---
title: trefoil — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «trefoil» in the school dictionary: A trefoil is a plant with three leaves on each stalk, like clover. It can also mean a shape with three rounded lobes. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# trefoil

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**Who acts:** trefoil, Four white trefoils, she, clover, gardener · **What happens:** be, mean, round, spring up, tread, plant · **To what, where:** plant, shape, trefoil, row

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«trefoil» in the school dictionary: its meaning for a pupil and its 3 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: [trefoil in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/trefoil.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A trefoil is a plant with three leaves on each stalk, like clover. It can also mean a shape with three rounded lobes.

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*Sentence 1:* A trefoil is a plant with three leaves on each stalk, like clover.

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:trefoil:m1:1
# text = A trefoil is a plant with three leaves on each stalk, like clover.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	trefoil	trefoil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	plant	plant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	leaves	leaf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	11	det	_	_
11	stalk	stalk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
13	like	like	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	clover	clover	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a trefoil | a plant |  |  |  | with three leaves on each stalk and clover | tree rules |

<!-- .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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* It can also mean a shape with three rounded lobes.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:trefoil:m1:2
# text = It can also mean a shape with three rounded lobes.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	also	also	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	shape	shape	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	10	nummod	_	_
9	rounded	round	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	amod	_	_
10	lobes	lobe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | can | trefoil | a shape |  |  |  | with three rounded lobes | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent shape=Topic |
| 2 | **round** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn bend-45.2 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Four white trefoils sprang up where she trod.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:trefoil:x1:1
# text = Four white trefoils sprang up where she trod.
1	Four	four	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	3	nummod	_	_
2	white	white	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	trefoils	trefoil	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	sprang	spring	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	up	up	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	_
6	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	8	advmod	_	_
7	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	trod	tread	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spring up** | past | Four white trefoils |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **tread** | past | she |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A clover is a trefoil with three leaves.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:trefoil:x2:1
# text = A clover is a trefoil with three leaves.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	clover	clover	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	trefoil	trefoil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	leaves	leaf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a clover | a trefoil |  |  |  | with three leaves | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The gardener planted a row of trefoils by the path.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:trefoil:x3:1
# text = The gardener planted a row of trefoils by the path.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	gardener	gardener	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	planted	plant	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	row	row	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	trefoils	trefoil	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	_
8	by	by	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	path	path	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **plant** | past | the gardener | a row of trefoils |  |  |  | by the path | vn put-9.1-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent row=Theme by path=Destination |

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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.

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