---
title: owl — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «owl» in the school dictionary: An owl is a bird with a big round face, large forward-facing eyes and a hooked beak that usually hunts small animals at night. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# owl

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** owl, hooked beak, Calling, they, Owls, barn owl · **What happens:** be, face, hook, hunt, call, mean · **To what, where:** bird, eyes, small animals, person, owl, woods · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An owl is a bird with a big round face, large forward-facing eyes and a hooked beak that usually hunts small animals at night.

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:owl:m1:1
# text = An owl is a bird with a big round face, large forward-facing eyes and a hooked beak that usually hunts small animals at night.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	owl	owl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
8	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
9	round	round	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	face	face	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	large	large	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
13	forward	forward	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	facing	face	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	12	advcl	_	_
16	eyes	eye	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	obj	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
18	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
19	hooked	hook	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	20	amod	_	_
20	beak	beak	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	conj	_	_
21	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	23	nsubj	_	_
22	usually	usually	ADV	RB	_	23	advmod	_	_
23	hunts	hunt	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	20	acl:relcl	_	_
24	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	25	amod	_	_
25	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	23	obj	_	_
26	at	at	ADP	IN	_	27	case	_	_
27	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a owl | a bird |  |  |  | with a big round face | tree rules |
| 2 | **face** | gerund | a owl *not said here* | eyes and a hooked beak |  |  |  |  | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme eye=Destination |
| 3 | **hook** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn coil-9.6-1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **hunt** | present | a hooked beak | small animals |  |  | night | usually *property* | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent animal=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 -->
Calling a person a «night owl» means they like to stay up late.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:owl:m2:1
# text = Calling a person a «night owl» means they like to stay up late.
1	Calling	call	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	9	csubj	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
5	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	owl	owl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	7	punct	_	_
9	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	like	like	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	ccomp	_	_
12	to	to	PART	TO	_	13	mark	_	_
13	stay	stay	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	xcomp	_	_
14	up	up	ADP	RP	_	13	compound:prt	_	_
15	late	late	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	13	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | gerund |  |  | a person |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent person=Recipient |
| 2 | **mean** | present | Calling |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **like** | present | they |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 4 | **stay up** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | they *not said here* |  |  |  |  | late *property* | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An owl hooted in the woods at night.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:owl:x1:1
# text = An owl hooted in the woods at night.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	owl	owl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	hooted	hoot	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	woods	wood	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
7	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hoot** | participle |  | a owl *not said here* |  | the woods | night |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in wood=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Owls can turn their heads a long way round.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:owl:x2:1
# text = Owls can turn their heads a long way round.
1	Owls	owl	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	turn	turn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	heads	head	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	parataxis	_	_
9	round	round	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **turn** | can | Owls | Owls's heads |  |  |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent head=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The barn owl flew silently over the field.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:owl:x3:1
# text = The barn owl flew silently over the field.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	barn	barn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	owl	owl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	flew	fly	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	silently	silently	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
6	over	over	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	field	field	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fly** | past | the barn owl |  |  | the field |  | silently *property* | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme over field=Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We pulled apart owl pellets and found tiny mouse bones.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:owl:x4:1
# text = We pulled apart owl pellets and found tiny mouse bones.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	pulled	pull	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	apart	apart	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	owl	owl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	pellets	pellet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	found	find	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
8	tiny	tiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
9	mouse	mouse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	bones	bone	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pull apart** | past | We | owl pellets |  |  |  | apart *property* | vn push-12-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent pellet=Theme |
| 2 | **find** | past | We *not said here* | tiny mouse bones |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bone=Topic |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Owls hunt mice, voles and insects.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:owl:x5:1
# text = Owls hunt mice, voles and insects.
1	Owls	owl	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	hunt	hunt	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	mice	mouse	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	voles	vole	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	conj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	insects	insect	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hunt** | present | Owls | mice and voles and insects |  |  |  |  | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent mouse=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My sister is a night owl and reads until midnight.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:owl:x6:1
# text = My sister is a night owl and reads until midnight.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	sister	sister	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	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	owl	owl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	reads	read	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
9	until	until	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	midnight	midnight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | My sister | a night owl |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **read** | present | My sister *not said here* |  |  |  | midnight |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the story, the wise old owl helped the animals.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:owl:x7:1
# text = In the story, the wise old owl helped the animals.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
6	wise	wise	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
7	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	owl	owl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	helped	help	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **help** | past | the wise old owl |  | the animals | the story |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent animal=Beneficiary |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The snowy owl is white like snow.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:owl:x8:1
# text = The snowy owl is white like snow.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	snowy	snowy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	owl	owl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	like	like	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	snow	snow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the snowy owl |  |  |  |  | like snow; white *property* | tree rules |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Owl always takes her sleep during the day.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:owl:x9:1
# text = The Owl always takes her sleep during the day.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Owl	owl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	4	advmod	_	_
4	takes	take	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	sleep	sleep	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	during	during	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | present | the Owl | Owl's sleep |  |  | day | always *property* | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sleep=Theme |
| 2 | **sleep** |  | Owl |  |  |  |  |  | nom sleep «state intransitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- 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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