---
title: wolf — school dictionary · trees and pragmatics
description: «wolf» in the school dictionary: A wolf is a wild animal of the dog family that lives and hunts in groups called packs. 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/W/wolf/)

<!-- 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/) / [W](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/) / wolf

# wolf

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** wolf, dog family, groups, Wolves, big bad wolf, you · **What happens:** be, live, hunt, call, wolf down, howl · **To what, where:** wild animal, groups, packs, big mouthfuls, wolves, house · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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

## Meaning 1 {#m1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A wolf is a wild animal of the dog family that lives and hunts in groups called packs.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wolf:m1:1
# text = A wolf is a wild animal of the dog family that lives and hunts in groups called packs.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	wolf	wolf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	wild	wild	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	family	family	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
11	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	12	nsubj	_	_
12	lives	live	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	acl:relcl	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	hunts	hunt	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	conj	_	_
15	in	in	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	groups	group	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obl	_	_
17	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	16	acl	_	_
18	packs	pack	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a wolf | a wild animal |  |  |  | of the dog family | tree rules |
| 2 | **live** | present | the dog family |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **hunt** | present | the dog family *not said here* |  |  | groups |  |  | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V PP.theme PP.location»: agent=Agent in group=Location |
| 4 | **call** | participle | groups *not said here* | packs |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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 -->
To wolf food, or wolf it down, is to eat it very quickly in big mouthfuls.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wolf:m2:1
# text = To wolf food, or wolf it down, is to eat it very quickly in big mouthfuls.
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	3	mark	_	_
2	wolf	wolf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	wolf	wolf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
8	down	down	ADP	RP	_	6	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	eat	eat	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	_
14	very	very	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
15	quickly	quickly	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
16	in	in	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	mouthfuls	mouthful	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wolf down** |  | wolf |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  | big mouthfuls |  | eat, quickly *property* | tree rules |

## Example 1 {#x1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A pack of wolves howled in the forest.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wolf:x1:1
# text = A pack of wolves howled in the forest.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	pack	pack	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	wolves	wolf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
5	howled	howl	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	forest	forest	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 | **howl** | participle |  | wolves *not said here* |  |  |  | in the forest | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent in forest=Theme |

## Example 2 {#x2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Wolves hunt together in packs.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wolf:x2:1
# text = Wolves hunt together in packs.
1	Wolves	wolf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	hunt	hunt	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	together	together	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	packs	pack	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hunt** | present | Wolves |  |  | packs |  | together *property* | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V PP.theme PP.location»: agent=Agent in pack=Location |

## Example 3 {#x3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The big bad wolf blew the house down.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wolf:x3:1
# text = The big bad wolf blew the house down.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	wolf	wolf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	blew	blow	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	house	house	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	down	down	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **blow down** | past | the big bad wolf | the house |  |  |  |  | vn split-23.2 «NP V NP apart»: agent=Agent house=Patient |

## Example 4 {#x4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Don't cry wolf, or no one will believe you.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wolf:x4:1
# text = Don't cry wolf, or no one will believe you.
1	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	cry	cry	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	wolf	wolf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
7	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	8	det	_	_
8	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
9	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	believe	believe	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
11	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **cry** *speech: express* | imperative · do-support | you *not said here* | wolf |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent wolf=Topic |
| 2 | **believe** | future | no one | you |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer you=Stimulus |

## Example 5 {#x5}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He wolfed down his sandwich.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wolf:x5:1
# text = He wolfed down his sandwich.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wolfed	wolf	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	down	down	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	sandwich	sandwich	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wolf down** | past | He | his sandwich |  |  |  |  | vn gobble-39.3-1 «NP V NP up»: agent=Agent sandwich=Patient |

## Example 6 {#x6}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Pet dogs come from wolves.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wolf:x6:1
# text = Pet dogs come from wolves.
1	Pet	pet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	dogs	dog	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	come	come	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	wolves	wolf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | present | Pet dogs |  |  | wolves |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from wolf=Initial\_Location |

## Example 7 {#x7}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Wolves were brought back to Yellowstone National Park.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wolf:x7:1
# text = Wolves were brought back to Yellowstone National Park.
1	Wolves	wolf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	brought	bring	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	back	back	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	Yellowstone	Yellowstone	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
7	National	National	ADJ	NNP	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	Park	Park	PROPN	NNP	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 | **bring back** | past · passive |  | Wolves | Yellowstone National Park |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: subject=Theme to park=Destination |

## Example 8 {#x8}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A wolf in sheep's clothing pretends to be kind.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wolf:x8:1
# text = A wolf in sheep's clothing pretends to be kind.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	wolf	wolf	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	sheep	sheep	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	clothing	clothing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
7	pretends	pretend	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
9	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	cop	_	_
10	kind	kind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pretend** | present | a wolf in sheep's clothing |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | to-infinitive | a wolf in sheep's clothing *not said here* |  |  |  |  | kind *property* | tree rules |

## Example 9 {#x9}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Thank you, Mr. Wolf," said she.

```conllu
# sent_id = dict:school:wolf:x9:1
# text = "Thank you, Mr. Wolf," said she.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Thank	thank	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
5	Mr.	Mr.	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nmod:desc	_	_
6	Wolf	Wolf	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	vocative	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
9	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
10	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **thank** *speech: thank* *in a quote* | present |  |  | you |  |  | Wolf  Mr. *vocative* | vn judgment-33.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent you=Theme |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Wolf |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

<!-- 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: [wold](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wold/)
- next →: [wolof](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/wolof/)
- ↑ back to [W in school dictionary](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/W/)