---
title: predation — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «predation» in the school dictionary: Predation is when one animal (a predator) hunts, kills and eats another animal (its prey). Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# predation

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Predation, Camouflage, insects, foxes, Wolves, Living · **What happens:** be, kill, eat, help, avoid, nest · **To what, where:** animal, predation, danger, deer numbers, herds, zebras

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Predation is when one animal (a predator) hunts, kills and eats another animal (its prey).

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:predation:m1:1
# text = Predation is when one animal (a predator) hunts, kills and eats another animal (its prey).
1	Predation	predation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj:outer	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
3	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	10	mark	_	_
4	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
6	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	predator	predator	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	8	punct	_	_
10	hunts	hunt	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	kills	kill	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	conj	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	eats	eat	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	conj	_	_
15	another	another	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	16	det	_	_
16	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	_
17	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	19	nmod:poss	_	_
19	prey	prey	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Predation |  |  |  |  | hunt *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **kill** | present | Predation *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 3 | **eat** | present | Predation *not said here* | another animal |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent animal=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.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Camouflage helps insects avoid predation.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:predation:x1:1
# text = Camouflage helps insects avoid predation.
1	Camouflage	camouflage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	helps	help	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	insects	insect	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	avoid	avoid	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	predation	predation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **help** | present | Camouflage |  |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **avoid** | infinitive | insects | predation |  |  |  |  | vn avoid-52 «NP V NP.location»: agent=Agent predation=Location |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Predation by foxes is a danger to ground-nesting birds.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:predation:x2:1
# text = Predation by foxes is a danger to ground-nesting birds.
1	Predation	predation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
2	by	by	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	foxes	fox	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	nmod	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	danger	danger	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	to	to	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
8	ground	ground	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	nesting	nest	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	11	amod	_	_
11	birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Predation by foxes | a danger |  |  |  | to nesting birds | tree rules |
| 2 | **nest** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn berry-13.7 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **predate** |  | foxes |  |  |  |  |  | nom predation «act transitive»: by=agent |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Wolves control deer numbers through predation.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:predation:x3:1
# text = Wolves control deer numbers through predation.
1	Wolves	wolf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	control	control	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	deer	deer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	compound	_	_
4	numbers	number	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	through	through	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	predation	predation	NOUN	NN	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 | **control** | present | Wolves | deer numbers |  | predation |  |  | vn enforce-63 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent number=Theme |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Living in herds protects zebras from predation.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:predation:x4:1
# text = Living in herds protects zebras from predation.
1	Living	live	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	csubj	_	_
2	in	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	herds	herd	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obl	_	_
4	protects	protect	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	zebras	zebra	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
6	from	from	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	predation	predation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **live** | gerund |  |  |  | herds |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in herd=Location |
| 2 | **protect** | present | Living |  | zebras |  |  | from predation | vn defend-72.3 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent zebra=Beneficiary from predation=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Rats on the island caused heavy predation of seabird eggs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:predation:x5:1
# text = Rats on the island caused heavy predation of seabird eggs.
1	Rats	rat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
2	on	on	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	island	island	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
5	caused	cause	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	heavy	heavy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	predation	predation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	seabird	seabird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	eggs	egg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cause** | past | Rats on the island | heavy predation of seabird eggs |  |  |  |  | vn engender-27.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition predation=Patient |
| 2 | **predate** |  |  | seabird eggs |  |  |  |  | nom predation «act transitive»: of=patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Predation is part of every food chain.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:predation:x6:1
# text = Predation is part of every food chain.
1	Predation	predation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	part	part	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	7	det	_	_
6	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	chain	chain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Predation | part |  |  |  | of every food chain | tree rules |

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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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