---
title: turtle — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «turtle» in the school dictionary: A turtle is a reptile with a hard shell on its back that covers its body; many turtles live in the sea or in rivers and ponds. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# turtle

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** turtle, back, many turtles, sea turtle, Turtles, Baby turtles · **What happens:** be, cover, live, use, lay, pull · **To what, where:** reptile, body, sea, turtle, American English, eggs · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A turtle is a reptile with a hard shell on its back that covers its body; many turtles live in the sea or in rivers and ponds.

<!-- fold The tree, 27 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:turtle:m1:1
# text = A turtle is a reptile with a hard shell on its back that covers its body; many turtles live in the sea or in rivers and ponds.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	turtle	turtle	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	reptile	reptile	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	shell	shell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
10	on	on	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	back	back	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	_
13	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	14	nsubj	_	_
14	covers	cover	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	acl:relcl	_	_
15	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	16	nmod:poss	_	_
16	body	body	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	20	punct	_	_
18	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	turtles	turtle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	20	nsubj	_	_
20	live	live	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
21	in	in	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
22	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
23	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obl	_	_
24	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	26	cc	_	_
25	in	in	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
26	rivers	river	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	23	conj	_	_
27	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	28	cc	_	_
28	ponds	pond	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	26	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a turtle | a reptile |  |  |  | with a hard shell on turtle's back | tree rules |
| 2 | **cover** | present | turtle's back | turtle's body |  |  |  |  | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme body=Destination |
| 3 | **live** | present | many turtles |  |  | the sea or rivers and ponds |  |  | vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in sea=Location |

<!-- .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 American English, turtle is often used for any animal with this kind of shell, including tortoises.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:turtle:m2:1
# text = In American English, turtle is often used for any animal with this kind of shell, including tortoises.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	American	American	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	English	English	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	turtle	turtle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj:pass	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux:pass	_	_
7	often	often	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	used	use	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	11	det	_	_
11	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
12	with	with	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	14	det	_	_
14	kind	kind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
15	of	of	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	shell	shell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
18	including	including	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
19	tortoises	tortoise	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | present · passive |  | turtle |  | American English |  | for any animal; with this kind of shell; including tortoises; often *property* | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP PP.predicate»: subject=Theme for animal=Eventuality |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The sea turtle laid her eggs in the sand.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:turtle:x1:1
# text = The sea turtle laid her eggs in the sand.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	turtle	turtle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	laid	lay	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	eggs	egg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	sand	sand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lay** | past | the sea turtle | turtle's eggs |  | the sand |  |  | vn put\_spatial-9.2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent egg=Theme in sand=Destination |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Turtles pull their heads into their shells.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:turtle:x2:1
# text = Turtles pull their heads into their shells.
1	Turtles	turtle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	pull	pull	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	heads	head	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	into	into	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	shells	shell	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pull** | present | Turtles | Turtles's heads |  | Turtles's shells |  |  | vn push-12-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent head=Theme |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Baby turtles crawl to the sea at night.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:turtle:x3:1
# text = Baby turtles crawl to the sea at night.
1	Baby	baby	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	turtles	turtle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	crawl	crawl	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	night	night	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 | **crawl** | present | Baby turtles |  |  | the sea | night |  | vn run-51.3.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme to sea=Destination |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A turtle must come up to breathe air.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:turtle:x4:1
# text = A turtle must come up to breathe air.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	turtle	turtle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	up	up	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	breathe	breathe	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
8	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come up** | must | a turtle |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **breathe** | to-infinitive | a turtle *not said here* | air |  |  |  |  | vn breathe-40.1.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent air=Theme |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Plastic in the ocean harms turtles.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:turtle:x5:1
# text = Plastic in the ocean harms turtles.
1	Plastic	plastic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	ocean	ocean	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
5	harms	harm	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	turtles	turtle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **harm** | present | Plastic in the ocean | turtles |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus turtle=Experiencer |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Our class pet is a turtle called Speedy.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:turtle:x6:1
# text = Our class pet is a turtle called Speedy.
1	Our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	pet	pet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	turtle	turtle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	acl	_	_
8	Speedy	Speedy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Our class pet | a turtle |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **call** | participle |  | a turtle *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The boat turned turtle in the storm.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:turtle:x7:1
# text = The boat turned turtle in the storm.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	boat	boat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	turned	turn	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	turtle	turtle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	storm	storm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **turn** | past | the boat | turtle |  |  |  | in the storm | vn crane-40.3.2 «NP V NP PP.recipient PP.theme»: agent=Agent turtle=Patient in storm=Topic |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Turtles have no teeth but a sharp beak.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:turtle:x8:1
# text = Turtles have no teeth but a sharp beak.
1	Turtles	turtle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	4	det	_	_
4	teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	sharp	sharp	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	beak	beak	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | Turtles | no teeth but a sharp beak |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tooth=Patient |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The movement, gentle though it was, woke the turtle.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:turtle:x9:1
# text = The movement, gentle though it was, woke the turtle.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	movement	movement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
4	gentle	gentle	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
5	though	though	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obl	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
9	woke	wake	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	turtle	turtle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the movement |  |  |  |  | wake *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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