---
title: planetesimal — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «planetesimal» in the school dictionary: A planetesimal is a small solid lump of rock, dust or ice, from a few metres to a few kilometres across, that moved around a young star; scientists think many of them crashed and stuck together to build planets. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency t
---

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# planetesimal

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** planetesimal, that, scientists, many, Planets, asteroids · **What happens:** be, move, think, crash, stick together, build · **To what, where:** small solid lump, few metres, young star, planets, millions, leftover planetesimals · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A planetesimal is a small solid lump of rock, dust or ice, from a few metres to a few kilometres across, that moved around a young star; scientists think many of them crashed and stuck together to build planets.

<!-- fold The tree, 39 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:planetesimal:m1:1
# text = A planetesimal is a small solid lump of rock, dust or ice, from a few metres to a few kilometres across, that moved around a young star; scientists think many of them crashed and stuck together to build planets.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	planetesimal	planetesimal	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	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
6	solid	solid	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	lump	lump	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	rock	rock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
11	dust	dust	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	_
12	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	ice	ice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
15	from	from	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
17	few	few	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	metres	metre	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl:unmarked	_	_
19	to	to	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
20	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
21	few	few	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	22	amod	_	_
22	kilometres	kilometre	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	nmod	_	_
23	across	across	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	26	punct	_	_
25	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	26	nsubj	_	_
26	moved	move	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	parataxis	_	_
27	around	around	ADP	IN	_	30	case	_	_
28	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	30	det	_	_
29	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	30	amod	_	_
30	star	star	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
31	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	33	punct	_	_
32	scientists	scientist	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	33	nsubj	_	_
33	think	think	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	26	conj	_	_
34	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	37	nsubj	_	_
35	of	of	ADP	IN	_	36	case	_	_
36	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	34	nmod	_	_
37	crashed	crash	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	33	ccomp	_	_
38	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	39	cc	_	_
39	stuck	stick	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	37	conj	_	_
40	together	together	ADV	RB	_	39	advmod	_	_
41	to	to	PART	TO	_	42	mark	_	_
42	build	build	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	39	xcomp	_	_
43	planets	planet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	42	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
44	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a planetesimal | a small solid lump |  | a few metres to a few kilometres |  | of rock and dust or ice | tree rules |
| 2 | **move** | past | that |  |  | a young star |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V PP.trajectory»: agent=Theme around star=Trajectory |
| 3 | **think** *speech: other* | present | scientists |  |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 4 | **crash** | past | many of scientists |  |  |  |  |  | vn break-45.1 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 5 | **stick together** | past | many of scientists *not said here* |  |  |  |  | together *property* | tree rules |
| 6 | **build** | to-infinitive | many of scientists *not said here* | planets |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset planet=Product |

<!-- .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.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Planets formed from millions of planetesimals.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:planetesimal:x1:1
# text = Planets formed from millions of planetesimals.
1	Planets	planet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	formed	form	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
3	from	from	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	millions	million	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	planetesimals	planetesimal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **form** | participle | Planets |  |  | millions of planetesimals |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A planetesimal is like a building block of a planet.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:planetesimal:x2:1
# text = A planetesimal is like a building block of a planet.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	planetesimal	planetesimal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	like	like	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	building	building	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	block	block	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	planet	planet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a planetesimal |  |  |  |  | like a building block; of a planet | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Some asteroids may be leftover planetesimals.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:planetesimal:x3:1
# text = Some asteroids may be leftover planetesimals.
1	Some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	2	det	_	_
2	asteroids	asteroid	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
3	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	cop	_	_
5	leftover	leftover	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	planetesimals	planetesimal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | may | some asteroids | leftover planetesimals |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The planetesimals bumped and stuck together.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:planetesimal:x4:1
# text = The planetesimals bumped and stuck together.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	planetesimals	planetesimal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	bumped	bump	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	stuck	stick	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
6	together	together	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bump** | past | the planetesimals |  |  |  |  |  | vn bump-18.4-1 «NP V together»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **stick together** | past | the planetesimals *not said here* |  |  |  |  | together *property* | vn shake-22.3-2 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Patient |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Scientists study planetesimals to learn how Earth formed.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:planetesimal:x5:1
# text = Scientists study planetesimals to learn how Earth formed.
1	Scientists	scientist	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	study	study	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	planetesimals	planetesimal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	learn	learn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
6	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	8	advmod	_	_
7	Earth	Earth	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	formed	form	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **study** | present | Scientists | planetesimals |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent planetesimal=Topic |
| 2 | **learn** | to-infinitive | Scientists *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **form** | past | Earth |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Earth may have grown from planetesimals crashing together.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:planetesimal:x6:1
# text = Earth may have grown from planetesimals crashing together.
1	Earth	Earth	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	have	have	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	aux	_	_
4	grown	grow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	planetesimals	planetesimal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
7	crashing	crash	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	acl	_	_
8	together	together	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow** | may · perfect | Earth |  |  |  |  | from planetesimals | vn grow-26.2.1 «NP V NP.product PP.patient»: agent=Agent from planetesimal=Patient |
| 2 | **crash** | gerund | planetesimals *not said here* |  |  |  |  | together *property* | vn break-45.1 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

<!-- 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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