---
title: swiftlet — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «swiftlet» in the school dictionary: A small bird of the swift family living in tropical Asia and Australia, many of which nest in caves and find their way in the dark with clicking sounds (echolocation). Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# swiftlet

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** swift family, small bird, Swiftlets, swiftlet, cave · **What happens:** live, nest, find, click, build, make · **To what, where:** tropical Asia, caves, way, dark, walls, nests

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A small bird of the swift family living in tropical Asia and Australia, many of which nest in caves and find their way in the dark with clicking sounds (echolocation).

<!-- fold The tree, 30 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swiftlet:m1:1
# text = A small bird of the swift family living in tropical Asia and Australia, many of which nest in caves and find their way in the dark with clicking sounds (echolocation).
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nsubj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	swift	swift	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	family	family	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
8	living	live	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	acl	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	tropical	tropical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	Asia	Asia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	Australia	Australia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
15	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	nsubj	_	_
16	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	15	nmod	_	_
18	nest	nest	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
19	in	in	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
20	caves	cave	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	obl	_	_
21	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	22	cc	_	_
22	find	find	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	18	conj	_	_
23	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	24	nmod:poss	_	_
24	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obj	_	_
25	in	in	ADP	IN	_	27	case	_	_
26	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	27	det	_	_
27	dark	dark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obl	_	_
28	with	with	ADP	IN	_	30	case	_	_
29	clicking	clicking	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	30	compound	_	_
30	sounds	sound	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	27	nmod	_	_
31	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	32	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
32	echolocation	echolocation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	30	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	32	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
34	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	18	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **live** | gerund | the swift family *not said here* |  |  | tropical Asia and Australia |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in asia=Location |
| 2 | **nest** | present | a small bird of the swift family |  |  | caves |  |  | vn berry-13.7 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **find** | present | a small bird of the swift family *not said here* | caves's way |  | the dark with clicking sounds and echolocation |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent way=Topic |

<!-- .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 -->
Swiftlets nest high on the walls of dark caves.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swiftlet:x1:1
# text = Swiftlets nest high on the walls of dark caves.
1	Swiftlets	swiftlet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	nest	nest	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	high	high	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	2	advmod	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	walls	wall	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	dark	dark	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	caves	cave	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **nest** | present | Swiftlets |  |  | the walls of dark caves |  | high *property* | vn berry-13.7 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A swiftlet clicks to find its way in the dark.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swiftlet:x2:1
# text = A swiftlet clicks to find its way in the dark.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	swiftlet	swiftlet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	clicks	click	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	find	find	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	dark	dark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **click** | present | a swiftlet |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **find** | to-infinitive | a swiftlet *not said here* | swiftlet's way |  | the dark |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent way=Topic |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Some swiftlets build nests from their own spit.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swiftlet:x3:1
# text = Some swiftlets build nests from their own spit.
1	Some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	2	det	_	_
2	swiftlets	swiftlet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	build	build	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	nests	nest	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
7	own	own	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	spit	spit	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 | **build** | present | some swiftlets | nests |  | swiftlets's own spit |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V PP»: agent=Asset nest=Product from spit=Material |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Bird's nest soup is made from swiftlet nests.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swiftlet:x4:1
# text = Bird's nest soup is made from swiftlet nests.
1	Bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	's	PART	POS	_	1	case	_	_
3	nest	nest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	soup	soup	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj:pass	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux:pass	_	_
6	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
7	from	from	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	swiftlet	swiftlet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	nests	nest	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present · passive |  | Bird's nest soup |  | swiftlet nests |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V PP»: subject=Product from nest=Material |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Swiftlets catch insects while flying.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swiftlet:x5:1
# text = Swiftlets catch insects while flying.
1	Swiftlets	swiftlet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	catch	catch	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	insects	insect	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	while	while	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
5	flying	fly	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **catch** | present | Swiftlets | insects |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent insect=Theme |
| 2 | **fly** | gerund | Swiftlets *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cave was full of the sound of swiftlets.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:swiftlet:x6:1
# text = The cave was full of the sound of swiftlets.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cave	cave	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	swiftlets	swiftlet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the cave |  |  |  |  | of the sound of swiftlets; full *property* | tree rules |

<!-- 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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