---
title: pipistrelle — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «pipistrelle» in the school dictionary: A pipistrelle is a very small bat, the commonest kind of bat in Britain and much of Europe. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# pipistrelle

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** pipistrelle, We, Pipistrelles, law · **What happens:** be, fit, eat, use, hear, fly · **To what, where:** small bat, matchbox, thousands, thousand insects, bat detector, pipistrelles

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A pipistrelle is a very small bat, the commonest kind of bat in Britain and much of Europe.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pipistrelle:m1:1
# text = A pipistrelle is a very small bat, the commonest kind of bat in Britain and much of Europe.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	pipistrelle	pipistrelle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
5	very	very	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	bat	bat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	commonest	common	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	11	amod	_	_
11	kind	kind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	appos	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	bat	bat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	_
14	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	Britain	Britain	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	much	much	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	conj	_	_
18	of	of	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
19	Europe	Europe	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	17	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a pipistrelle | a small bat |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- .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 pipistrelle is so small it could fit in a matchbox, and it eats thousands of tiny insects in a night.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pipistrelle:m2:1
# text = A pipistrelle is so small it could fit in a matchbox, and it eats thousands of tiny insects in a night.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	pipistrelle	pipistrelle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	so	so	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
7	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	fit	fit	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	parataxis	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	matchbox	matchbox	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
14	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
15	eats	eat	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
16	thousands	thousand	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	obj	_	_
17	of	of	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	tiny	tiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	insects	insect	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	nmod	_	_
20	in	in	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
21	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a pipistrelle |  |  |  |  | small *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **fit** | could | pipistrelle |  |  | a matchbox |  |  | vn funnel-9.3-1 «NP V NP PP.trajectory»: agent=Agent in matchbox=Trajectory |
| 3 | **eat** | present | pipistrelle | thousands of tiny insects |  |  | night |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent thousand=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A pipistrelle can eat three thousand insects in one night.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pipistrelle:x1:1
# text = A pipistrelle can eat three thousand insects in one night.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	pipistrelle	pipistrelle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	eat	eat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	6	compound	_	_
6	thousand	thousand	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	7	nummod	_	_
7	insects	insect	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	10	nummod	_	_
10	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **eat** | can | a pipistrelle | thousand insects |  |  | night |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent insect=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We used a bat detector to hear the pipistrelles.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pipistrelle:x2:1
# text = We used a bat detector to hear the pipistrelles.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	used	use	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	bat	bat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	detector	detector	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	hear	hear	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	pipistrelles	pipistrelle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | past | We | a bat detector |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent detector=Patient |
| 2 | **hear** | to-infinitive | We *not said here* | the pipistrelles |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer pipistrelle=Stimulus |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The pipistrelle flew around the streetlight catching moths.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pipistrelle:x3:1
# text = The pipistrelle flew around the streetlight catching moths.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	pipistrelle	pipistrelle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	flew	fly	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	around	around	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	streetlight	streetlight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	catching	catch	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	_
8	moths	moth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fly** | past | the pipistrelle |  |  | the streetlight |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme around streetlight=Location |
| 2 | **catch** | gerund | the pipistrelle *not said here* | moths |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent moth=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Pipistrelles roost in roofs and old trees.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pipistrelle:x4:1
# text = Pipistrelles roost in roofs and old trees.
1	Pipistrelles	pipistrelle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	roost	roost	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	roofs	roof	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
6	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	trees	tree	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **roost** | present | Pipistrelles |  |  | roofs and old trees |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in roof=Location |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A pipistrelle weighs less than a pound coin.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pipistrelle:x5:1
# text = A pipistrelle weighs less than a pound coin.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	pipistrelle	pipistrelle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	weighs	weigh	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	less	less	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	3	obj	_	_
5	than	than	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	pound	pound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	coin	coin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **weigh** | present | a pipistrelle | less |  |  |  |  | vn register-54.1-2-1 «NP V NP.value»: agent=Theme less=Value |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Bats like the pipistrelle are protected by law in Britain.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:pipistrelle:x6:1
# text = Bats like the pipistrelle are protected by law in Britain.
1	Bats	bat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	like	like	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	pipistrelle	pipistrelle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
5	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux:pass	_	_
6	protected	protect	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
7	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	law	law	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	Britain	Britain	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **protect** | present · passive | law | Bats like the pipistrelle |  | Britain |  |  | vn defend-72.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Beneficiary |

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**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.

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