---
title: pinwheel — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «pinwheel» in the school dictionary: A toy made of paper or plastic blades on a stick that spin round in the wind; in the UK called a windmill. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# pinwheel

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** stick, toy, firework, We, wind, pinwheel · **What happens:** make, spin round, call, see, blow, spin · **To what, where:** toy, wind, windmill, firework, paper pinwheels, way · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«pinwheel» in the school dictionary: its 3 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: [pinwheel in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/pinwheel.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: US, Canada — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A toy made of paper or plastic blades on a stick that spin round in the wind; in the UK called a windmill.

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pinwheel:m1:1
# text = A toy made of paper or plastic blades on a stick that spin round in the wind; in the UK called a windmill.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	toy	toy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	nsubj	_	_
3	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	paper	paper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
7	plastic	plastic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	blades	blade	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	conj	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	stick	stick	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
12	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	13	nsubj	_	_
13	spin	spin	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	acl:relcl	_	_
14	round	round	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
15	in	in	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	wind	wind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	2	punct	_	_
19	in	in	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
20	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
21	UK	UK	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
22	called	call	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
23	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
24	windmill	windmill	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	22	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | participle |  | a toy in the UK *not said here* |  |  |  | of paper or plastic blades on a stick | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |
| 2 | **spin round** | present | a stick |  |  | the wind |  | round *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V PP.trajectory»: agent=Theme in wind=Trajectory |
| 3 | **call** | past | a toy in the UK | a windmill |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent windmill=Recipient |

<!-- .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 -->
A firework that spins round, also called a Catherine wheel.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pinwheel:m2:1
# text = A firework that spins round, also called a Catherine wheel.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	firework	firework	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
4	spins	spin	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
5	round	round	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	also	also	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	Catherine	Catherine	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	wheel	wheel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spin round** | present | a firework |  |  |  |  | round *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **call** | participle · passive |  | a firework |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: subject=Recipient |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A round spiral shape, such as pinwheel sandwiches or biscuits.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pinwheel:m3:1
# text = A round spiral shape, such as pinwheel sandwiches or biscuits.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	round	round	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	spiral	spiral	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	shape	shape	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
6	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=ADP	9	case	_	_
7	as	as	ADP	IN	_	6	fixed	_	_
8	pinwheel	pinwheel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	sandwiches	sandwich	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	parataxis	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	biscuits	biscuit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We made paper pinwheels to see which way the wind blows.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pinwheel:x1:1
# text = We made paper pinwheels to see which way the wind blows.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	paper	paper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	pinwheels	pinwheel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
7	which	which	DET	WDT	PronType=Int	8	det	_	_
8	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	wind	wind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
11	blows	blow	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | We | paper pinwheels |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent pinwheel=Product |
| 2 | **see** | to-infinitive | We *not said here* | which way |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer way=Stimulus |
| 3 | **blow** | present | the wind | which way *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn split-23.2 «NP V NP apart»: agent=Agent way=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
My pinwheel spun faster when I ran.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pinwheel:x2:1
# text = My pinwheel spun faster when I ran.
1	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	pinwheel	pinwheel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	spun	spin	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	faster	fast	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	3	advmod	_	_
5	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	7	advmod	_	_
6	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	ran	run	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spin** | past | My pinwheel |  |  |  |  | fast *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **run** | past | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Catherine wheel firework spun like a pinwheel.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pinwheel:x3:1
# text = The Catherine wheel firework spun like a pinwheel.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	Catherine	Catherine	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
3	wheel	wheel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	firework	firework	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	spun	spin	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
6	like	like	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	pinwheel	pinwheel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spin** | participle |  | the Catherine wheel firework *not said here* |  |  |  | like a pinwheel | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum made pinwheel sandwiches for the party.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pinwheel:x4:1
# text = Mum made pinwheel sandwiches for the party.
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	pinwheel	pinwheel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	sandwiches	sandwich	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	party	party	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 | **make** | past | Mum | pinwheel sandwiches |  |  |  | for the party | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent sandwich=Material for party=Beneficiary |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The galaxy looks like a giant pinwheel.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pinwheel:x5:1
# text = The galaxy looks like a giant pinwheel.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	galaxy	galaxy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	looks	look	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	like	like	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	giant	giant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	pinwheel	pinwheel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **look** | present | the galaxy |  |  |  |  | like a giant pinwheel | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Blow on the pinwheel and watch it turn.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pinwheel:x6:1
# text = Blow on the pinwheel and watch it turn.
1	Blow	blow	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	on	on	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	pinwheel	pinwheel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	watch	watch	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	1	conj	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	turn	turn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **blow** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  | the pinwheel |  |  | vn split-23.2 «NP V apart»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **watch** | infinitive | you *not said here* | pinwheel |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **turn** | infinitive | pinwheel *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=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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