---
title: trophic — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «trophic» in the school dictionary: To do with food and feeding, especially who eats whom in nature. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# trophic

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** step, Plants, Rabbits, Foxes, tenth, Bringing · **What happens:** do, eat, have, be, pass, bring back · **To what, where:** nature, trophic level, first trophic level, grass, second trophic level, higher trophic level

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .note -->
Usage: science — kept apart, not parsed.

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To do with food and feeding, especially who eats whom in nature.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:trophic:m1:1
# text = To do with food and feeding, especially who eats whom in nature.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	do	do	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	with	with	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	feeding	feeding	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	especially	especially	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
9	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
10	eats	eat	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
11	whom	whom	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	10	obj	_	_
12	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	nature	nature	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | with food and feeding | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **eat** | present |  |  |  | nature |  | especially *property* | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent whom=Patient |

<!-- .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 -->
In "trophic level": the step or position a living thing has in a food chain, such as plant, plant-eater or meat-eater.

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:trophic:m2:1
# text = In "trophic level": the step or position a living thing has in a food chain, such as plant, plant-eater or meat-eater.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	trophic	trophic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	level	level	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	8	punct	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	step	step	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj	_	_
9	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	position	position	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	living	living	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	_
13	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj	_	_
14	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
15	in	in	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
17	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	compound	_	_
18	chain	chain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
20	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=ADP	22	case	_	_
21	as	as	ADP	IN	_	20	fixed	_	_
22	plant	plant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	26	punct	_	_
24	plant	plant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	24	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	eater	eater	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	appos	_	_
27	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	30	cc	_	_
28	meat	meat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	30	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	28	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	eater	eater	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
31	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	14	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | the step or position |  |  | trophic level |  | in a food chain | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Plants are at the first trophic level.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:trophic:x1:1
# text = Plants are at the first trophic level.
1	Plants	plant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
3	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
5	first	first	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	7	amod	_	_
6	trophic	trophic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	level	level	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Plants |  |  | the first trophic level |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Rabbits eat grass, so they are on the second trophic level.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:trophic:x2:1
# text = Rabbits eat grass, so they are on the second trophic level.
1	Rabbits	rabbit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	eat	eat	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	grass	grass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
5	so	so	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
6	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
7	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
8	on	on	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
10	second	second	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	12	amod	_	_
11	trophic	trophic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	level	level	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **eat** | present | Rabbits | grass |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent grass=Patient |
| 2 | **is** | present | Rabbits *= rabbit* |  |  | the second trophic level |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Foxes are on a higher trophic level than rabbits.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:trophic:x3:1
# text = Foxes are on a higher trophic level than rabbits.
1	Foxes	fox	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
5	higher	high	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	7	amod	_	_
6	trophic	trophic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	level	level	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	than	than	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	rabbits	rabbit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Foxes |  |  | a higher trophic level |  | than rabbits | tree rules |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Only about a tenth of the energy passes to the next trophic level.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:trophic:x4:1
# text = Only about a tenth of the energy passes to the next trophic level.
1	Only	only	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
2	about	about	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	tenth	tenth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	energy	energy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	passes	pass	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	to	to	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
11	next	next	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
12	trophic	trophic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	level	level	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pass** | present | a tenth of the energy |  |  | the next trophic level |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1-3 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme to level=Initial\_Location |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Bringing wolves back to Yellowstone caused a trophic cascade.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:trophic:x5:1
# text = Bringing wolves back to Yellowstone caused a trophic cascade.
1	Bringing	bring	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	csubj	_	_
2	wolves	wolf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
3	back	back	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	Yellowstone	Yellowstone	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
6	caused	cause	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	trophic	trophic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	cascade	cascade	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bring back** | gerund |  | wolves | Yellowstone |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent wolf=Theme to yellowstone=Destination |
| 2 | **cause** | past | Bringing | a trophic cascade |  |  |  |  | vn engender-27.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition cascade=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Draw a pyramid to show the trophic levels.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:trophic:x6:1
# text = Draw a pyramid to show the trophic levels.
1	Draw	draw	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	pyramid	pyramid	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	show	show	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	advcl	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	trophic	trophic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	levels	level	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **draw** | imperative | you *not said here* | a pyramid |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent pyramid=Theme |
| 2 | **show** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* | the trophic levels |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent level=Recipient |

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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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