Test 3 · ★★★ · Is it fair? Why bad things happen to good people
The vicar answers, very formally: «I shall not pretend to understand why; I believe, nonetheless, that God is present in our suffering.» What is he saying?
Mova's choice: option 4 · The right answer: option 4 · right ✓ · Who acts: vicar, God, our · What happens: answer, not pretend, understand, believe, be, suffer · To what, where: suffering · Speech: someone speaks here
This is test 3 · ★★★ of lesson 75 «Is it fair? Why bad things happen to good people» of the religion ethics 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: The vicar answers, very formally: «I shall not pretend to understand why; I believe, nonetheless, that God is present in our suffering.»
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 2 vicar | det |
| 2 | vicar | vicar | NOUN | Number=Sing | 3 answers | nsubj |
| 3 | answers | answer | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 4 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 6 formally | punct |
| 5 | very | very | ADV | _ | 6 formally | advmod |
| 6 | formally | formally | ADV | _ | 3 answers | advmod |
| 7 | : | : | PUNCT | _ | 12 pretend | punct |
| 8 | « | « | PUNCT | _ | 12 pretend | punct |
| 9 | I | I | PRON | Case=Nom Number=Sing Person=1 PronType=Prs | 12 pretend | nsubj |
| 10 | shall | shall | AUX | VerbForm=Fin | 12 pretend | aux |
| 11 | not | not | PART | Polarity=Neg | 12 pretend | advmod |
| 12 | pretend | pretend | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 3 answers | parataxis |
| 13 | to | to | PART | _ | 14 understand | mark |
| 14 | understand | understand | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 12 pretend | xcomp |
| 15 | why | why | ADV | PronType=Int | 14 understand | advmod |
| 16 | ; | ; | PUNCT | _ | 18 believe | punct |
| 17 | I | I | PRON | Case=Nom Number=Sing Person=1 PronType=Prs | 18 believe | nsubj |
| 18 | believe | believe | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=1 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 3 answers | parataxis |
| 19 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 20 nonetheless | punct |
| 20 | nonetheless | nonetheless | ADV | _ | 18 believe | advmod |
| 21 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 25 present | punct |
| 22 | that | that | SCONJ | _ | 25 present | mark |
| 23 | God | God | PROPN | Number=Sing | 25 present | nsubj |
| 24 | is | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 25 present | cop |
| 25 | present | present | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 18 believe | parataxis |
| 26 | in | in | ADP | _ | 28 suffering | case |
| 27 | our | our | PRON | Case=Gen Number=Plur Person=1 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs | 28 suffering | nmod:poss |
| 28 | suffering | suffering | NOUN | Number=Sing | 25 present | obl |
| 29 | . | . | PUNCT | _ | 3 answers | punct |
| 30 | » | » | PUNCT | _ | 3 answers | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | answer speech: assert | present | the vicar | formally property | tree rules | ||||
| 2 | not pretend in a quote | shall | the vicar = vicar | tree rules | |||||
| 3 | understand in a quote | to-infinitive | the vicar = vicar not said here | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer | |||||
| 4 | believe in a quote | present | the vicar = vicar | nonetheless property | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer | ||||
| 5 | is in a quote | present | God | our suffering | present property | tree rules | |||
| 6 | suffer in a quote | our | nom suffering «state intransitive»: poss=agent |
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: What is he saying?
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What | what | PRON | PronType=Int | 4 saying | obj |
| 2 | is | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 4 saying | aux |
| 3 | he | he | PRON | Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 4 saying | nsubj |
| 4 | saying | say | VERB | Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part | root | root |
| 5 | ? | ? | PUNCT | _ | 4 saying | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | say speech: assert | present · progressive | God | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |
The options
Option 1
God caused all the suffering on purpose, to test people
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | God | God | PROPN | Number=Sing | 2 caused | nsubj |
| 2 | caused | cause | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 3 | all | all | DET | PronType=Tot | 5 suffering | det:predet |
| 4 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 5 suffering | det |
| 5 | suffering | suffering | NOUN | Number=Sing | 2 caused | obj |
| 6 | on | on | ADP | _ | 7 purpose | case |
| 7 | purpose | purpose | NOUN | Number=Sing | 2 caused | obl |
| 8 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 10 test | punct |
| 9 | to | to | PART | _ | 10 test | mark |
| 10 | test | test | VERB | Mood=Imp VerbForm=Fin | 2 caused | parataxis |
| 11 | people | people | NOUN | Number=Plur | 10 test | obj |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | cause | past | God | all suffering | purpose | vn engender-27.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition suffering=Patient | |||
| 2 | test | to-infinitive | people | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent people=Theme |
Option 2
God is far away and absent whenever people are suffering
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | God | God | PROPN | Number=Sing | 4 away | nsubj |
| 2 | is | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 4 away | cop |
| 3 | far | far | ADV | Degree=Pos | 4 away | advmod |
| 4 | away | away | ADV | _ | root | root |
| 5 | and | and | CCONJ | _ | 6 absent | cc |
| 6 | absent | absent | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 4 away | conj |
| 7 | whenever | whenever | ADV | PronType=Rel | 10 suffering | advmod |
| 8 | people | people | NOUN | Number=Plur | 10 suffering | nsubj |
| 9 | are | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 10 suffering | aux |
| 10 | suffering | suffer | VERB | Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part | 6 absent | advcl |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | is | present | God | away, far property | tree rules | ||||
| 2 | be | God not said here | tree rules | ||||||
| 3 | suffer | present · progressive | people | whenever property | vn marvel-31.3 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
Option 3
He knows exactly why it happened and will explain it later
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | He | he | PRON | Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 2 knows | nsubj |
| 2 | knows | know | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 3 | exactly | exactly | ADV | _ | 4 why | advmod |
| 4 | why | why | ADV | PronType=Int | 6 happened | advmod |
| 5 | it | it | PRON | Case=Nom Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 6 happened | nsubj |
| 6 | happened | happen | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 2 knows | ccomp |
| 7 | and | and | CCONJ | _ | 9 explain | cc |
| 8 | will | will | AUX | VerbForm=Fin | 9 explain | aux |
| 9 | explain | explain | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 2 knows | conj |
| 10 | it | it | PRON | Case=Acc Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 9 explain | obj |
| 11 | later | late | ADV | Degree=Cmp | 9 explain | advmod |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | know | present | He | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V how S_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus | |||||
| 2 | happen | past | it | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | |||||
| 3 | explain speech: assert | future | He not said here | it | late property | vn transfer_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Topic |
Option 4 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer
He doesn't know why, but believes God is with us
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | He | he | PRON | Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 4 know | nsubj |
| 2 | does | do | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 4 know | aux |
| 3 | n't | not | PART | Polarity=Neg | 4 know | advmod |
| 4 | know | know | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | root | root |
| 5 | why | why | ADV | PronType=Int | 4 know | advmod |
| 6 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 8 believes | punct |
| 7 | but | but | CCONJ | _ | 8 believes | cc |
| 8 | believes | believe | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 4 know | conj |
| 9 | God | God | PROPN | Number=Sing | 12 us | nsubj |
| 10 | is | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 12 us | cop |
| 11 | with | with | ADP | _ | 12 us | case |
| 12 | us | we | PRON | Case=Acc Number=Plur Person=1 PronType=Prs | 8 believes | ccomp |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | not know | present · do-support | He | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer | |||||
| 2 | believe | present | He not said here | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer | |||||
| 3 | is | present | God | with us | 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/religion-ethics/75-is-it-fair-why-bad-things-happen-to-good-people/t3/