	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	out	out	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	nits	nit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	nit	nit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	comb	comb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **comb out** | past | Mum | my nits |  |  |  | with a nit comb | vn braid-41.2.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent nit=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nits stick tightly to hairs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nit:x3:1
# text = Nits stick tightly to hairs.
1	Nits	nit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	stick	stick	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	tightly	tightly	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	hairs	hair	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stick** | present | Nits |  |  |  |  | to hairs; tightly *property* | vn shake-22.3-2 «NP V NP PP»: agent=Agent to hair=Co-Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Don't share hats, or you might spread nits.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nit:x4:1
# text = Don't share hats, or you might spread nits.
1	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	share	share	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	hats	hat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
7	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	might	might	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
9	spread	spread	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
10	nits	nit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **share** | imperative · do-support | you *not said here* | hats |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **spread** | might | you | nits |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location nit=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
You nit! You've put your shoes on the wrong feet.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* You nit!

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nit:x5:1
# text = You nit!
1	You	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	nit	nit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

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

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* You've put your shoes on the wrong feet.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nit:x5:2
# text = You've put your shoes on the wrong feet.
1	You	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	've	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	put	put	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	shoes	shoe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	feet	foot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **put** | present · perfect | You | your shoes |  | the wrong feet |  |  | vn put-9.1-2 «NP V PP.destination NP»: agent=Agent shoe=Theme on foot=Destination |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Stop nit-picking about my spelling.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nit:x6:1
# text = Stop nit-picking about my spelling.
1	Stop	stop	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	nit	nit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	picking	pick	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	1	xcomp	_	_
5	about	about	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	spelling	spelling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stop** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Affector clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **pick** | gerund | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | about my spelling | vn chew-39.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **spell** |  | my |  |  |  |  |  | nom spelling «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Having nits does not mean your hair is dirty.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nit:x7:1
# text = Having nits does not mean your hair is dirty.
1	Having	have	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	csubj	_	_
2	nits	nit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
3	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	hair	hair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	dirty	dirty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | gerund |  | nits |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent nit=Patient |
| 2 | **not** **mean** | present · do-support | Having |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is** | present | your hair |  |  |  |  | dirty *property* | tree rules |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The nurse checked 30 heads and found nits on 4.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:nit:x8:1
# text = The nurse checked 30 heads and found nits on 4.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	nurse	nurse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	checked	check	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	30	30	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	heads	head	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	found	find	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
8	nits	nit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	4	4	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **check** | past | the nurse | 30 heads |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent head=Theme |
| 2 | **find** | past | the nurse *not said here* | nits |  | 4 |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent nit=Topic |

<!-- 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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