---
title: reef — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «reef» in the school dictionary: A reef is a long ridge of rock, sand or coral just under or at the surface of the sea. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# reef

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** reef, tiny sea animals, Great Barrier Reef, Clownfish, ship, Coral reefs · **What happens:** be, build, call, mean, roll, tie up · **To what, where:** long ridge, coral reef, corals, part, sail, anemones · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A reef is a long ridge of rock, sand or coral just under or at the surface of the sea.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reef:m1:1
# text = A reef is a long ridge of rock, sand or coral just under or at the surface of the sea.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	reef	reef	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	ridge	ridge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	rock	rock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	sand	sand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	coral	coral	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	_
13	just	just	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
14	under	under	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
16	at	at	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	surface	surface	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
19	of	of	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
20	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
21	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a reef | a long ridge or the surface of the sea |  |  |  | of rock and sand or coral | 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 coral reef is built over many years by tiny sea animals called corals and is home to huge numbers of fish and other sea creatures.

<!-- fold The tree, 26 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reef:m2:1
# text = A coral reef is built over many years by tiny sea animals called corals and is home to huge numbers of fish and other sea creatures.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	coral	coral	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	reef	reef	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	built	build	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	over	over	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
9	by	by	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	tiny	tiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
11	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
13	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	12	acl	_	_
14	corals	coral	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	xcomp	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
16	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	20	cop	_	_
17	home	home	ADV	RB	_	20	advmod	_	_
18	to	to	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	huge	huge	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	amod	_	_
20	numbers	number	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	conj	_	_
21	of	of	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
22	fish	fish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nmod	_	_
23	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	26	cc	_	_
24	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	26	amod	_	_
25	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	compound	_	_
26	creatures	creature	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	22	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **build** | present · passive | tiny sea animals | a coral reef |  |  | year |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Product |
| 2 | **call** | participle | tiny sea animals *not said here* | corals |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is** | present | tiny sea animals *not said here* |  |  |  |  | to huge numbers; of fish and other sea creatures; home *property* | tree rules |

## Meaning 3 {#m3}

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To reef a sail means to roll or tie up part of it to make it smaller in strong wind.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reef:m3:1
# text = To reef a sail means to roll or tie up part of it to make it smaller in strong wind.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	reef	reef	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	sail	sail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	roll	roll	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	tie	tie	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	conj	_	_
10	up	up	ADP	RP	_	9	compound:prt	_	_
11	part	part	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nmod	_	_
14	to	to	PART	TO	_	15	mark	_	_
15	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	advcl	_	_
16	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	obj	_	_
17	smaller	small	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	15	xcomp	_	_
18	in	in	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	strong	strong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	amod	_	_
20	wind	wind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | reef |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **roll** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | reef *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **tie up** | infinitive | reef *not said here* | part of sail |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent part=Patient |
| 4 | **make** | to-infinitive | reef *not said here* | sail |  |  |  | small *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset it=Product |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Great Barrier Reef is off the coast of Queensland, Australia.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reef:x1:1
# text = The Great Barrier Reef is off the coast of Queensland, Australia.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	Great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	Barrier	Barrier	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	Reef	Reef	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
6	off	off	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	coast	coast	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	Queensland	Queensland	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	Australia	Australia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the Great Barrier Reef |  |  |  |  | off the coast; of Queensland and Australia | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Clownfish hide in the anemones on the reef.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reef:x2:1
# text = Clownfish hide in the anemones on the reef.
1	Clownfish	clownfish	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	hide	hide	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	anemones	anemone	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	reef	reef	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hide** | present | Clownfish |  |  | the anemones |  | on the reef | vn concealment-16-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent in anemone=Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The ship hit a reef and sank.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reef:x3:1
# text = The ship hit a reef and sank.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	ship	ship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	hit	hit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	reef	reef	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	sank	sink	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hit** | past | the ship | a reef |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme reef=Co-Theme |
| 2 | **sink** | past | the ship *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Coral reefs are full of colourful fish.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reef:x4:1
# text = Coral reefs are full of colourful fish.
1	Coral	coral	NOUN	NN	_	2	compound	_	_
2	reefs	reef	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	colourful	colourful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	fish	fish	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 | **is** | present | Coral reefs |  |  |  |  | of colourful fish; full *property* | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Warm water can make the reef turn white.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reef:x5:1
# text = Warm water can make the reef turn white.
1	Warm	warm	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	reef	reef	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	turn	turn	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	xcomp	_	_
8	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | can | Warm water | the reef |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **turn** | present | the reef *not said here* |  |  |  |  | white *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Divers must not touch or break the coral reef.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reef:x6:1
# text = Divers must not touch or break the coral reef.
1	Divers	diver	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	touch	touch	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	break	break	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	coral	coral	NOUN	NN	_	9	compound	_	_
9	reef	reef	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **touch** | must | Divers |  |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **break** | infinitive | Divers *not said here* | the coral reef |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer reef=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The sailors reefed the sails as the storm grew stronger.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:reef:x7:1
# text = The sailors reefed the sails as the storm grew stronger.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sailors	sailor	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	reefed	reef	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	sails	sail	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	storm	storm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	grew	grow	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
10	stronger	strong	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	9	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **reef** | past | the sailors | the sails |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **grow** | past | the storm |  |  |  |  | strong *property* | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP 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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