Exam question 4 · April Fools' Day
It is given that a jest announcing free telephones caused families to travel to a shopping centre to no purpose. Determine the statement most consistent with the established facts.
Mova's choice: option 1 · The right answer: option 3 · wrong ✗ · Who acts: jest, families, you · What happens: give, announce, cause, travel, determine, establish · To what, where: It, free telephones, families, shopping centre, statement
This is exam question 4 of lesson 440 «April Fools' Day» of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. 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: It is given that a jest announcing free telephones caused families to travel to a shopping centre to no purpose.
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | It | it | PRON | Case=Nom Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 3 given | nsubj:pass |
| 2 | is | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 3 given | aux:pass |
| 3 | given | give | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | root | root |
| 4 | that | that | SCONJ | _ | 10 caused | mark |
| 5 | a | a | DET | Definite=Ind PronType=Art | 6 jest | det |
| 6 | jest | jest | NOUN | Number=Sing | 10 caused | nsubj |
| 7 | announcing | announce | VERB | VerbForm=Ger | 6 jest | acl |
| 8 | free | free | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 9 telephones | amod |
| 9 | telephones | telephone | NOUN | Number=Plur | 7 announcing | obj |
| 10 | caused | cause | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 3 given | advcl |
| 11 | families | family | NOUN | Number=Plur | 10 caused | obj |
| 12 | to | to | PART | _ | 13 travel | mark |
| 13 | travel | travel | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 10 caused | xcomp |
| 14 | to | to | ADP | _ | 17 centre | case |
| 15 | a | a | DET | Definite=Ind PronType=Art | 17 centre | det |
| 16 | shopping | shopping | NOUN | Number=Sing | 17 centre | compound |
| 17 | centre | centre | NOUN | Number=Sing | 13 travel | obl |
| 18 | to | to | ADP | _ | 20 purpose | case |
| 19 | no | no | DET | PronType=Neg | 20 purpose | det |
| 20 | purpose | purpose | NOUN | Number=Sing | 13 travel | obl |
| 21 | . | . | PUNCT | _ | 3 given | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | give | present · passive | It | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme | |||||
| 2 | announce speech: other | gerund | a jest not said here | free telephones | vn reflexive_appearance-48.1.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent telephone=Theme | ||||
| 3 | cause | past | a jest | families | tree rules | ||||
| 4 | travel | to-infinitive | families not said here | a shopping centre | to no purpose | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme to centre=Destination |
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: Determine the statement most consistent with the established facts.
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Determine | determine | VERB | Mood=Imp VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 2 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 3 statement | det |
| 3 | statement | statement | NOUN | Number=Sing | 1 Determine | obj |
| 4 | most | most | ADV | Degree=Sup | 5 consistent | advmod |
| 5 | consistent | consistent | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 3 statement | amod |
| 6 | with | with | ADP | _ | 9 facts | case |
| 7 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 9 facts | det |
| 8 | established | establish | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 9 facts | amod |
| 9 | facts | fact | NOUN | Number=Plur | 5 consistent | obl |
| 10 | . | . | PUNCT | _ | 1 Determine | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | determine | imperative | you not said here | the statement | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent statement=Topic | ||||
| 2 | establish | participle | vn indicate-78-1-1 «NP V NP to be NP»: agent=Pivot |
The options
Option 1 · ← Mova's choice
The shopping centre was liable to supply the telephones as announced
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 3 centre | det |
| 2 | shopping | shopping | NOUN | Number=Sing | 3 centre | compound |
| 3 | centre | centre | NOUN | Number=Sing | 5 liable | nsubj |
| 4 | was | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 5 liable | cop |
| 5 | liable | liable | ADJ | Degree=Pos | root | root |
| 6 | to | to | PART | _ | 7 supply | mark |
| 7 | supply | supply | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 5 liable | xcomp |
| 8 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 9 telephones | det |
| 9 | telephones | telephone | NOUN | Number=Plur | 7 supply | obj |
| 10 | as | as | SCONJ | _ | 11 announced | mark |
| 11 | announced | announce | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 7 supply | advcl |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | is | past | the shopping centre | liable property | tree rules | ||||
| 2 | supply | to-infinitive | the shopping centre not said here | the telephones | vn fulfilling-13.4.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent telephone=Recipient | ||||
| 3 | announce speech: other | participle | the shopping centre not said here | vn order-58.3 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
Option 2
The families were obliged to share the jest
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 2 families | det |
| 2 | families | family | NOUN | Number=Plur | 4 obliged | nsubj:pass |
| 3 | were | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 4 obliged | aux:pass |
| 4 | obliged | oblige | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | root | root |
| 5 | to | to | PART | _ | 6 share | mark |
| 6 | share | share | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 4 obliged | xcomp |
| 7 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 8 jest | det |
| 8 | jest | jest | NOUN | Number=Sing | 6 share | obj |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | oblige | past · passive | the families | vn compel-59.1-1 «NP V NP S_INF»: subject=Patient clause=Result | |||||
| 2 | share | to-infinitive | the jest | tree rules |
Option 3 · ✓ the right answer
The jest operated in the manner of a scam, occasioning loss of time and expense
The tree, 15 words
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 2 jest | det |
| 2 | jest | jest | NOUN | Number=Sing | root | root |
| 3 | operated | operate | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 2 jest | acl |
| 4 | in | in | ADP | _ | 6 manner | case |
| 5 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 6 manner | det |
| 6 | manner | manner | NOUN | Number=Sing | 3 operated | obl |
| 7 | of | of | ADP | _ | 9 scam | case |
| 8 | a | a | DET | Definite=Ind PronType=Art | 9 scam | det |
| 9 | scam | scam | NOUN | Number=Sing | 6 manner | nmod |
| 10 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 11 occasioning | punct |
| 11 | occasioning | occasion | VERB | Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part | 2 jest | conj |
| 12 | loss | loss | NOUN | Number=Sing | 11 occasioning | obj |
| 13 | of | of | ADP | _ | 14 time | case |
| 14 | time | time | NOUN | Number=Sing | 12 loss | nmod |
| 15 | and | and | CCONJ | _ | 16 expense | cc |
| 16 | expense | expense | NOUN | Number=Sing | 12 loss | conj |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | operate | participle | the jest not said here | the manner of a scam | vn function-105.2.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | ||||
| 2 | occasion | gerund | loss of time and expense | tree rules |
Option 4
The jest was entirely harmless
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 2 jest | det |
| 2 | jest | jest | NOUN | Number=Sing | 5 harmless | nsubj |
| 3 | was | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 5 harmless | cop |
| 4 | entirely | entirely | ADV | _ | 5 harmless | advmod |
| 5 | harmless | harmless | ADJ | Degree=Pos | root | root |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | is | past | the jest | entirely, harmless 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/everyday/440-april-fools-day/e4/