---
title: vertebrate — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «vertebrate» in the school dictionary: An animal that has a backbone (a spine), like fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals. Every meaning for a pupil with its dependency tree and pragmatics.
---

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# vertebrate

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**Who acts:** animal, dog, Fish, Humans, snail, Snakes · **What happens:** have, be, not be · **To what, where:** backbone, vertebrate, vertebrates

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«vertebrate» in the school dictionary: its meaning 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: [vertebrate in the school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/dictionaries/school/w/vertebrate.md).

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An animal that has a backbone (a spine), like fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vertebrate:m1:1
# text = An animal that has a backbone (a spine), like fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds and mammals.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
4	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	backbone	backbone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	spine	spine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
12	like	like	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	fish	fish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
15	amphibians	amphibian	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
17	reptiles	reptile	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
19	birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	conj	_	_
20	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
21	mammals	mammal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | a animal | a backbone |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent backbone=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.

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A dog is a vertebrate because it has a backbone.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vertebrate:x1:1
# text = A dog is a vertebrate because it has a backbone.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	dog	dog	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	vertebrate	vertebrate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	backbone	backbone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a dog | a vertebrate |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **have** | present | dog | a backbone |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent backbone=Patient |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Fish, birds and frogs are all vertebrates.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vertebrate:x2:1
# text = Fish, birds and frogs are all vertebrates.
1	Fish	fish	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
3	birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	conj	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	frogs	frog	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	conj	_	_
6	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	8	det	_	_
8	vertebrates	vertebrate	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Fish and birds and frogs | all vertebrates |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Humans are vertebrates.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vertebrate:x3:1
# text = Humans are vertebrates.
1	Humans	human	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	vertebrates	vertebrate	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

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

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A snail is not a vertebrate.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vertebrate:x4:1
# text = A snail is not a vertebrate.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	snail	snail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	vertebrate	vertebrate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is a** | present | a snail | a vertebrate |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sort these animals into vertebrates and invertebrates.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vertebrate:x5:1
# text = Sort these animals into vertebrates and invertebrates.
1	Sort	sort	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	these	this	DET	DT	Number=Plur|PronType=Dem	3	det	_	_
3	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
4	into	into	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	vertebrates	vertebrate	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nmod	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	invertebrates	invertebrate	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Snakes are vertebrates with lots of bones in their spine.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:vertebrate:x6:1
# text = Snakes are vertebrates with lots of bones in their spine.
1	Snakes	snake	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	vertebrates	vertebrate	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	lots	lot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nmod	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	bones	bone	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	spine	spine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Snakes | vertebrates |  |  |  | with lots of bones in Snakes's spine | tree rules |

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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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