---
title: tendril — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «tendril» in the school dictionary: A tendril is a thin, curly, thread-like part of a climbing plant that wraps around things to help the plant climb, as on peas, grapes and cucumbers. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tendril/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [dictionaries](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/) / [school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/) / [T](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/) / tendril

# tendril

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** tendril, climbing plant, Grapevines, Tendrils, We, Goat · **What happens:** be, wrap, help, look, curl, climb · **To what, where:** thin curly like part, things, plant climb, thin curl, tendrils, stick

<!-- .vabout -->
«tendril» in the school dictionary: its 2 meanings for a pupil and its 8 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: [tendril in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/tendril.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A tendril is a thin, curly, thread-like part of a climbing plant that wraps around things to help the plant climb, as on peas, grapes and cucumbers.

<!-- fold The tree, 28 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tendril:m1:1
# text = A tendril is a thin, curly, thread-like part of a climbing plant that wraps around things to help the plant climb, as on peas, grapes and cucumbers.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	tendril	tendril	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
5	thin	thin	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
7	curly	curly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
9	thread	thread	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	like	like	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	part	part	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
15	climbing	climbing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	compound	_	_
16	plant	plant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	_
17	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	18	nsubj	_	_
18	wraps	wrap	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	acl:relcl	_	_
19	around	around	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
20	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	obl	_	_
21	to	to	PART	TO	_	22	mark	_	_
22	help	help	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	18	advcl	_	_
23	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	25	det	_	_
24	plant	plant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	compound	_	_
25	climb	climb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	29	punct	_	_
27	as	as	ADP	IN	ExtPos=ADP	29	case	_	_
28	on	on	ADP	IN	_	27	fixed	_	_
29	peas	pea	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	22	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	31	punct	_	_
31	grapes	grape	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	29	conj	_	_
32	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	33	cc	_	_
33	cucumbers	cucumber	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	29	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
34	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a tendril | a thin curly like part |  |  |  | of a climbing plant | tree rules |
| 2 | **wrap** | present | a climbing plant |  |  | things |  |  | vn spray-9.7-1 «NP V PP.destination»: agent=Theme around thing=Destination |
| 3 | **help** | to-infinitive | a climbing plant *not said here* | the plant climb |  |  |  | as peas and grapes and cucumbers | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent climb=Beneficiary |

<!-- .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 tendril can be a thin curl of something that looks like that, such as a tendril of hair or a tendril of smoke.

<!-- fold The tree, 24 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tendril:m2:1
# text = A tendril can be a thin curl of something that looks like that, such as a tendril of hair or a tendril of smoke.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	tendril	tendril	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	thin	thin	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	curl	curl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	7	nmod	_	_
10	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
11	looks	look	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	acl:relcl	_	_
12	like	like	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
15	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=ADP	18	case	_	_
16	as	as	ADP	IN	_	15	fixed	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	tendril	tendril	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	_
19	of	of	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
20	hair	hair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nmod	_	_
21	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	23	cc	_	_
22	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
23	tendril	tendril	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	conj	_	_
24	of	of	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
25	smoke	smoke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | can | a tendril | a thin curl and a tendril of hair or a tendril of smoke |  |  |  | of something | tree rules |
| 2 | **look** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The pea plant's tendrils curled around the stick.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tendril:x1:1
# text = The pea plant's tendrils curled around the stick.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	pea	pea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	plant	plant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	's	's	PART	POS	_	3	case	_	_
5	tendrils	tendril	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
6	curled	curl	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl	_	_
7	around	around	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	stick	stick	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **curl** | participle |  | the pea plant's tendrils *not said here* |  | the stick |  |  | vn coil-9.6-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme around stick=Destination |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Grapevines climb using tendrils.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tendril:x2:1
# text = Grapevines climb using tendrils.
1	Grapevines	grapevine	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	climb	climb	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	using	use	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
4	tendrils	tendril	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **climb** | present | Grapevines |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **use** | gerund | Grapevines *not said here* | tendrils |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tendril=Patient |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A tendril of hair escaped from her ponytail.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tendril:x3:1
# text = A tendril of hair escaped from her ponytail.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	tendril	tendril	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	hair	hair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	escaped	escape	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
6	from	from	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	ponytail	ponytail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **escape** | participle |  | a tendril of hair *not said here* |  | her ponytail |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from ponytail=Initial\_Location |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tendrils of smoke rose from the campfire.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tendril:x4:1
# text = Tendrils of smoke rose from the campfire.
1	Tendrils	tendril	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	smoke	smoke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
4	rose	rise	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	campfire	campfire	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 | **rise** | past | Tendrils of smoke |  |  | the campfire |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from campfire=Initial\_Location |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
We watched a cucumber tendril wrap around the string over a week.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tendril:x5:1
# text = We watched a cucumber tendril wrap around the string over a week.
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	watched	watch	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
4	cucumber	cucumber	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	tendril	tendril	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	wrap	wrap	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
7	around	around	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	string	string	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
10	over	over	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	week	week	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **watch** | past | We | a tendril wrap |  | the string | week |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent wrap=Theme |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tendrils of fog crept across the playing field.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tendril:x6:1
# text = Tendrils of fog crept across the playing field.
1	Tendrils	tendril	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	fog	fog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
4	crept	creep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	across	across	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	playing	playing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	field	field	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **creep** | past | Tendrils of fog |  |  | the playing field |  |  | vn run-51.3.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme across field=Trajectory |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the spooky story, tendrils of ivy covered the old door.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tendril:x7:1
# text = In the spooky story, tendrils of ivy covered the old door.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	spooky	spooky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
6	tendrils	tendril	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	ivy	ivy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
9	covered	cover	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	door	door	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cover** | past | tendrils of ivy | the old door |  |  |  | in the spooky story | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent door=Destination in story=Theme |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A Goat, passing by, nibbled its young tendrils and its leaves.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:tendril:x8:1
# text = A Goat, passing by, nibbled its young tendrils and its leaves.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Goat	goat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
4	passing	pass	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	acl	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	4	fixed	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
7	nibbled	nibble	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
9	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	tendrils	tendril	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
12	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	leaves	leaf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pass by** | gerund | a Goat *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **nibble** | past | a Goat | Goat's young tendrils and Goat's leaves |  |  |  |  | vn chew-39.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tendril=Patient |

<!-- 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [tendon](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tendon/)
- next →: [tenement](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/tenement/)
- ↑ back to [T in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/T/)