---
title: snail — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «snail» in the school dictionary: A snail is a small, slow animal with a soft, slimy body and a spiral shell on its back that lives on land or in water. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# snail

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** snail, back, Snails, traffic, Grandma · **What happens:** be, live, describe, leave, pull, eat · **To what, where:** small slow animal, land, something, silvery trail, path, head · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
«snail» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 9 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: [snail in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/snail.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A snail is a small, slow animal with a soft, slimy body and a spiral shell on its back that lives on land or in water.

<!-- fold The tree, 26 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:snail:m1:1
# text = A snail is a small, slow animal with a soft, slimy body and a spiral shell on its back that lives on land or in water.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	snail	snail	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	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
7	slow	slow	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	with	with	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
11	soft	soft	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
13	slimy	slimy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	body	body	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
17	spiral	spiral	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	shell	shell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	_
19	on	on	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
20	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	21	nmod:poss	_	_
21	back	back	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nmod	_	_
22	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	23	nsubj	_	_
23	lives	live	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	21	acl:relcl	_	_
24	on	on	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
25	land	land	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	obl	_	_
26	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	28	cc	_	_
27	in	in	ADP	IN	_	28	case	_	_
28	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a snail | a small slow animal |  |  |  | with a soft slimy body and a spiral shell on snail's back | tree rules |
| 2 | **live** | present | snail's back |  |  | land or water |  |  | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on land=Location |

<!-- .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 -->
Snail can describe something very slow («at a snail's pace»).

<!-- fold The tree, 11 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:snail:m2:1
# text = Snail can describe something very slow («at a snail's pace»).
1	Snail	snail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	describe	describe	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	3	obj	_	_
5	very	very	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	slow	slow	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
7	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	at	at	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	snail	snail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	's	's	PART	POS	_	11	case	_	_
13	pace	pace	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **describe** | can | Snail | something |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent something=Theme |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A snail left a silvery trail across the path.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:snail:x1:1
# text = A snail left a silvery trail across the path.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	snail	snail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	left	leave	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	silvery	silvery	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	trail	trail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	across	across	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	path	path	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 | **leave** | past | a snail | a silvery trail |  | the path |  |  | vn leave-51.2-1 «NP V NP.initial\_location PP.destination»: agent=Theme trail=Source across path=Destination |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The snail pulled its head into its shell.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:snail:x2:1
# text = The snail pulled its head into its shell.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	snail	snail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	pulled	pull	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	into	into	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	shell	shell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pull** | past | the snail | snail's head |  | snail's shell |  |  | vn push-12-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent head=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Snails ate all our lettuce.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:snail:x3:1
# text = Snails ate all our lettuce.
1	Snails	snail	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	ate	eat	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	5	det:predet	_	_
4	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	lettuce	lettuce	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **eat** | past | Snails | our lettuce |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent lettuce=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The traffic moved at a snail's pace.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:snail:x4:1
# text = The traffic moved at a snail's pace.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	traffic	traffic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	moved	move	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	snail	snail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	pace	pace	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **move** | past | the traffic |  |  |  |  | at a snail's pace | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V PP.trajectory»: agent=Theme at pace=Trajectory |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Snails come out after rain.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:snail:x5:1
# text = Snails come out after rain.
1	Snails	snail	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	come	come	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	out	out	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	after	after	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	rain	rain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come out** | present | Snails |  |  |  | after rain | out *property* | vn become-109.1 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A snail has its eyes on the tips of its tentacles.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:snail:x6:1
# text = A snail has its eyes on the tips of its tentacles.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	snail	snail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	eyes	eye	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	tips	tip	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	tentacles	tentacle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | a snail | snail's eyes |  | the tips of snail's tentacles |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent eye=Patient |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grandma still sends birthday cards by snail mail.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:snail:x7:1
# text = Grandma still sends birthday cards by snail mail.
1	Grandma	grandma	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	still	still	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	sends	send	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	birthday	birthday	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	cards	card	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	snail	snail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	mail	mail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **send** | present | Grandma | birthday cards |  |  | still | by snail mail | vn confine-92-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent card=Theme |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A snail climbs 3 metres a day and slips back 2 at night, so it gains 1 metre each full day.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:snail:x8:1
# text = A snail climbs 3 metres a day and slips back 2 at night, so it gains 1 metre each full day.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	snail	snail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	climbs	climb	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	3	3	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	metres	metre	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl:unmarked	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	slips	slip	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
10	back	back	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
11	2	2	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	9	obj	_	_
12	at	at	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
15	so	so	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
16	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
17	gains	gain	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
18	1	1	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	19	nummod	_	_
19	metre	metre	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	_
20	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	22	det	_	_
21	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	22	amod	_	_
22	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **climb** | present | a snail | 3 metres |  |  | day |  | vn run-51.3.2 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Initial\_Location metre=Theme |
| 2 | **slip back** | present | a snail *not said here* | 2 |  |  | night |  | vn split-23.2 «NP V NP apart»: agent=Agent 2=Patient |
| 3 | **gain** | present | snail | 1 metre |  |  | day |  | vn get-13.5.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent metre=Theme |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"I take my time," said the snail.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:snail:x9:1
# text = "I take my time," said the snail.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	take	take	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	ccomp	_	_
4	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
8	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	snail	snail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** *in a quote* | present | the snail *= snail* |  |  |  | time |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | the snail |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |

<!-- 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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