Test 9 · ★ · Tense consistency and verb forms
Bella says "'I have seen it' and 'I saw it' mean exactly the same, always." Which is closest to the truth?
Mova's choice: option 1 · The right answer: option 1 · right ✓ · Who acts: Bella · What happens: say, see, mean, be · To what, where: it, same · Speech: someone speaks here
This is test 9 · ★ of lesson 31 «Tense consistency and verb forms» of the English course of Mova's primary school. The page gives the question's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause, then the 4 options as the student saw them, each with its tree and pragmatics. Every text is parsed by Mova itself. How the student answered it, with the score of every option and why: the test at school.
The question
Sentence 1: Bella says "'I have seen it' and 'I saw it' mean exactly the same, always."
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bella | Bella | PROPN | Number=Sing | 2 says | nsubj |
| 2 | says | say | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 3 | " | " | PUNCT | _ | 7 seen | punct |
| 4 | ' | ' | PUNCT | _ | 7 seen | punct |
| 5 | I | I | PRON | Case=Nom Number=Sing Person=1 PronType=Prs | 7 seen | nsubj |
| 6 | have | have | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=1 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 7 seen | aux |
| 7 | seen | see | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part | 2 says | ccomp |
| 8 | it | it | PRON | Case=Acc Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 7 seen | obj |
| 9 | ' | ' | PUNCT | _ | 7 seen | punct |
| 10 | and | and | CCONJ | _ | 13 saw | cc |
| 11 | ' | ' | PUNCT | _ | 13 saw | punct |
| 12 | I | I | PRON | Case=Nom Number=Sing Person=1 PronType=Prs | 13 saw | nsubj |
| 13 | saw | see | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=1 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 7 seen | conj |
| 14 | it | it | PRON | Case=Acc Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 13 saw | obj |
| 15 | ' | ' | PUNCT | _ | 16 mean | punct |
| 16 | mean | mean | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=1 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 13 saw | ccomp |
| 17 | exactly | exactly | ADV | _ | 19 same | advmod |
| 18 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 19 same | det |
| 19 | same | same | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 16 mean | obj |
| 20 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 21 always | punct |
| 21 | always | always | ADV | PronType=Tot | 16 mean | conj |
| 22 | . | . | PUNCT | _ | 2 says | punct |
| 23 | " | " | PUNCT | _ | 2 says | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | say speech: assert | present | Bella | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | |||||
| 2 | see in a quote | present · perfect | Bella | it | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer it=Stimulus | ||||
| 3 | see in a quote | past | Bella | it | tree rules | ||||
| 4 | mean in a quote | present | the same | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent same=Topic |
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.
Sentence 2: Which is closest to the truth?
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Which | which | PRON | PronType=Rel | 3 closest | nsubj |
| 2 | is | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 3 closest | cop |
| 3 | closest | close | ADJ | Degree=Sup | root | root |
| 4 | to | to | ADP | _ | 6 truth | case |
| 5 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 6 truth | det |
| 6 | truth | truth | NOUN | Number=Sing | 3 closest | obl |
| 7 | ? | ? | PUNCT | _ | 3 closest | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | is | present | to the truth; close property | tree rules |
The options
Option 1 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer
Both are past, but "have seen" links it to now
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Both | both | DET | PronType=Tot | 3 past | nsubj |
| 2 | are | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 3 past | cop |
| 3 | past | past | ADV | _ | 10 links | advmod |
| 4 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 8 seen | punct |
| 5 | but | but | CCONJ | _ | 8 seen | cc |
| 6 | " | " | PUNCT | _ | 8 seen | punct |
| 7 | have | have | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=1 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 8 seen | aux |
| 8 | seen | see | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part | 3 past | parataxis |
| 9 | " | " | PUNCT | _ | 8 seen | punct |
| 10 | links | link | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 11 | it | it | PRON | Case=Acc Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 10 links | obj |
| 12 | to | to | ADP | _ | 13 now | case |
| 13 | now | now | ADV | PronType=Dem | 10 links | obl |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | is | present | Both | past property | tree rules | ||||
| 2 | see in a quote | present · perfect | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer | ||||||
| 3 | link | present | it | vn mix-22.1-2-1 «NP V NP PP.co-patient»: agent=Agent it=Patient to now=Co-Patient |
Option 2
Only "I seen it" is correct
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Only | only | ADV | _ | 4 seen | advmod |
| 2 | " | " | PUNCT | _ | 4 seen | punct |
| 3 | I | I | PRON | Case=Nom Number=Sing Person=1 PronType=Prs | 4 seen | nsubj |
| 4 | seen | see | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 8 correct | csubj |
| 5 | it | it | PRON | Case=Acc Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 4 seen | obj |
| 6 | " | " | PUNCT | _ | 4 seen | punct |
| 7 | is | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 8 correct | cop |
| 8 | correct | correct | ADJ | Degree=Pos | root | root |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | see in a quote | participle | I | it | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer it=Stimulus | ||||
| 2 | be speech: disagree | present | correct property | tree rules |
Option 3
"I have seen it" is the future
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | " | " | PUNCT | _ | 4 seen | punct |
| 2 | I | I | PRON | Case=Nom Number=Sing Person=1 PronType=Prs | 4 seen | nsubj |
| 3 | have | have | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=1 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 4 seen | aux |
| 4 | seen | see | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part | 9 future | advcl |
| 5 | it | it | PRON | Case=Acc Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 4 seen | obj |
| 6 | " | " | PUNCT | _ | 4 seen | punct |
| 7 | is | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 9 future | cop |
| 8 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 9 future | det |
| 9 | future | future | NOUN | Number=Sing | root | root |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | see in a quote | present · perfect | I | it | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer it=Stimulus | ||||
| 2 | is a | present | the future | tree rules |
Option 4
"I saw it" is wrong in Standard English
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | " | " | PUNCT | _ | 3 saw | punct |
| 2 | I | I | PRON | Case=Nom Number=Sing Person=1 PronType=Prs | 3 saw | nsubj |
| 3 | saw | see | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=1 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 7 wrong | advcl |
| 4 | it | it | PRON | Case=Acc Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 3 saw | obj |
| 5 | " | " | PUNCT | _ | 3 saw | punct |
| 6 | is | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 7 wrong | cop |
| 7 | wrong | wrong | ADJ | Degree=Pos | root | root |
| 8 | in | in | ADP | _ | 10 English | case |
| 9 | Standard | Standard | PROPN | Number=Sing | 10 English | compound |
| 10 | English | English | PROPN | Number=Sing | 7 wrong | obl |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | see in a quote | past | I | it | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer it=Stimulus | ||||
| 2 | is | present | Standard English | wrong property | tree rules |
Text: the tests of Mova's primary school, written for Mova (world/data/school/), as the course runner gave them to the student. 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 text read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/31-tense-consistency-and-verb-forms/t9/