---
title: roadrunner — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «roadrunner» in the school dictionary: A roadrunner is a fast bird of the deserts of the south-western USA and Mexico that prefers to run rather than fly. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# roadrunner

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** roadrunner, fast bird, Road Runner, cartoon bird, Roadrunners, It · **What happens:** be, prefer, run, fly, escape, name · **To what, where:** fast bird, cartoon bird, character, roadrunner, desert road, small rattlesnakes

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A roadrunner is a fast bird of the deserts of the south-western USA and Mexico that prefers to run rather than fly.

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:roadrunner:m1:1
# text = A roadrunner is a fast bird of the deserts of the south-western USA and Mexico that prefers to run rather than fly.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	roadrunner	roadrunner	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	fast	fast	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	deserts	desert	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
12	south	south	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	western	western	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	USA	USA	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	Mexico	Mexico	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	15	conj	_	_
18	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	19	nsubj	_	_
19	prefers	prefer	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
20	to	to	PART	TO	_	21	mark	_	_
21	run	run	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	19	xcomp	_	_
22	rather	rather	ADV	RB	ExtPos=CCONJ	24	cc	_	_
23	than	than	ADP	IN	_	22	fixed	_	_
24	fly	fly	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	21	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a roadrunner | a fast bird |  |  |  | of the deserts of the western USA and Mexico | tree rules |
| 2 | **prefer** | present | a fast bird |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 3 | **run** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | a fast bird *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **fly** | infinitive | a fast bird *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- .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 -->
The Road Runner is a cartoon bird who always escapes from a hungry coyote (a name of a character).

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:roadrunner:m2:1
# text = The Road Runner is a cartoon bird who always escapes from a hungry coyote (a name of a character).
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	Road	Road	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	Runner	Runner	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	cartoon	cartoon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
9	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	10	advmod	_	_
10	escapes	escape	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
11	from	from	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	hungry	hungry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	coyote	coyote	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
15	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	name	name	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	appos	_	_
18	of	of	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	character	character	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the Road Runner | a cartoon bird |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **escape** | present | a cartoon bird |  |  |  |  | from a hungry coyote; always *property* | vn escape-51.1-1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from coyote=Initial\_Location |
| 3 | **name** |  |  | a character |  |  |  |  | nom name «communication transitive»: of=patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A roadrunner dashed across the desert road in front of our car.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:roadrunner:x1:1
# text = A roadrunner dashed across the desert road in front of our car.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	roadrunner	roadrunner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	dashed	dash	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	across	across	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	road	road	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	front	front	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dash** | participle |  | a roadrunner *not said here* |  | the desert road in front of our car |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme across road=Trajectory |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Roadrunners can catch and eat small rattlesnakes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:roadrunner:x2:1
# text = Roadrunners can catch and eat small rattlesnakes.
1	Roadrunners	roadrunner	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	catch	catch	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	eat	eat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
6	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	rattlesnakes	rattlesnake	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **catch** | can | Roadrunners |  |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **eat** | infinitive | Roadrunners *not said here* | small rattlesnakes |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent rattlesnake=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The roadrunner is the state bird of New Mexico.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:roadrunner:x3:1
# text = The roadrunner is the state bird of New Mexico.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	roadrunner	roadrunner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	state	state	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	New	New	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	Mexico	Mexico	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the roadrunner | the state bird |  |  |  | of New Mexico | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It can fly, but it would rather run.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:roadrunner:x4:1
# text = It can fly, but it would rather run.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	fly	fly	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
5	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
7	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
8	rather	rather	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	run	run	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fly** | can | It |  |  |  |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **run** | would | it |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the cartoon, the coyote never catches the Road Runner.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:roadrunner:x5:1
# text = In the cartoon, the coyote never catches the Road Runner.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	cartoon	cartoon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	coyote	coyote	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
7	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	8	advmod	_	_
8	catches	catch	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	Road	Road	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	Runner	Runner	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **catch** | present | the coyote | the Road Runner |  | the cartoon |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent runner=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Roadrunners sunbathe in the morning to warm up after cold desert nights.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:roadrunner:x6:1
# text = Roadrunners sunbathe in the morning to warm up after cold desert nights.
1	Roadrunners	roadrunner	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sunbathe	sunbathe	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	morning	morning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	warm	warm	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
8	up	up	ADP	RP	_	7	compound:prt	_	_
9	after	after	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	cold	cold	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
11	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	nights	night	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sunbathe** | present | Roadrunners |  |  |  | morning |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **warm up** | to-infinitive | Roadrunners *not said here* |  |  |  | night |  | vn cooking-45.3 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our class drew a desert food chain with a roadrunner in it.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:roadrunner:x7:1
# text = Our class drew a desert food chain with a roadrunner in it.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	drew	draw	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
5	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
6	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	chain	chain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	roadrunner	roadrunner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **draw** | past | Our class | a desert food chain |  |  |  | with a roadrunner in roadrunner | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent chain=Theme |

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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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