---
title: piranha — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «piranha» in the school dictionary: A piranha is a South American river fish with very sharp, triangle-shaped teeth that eats meat as well as plants and fruit. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# piranha

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** piranha, that, fierce greedy person, others, Piranhas, teeth · **What happens:** be, shape, eat, describe, attack, get · **To what, where:** South American river fish, meat, fierce greedy person, others, Amazon River, piranha

<!-- .vabout -->
«piranha» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 7 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: [piranha in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/piranha.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A piranha is a South American river fish with very sharp, triangle-shaped teeth that eats meat as well as plants and fruit.

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piranha:m1:1
# text = A piranha is a South American river fish with very sharp, triangle-shaped teeth that eats meat as well as plants and fruit.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	piranha	piranha	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
5	South	South	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
6	American	American	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
7	river	river	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	fish	fish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	with	with	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
10	very	very	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	sharp	sharp	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
13	triangle	triangle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	shaped	shape	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	16	amod	_	_
16	teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nmod	_	_
17	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	18	nsubj	_	_
18	eats	eat	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	parataxis	_	_
19	meat	meat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obj	_	_
20	as	as	ADV	RB	ExtPos=CCONJ	23	cc	_	_
21	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	20	fixed	_	_
22	as	as	ADP	IN	_	20	fixed	_	_
23	plants	plant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	conj	_	_
24	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	25	cc	_	_
25	fruit	fruit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a piranha | a South American river fish |  |  |  | with sharp shaped teeth | tree rules |
| 2 | **shape** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |
| 3 | **eat** | present | that | meat |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent meat=Patient |

<!-- .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 — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A piranha can describe a fierce, greedy person who attacks others to get what they want.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piranha:m2:1
# text = A piranha can describe a fierce, greedy person who attacks others to get what they want.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	piranha	piranha	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	describe	describe	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
6	fierce	fierce	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
8	greedy	greedy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
10	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
11	attacks	attack	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	acl:relcl	_	_
12	others	other	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obj	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	get	get	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	advcl	_	_
15	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	17	obj	_	_
16	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
17	want	want	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **describe** | can | a piranha | a fierce greedy person |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent person=Theme |
| 2 | **attack** | present | a fierce greedy person | others |  |  |  |  | vn attack-60.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent other=Patient |
| 3 | **get** | to-infinitive | a fierce greedy person *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 4 | **want** | present | others *= other* |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot what=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Piranhas live in the Amazon River.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piranha:x1:1
# text = Piranhas live in the Amazon River.
1	Piranhas	piranha	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	live	live	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	Amazon	Amazon	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	River	River	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **live** | present | Piranhas |  |  | the Amazon River |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in river=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A piranha's teeth fit together like scissors.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piranha:x2:1
# text = A piranha's teeth fit together like scissors.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	piranha	piranha	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
5	fit	fit	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	together	together	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
7	like	like	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	scissors	scissors	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fit together** | present | a piranha's teeth |  |  |  |  | like scissors; together *property* | vn adjust-26.9 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The fishermen pulled a piranha out of the river.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piranha:x3:1
# text = The fishermen pulled a piranha out of the river.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fishermen	fisherman	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	pulled	pull	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	piranha	piranha	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	out	out	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	river	river	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pull** | past | the fishermen | a piranha |  | the river |  |  | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP PP.initial\_location»: agent=Agent piranha=Theme out river=Initial\_Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Piranhas usually swim in shoals for safety.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piranha:x4:1
# text = Piranhas usually swim in shoals for safety.
1	Piranhas	piranha	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	usually	usually	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	swim	swim	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	shoals	shoal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	safety	safety	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 | **swim** | present | Piranhas |  |  | shoals |  | for safety; usually *property* | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in shoal=Trajectory |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Some piranhas eat mostly seeds and fruit.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piranha:x5:1
# text = Some piranhas eat mostly seeds and fruit.
1	Some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	2	det	_	_
2	piranhas	piranha	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	eat	eat	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	mostly	mostly	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	seeds	seed	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	fruit	fruit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **eat** | present | some piranhas | seeds and fruit |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent seed=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the film the piranhas ate everything in seconds, but that is not true to life.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piranha:x6:1
# text = In the film the piranhas ate everything in seconds, but that is not true to life.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	film	film	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	piranhas	piranha	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
6	ate	eat	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	everything	everything	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	6	obj	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	seconds	second	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
11	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
12	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	15	nsubj	_	_
13	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
14	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	15	advmod	_	_
15	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	_
16	to	to	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **eat** | past | the piranhas | everything |  | the film | second |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent everything=Patient |
| 2 | **not** **is** | present | that |  |  |  |  | to life; true *property* | tree rules |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The reporters were like piranhas, all shouting questions at once.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:piranha:x7:1
# text = The reporters were like piranhas, all shouting questions at once.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	reporters	reporter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	like	like	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	piranhas	piranha	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	8	nsubj	_	_
8	shouting	shout	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	acl	_	_
9	questions	question	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	_
10	at	at	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the reporters |  |  |  |  | like piranhas | tree rules |
| 2 | **shout** *speech: express* | gerund | all | questions |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent question=Topic |

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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.

<!-- /div -->

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