---
title: tadpole — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «tadpole» in the school dictionary: A tadpole is a young frog or toad that has just hatched from an egg; it lives in water, has a tail and breathes with gills. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# tadpole

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** tadpole, We, tadpoles, Frogspawn, tail, Brer · **What happens:** be, hatch, live, have, breathe, mean · **To what, where:** young frog, toad, water, tail, small child, tadpoles

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A tadpole is a young frog or toad that has just hatched from an egg; it lives in water, has a tail and breathes with gills.

<!-- fold The tree, 26 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tadpole:m1:1
# text = A tadpole is a young frog or toad that has just hatched from an egg; it lives in water, has a tail and breathes with gills.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	tadpole	tadpole	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	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	frog	frog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	toad	toad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
9	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	12	nsubj:pass	_	_
10	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
11	just	just	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
12	hatched	hatch	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	acl:relcl	_	_
13	from	from	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	egg	egg	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
17	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
18	lives	live	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	parataxis	_	_
19	in	in	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
20	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
22	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	18	conj	_	_
23	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
24	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obj	_	_
25	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	26	cc	_	_
26	breathes	breathe	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	22	conj	_	_
27	with	with	ADP	IN	_	28	case	_	_
28	gills	gill	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	26	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a tadpole | a young frog or toad |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **hatch** | present · perfect · passive |  | toad |  |  |  | from a egg | vn grow-26.2.1 «NP V NP.product PP.patient»: subject=Product from egg=Patient |
| 3 | **live** | present | tadpole |  |  | water |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in water=Location |
| 4 | **have** | present | tadpole *not said here* | a tail |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tail=Patient |
| 5 | **breathe** | present | tadpole *not said here* |  |  |  |  | with gills | vn breathe-40.1.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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 -->
Informally, a tadpole can mean a very small child.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tadpole:m2:1
# text = Informally, a tadpole can mean a very small child.
1	Informally	informally	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	tadpole	tadpole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
8	very	very	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	child	child	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can | a tadpole | a small child |  |  |  | informally *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent child=Topic |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We saw tadpoles swimming in the pond.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tadpole:x1:1
# text = We saw tadpoles swimming in the pond.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	saw	see	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	tadpoles	tadpole	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	swimming	swim	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	acl	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	pond	pond	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **see** | past | We | tadpoles |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer tadpole=Stimulus |
| 2 | **swim** | gerund | tadpoles *not said here* |  |  | the pond |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in pond=Trajectory |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A tadpole turns into a frog.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tadpole:x2:1
# text = A tadpole turns into a frog.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	tadpole	tadpole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	turns	turn	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	into	into	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	frog	frog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **turn** | present | a tadpole |  |  |  |  | into a frog *result* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V PP.result»: agent=Theme into frog=Result |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tadpoles breathe with gills.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tadpole:x3:1
# text = Tadpoles breathe with gills.
1	Tadpoles	tadpole	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	breathe	breathe	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	with	with	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	gills	gill	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **breathe** | present | Tadpoles |  |  |  |  | with gills | vn breathe-40.1.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The tadpole grew back legs first.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tadpole:x4:1
# text = The tadpole grew back legs first.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	tadpole	tadpole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	grew	grow	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	back	back	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	legs	leg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow back** | past | the tadpole | legs |  |  |  | first *property* | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location leg=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Frogspawn hatches into tadpoles.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tadpole:x5:1
# text = Frogspawn hatches into tadpoles.
1	Frogspawn	Frogspawn	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	hatches	hatch	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	into	into	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	tadpoles	tadpole	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hatch** | present | Frogspawn |  |  |  |  | into tadpoles | vn grow-26.2.1 «NP V NP.patient PP.product»: agent=Agent into tadpole=Product |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We kept tadpoles in a tank at school and let them go as frogs.

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tadpole:x6:1
# text = We kept tadpoles in a tank at school and let them go as frogs.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	kept	keep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	tadpoles	tadpole	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	tank	tank	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	let	let	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	conj	_	_
11	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	obj	_	_
12	go	go	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	xcomp	_	_
13	as	as	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	frogs	frog	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | past | We | tadpoles |  | a tank |  | at school | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent tadpole=Theme in tank=Location |
| 2 | **let** | infinitive | We *not said here* | tadpoles *= tadpole* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **go** | infinitive | tadpoles *= tadpole* *not said here* |  |  |  |  | as frogs | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tadpoles eat tiny plants in the water.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tadpole:x7:1
# text = Tadpoles eat tiny plants in the water.
1	Tadpoles	tadpole	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	eat	eat	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	tiny	tiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	plants	plant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **eat** | present | Tadpoles | tiny plants |  | the water |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent plant=Patient |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The tadpole's tail slowly disappeared.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tadpole:x8:1
# text = The tadpole's tail slowly disappeared.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	tadpole	tadpole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	slowly	slowly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	disappeared	disappear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **disappear** | past | the tadpole's tail |  |  |  |  | slowly *property* | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Brer Possum, he got his belly full er 'simmons, en Brer Coon, he scoop up a 'bunnunce er frogs en tadpoles.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tadpole:x9:1
# text = Brer Possum, he got his belly full er 'simmons, en Brer Coon, he scoop up a 'bunnunce er frogs en tadpoles.
1	Brer	Brer	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	Possum	Possum	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	1	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	got	get	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	belly	belly	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
8	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	er	er	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	appos	_	_
10	'	'	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	simmons	simmon	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
13	en	en	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod:desc	_	_
14	Brer	Brer	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	_
15	Coon	Coon	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	14	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
17	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
18	scoop	scoop	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
19	up	up	ADP	RP	_	18	compound:prt	_	_
20	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	26	det	_	_
21	'	'	PUNCT	``	_	24	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	bunnunce	bunnunce	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	compound	_	_
23	er	er	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	24	compound	_	_
24	frogs	frog	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	26	nsubj	_	_
25	en	en	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	26	amod	_	_
26	tadpoles	tadpole	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** | past | Brer | belly simmons  Brer  en |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer simmon=Stimulus |
| 2 | **scoop up** | infinitive | Brer |  |  |  |  |  | vn funnel-9.3 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **tadpole** |  | er frogs |  |  |  |  |  | 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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