Test 9 · "How do you know?"
Harper's dad: "Did someone wait seven years and check? With a torch?" What is he really asking?
Mova's choice: option 1 · The right answer: option 1 · right ✓ · Who acts: someone, Harper · What happens: wait, check, ask
This is test 9 of lesson 186 «"How do you know?"» of the world 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: Harper's dad: "Did someone wait seven years and check?
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harper | Harper | PROPN | Number=Sing | 3 dad | nmod:poss |
| 2 | 's | 's | PART | _ | 1 Harper | case |
| 3 | dad | dad | NOUN | Number=Sing | root | root |
| 4 | : | : | PUNCT | _ | 8 wait | punct |
| 5 | " | " | PUNCT | _ | 8 wait | punct |
| 6 | Did | do | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 8 wait | aux |
| 7 | someone | someone | PRON | Number=Sing PronType=Ind | 8 wait | nsubj |
| 8 | wait | wait | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 3 dad | parataxis |
| 9 | seven | seven | NUM | NumForm=Word NumType=Card | 10 years | nummod |
| 10 | years | year | NOUN | Number=Plur | 8 wait | obl:unmarked |
| 11 | and | and | CCONJ | _ | 12 check | cc |
| 12 | check | check | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 8 wait | conj |
| 13 | ? | ? | PUNCT | _ | 3 dad | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | wait in a quote | past · do-support | someone | year | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | ||||
| 2 | check in a quote | infinitive | someone not said here | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=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: With a torch?"
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | With | with | ADP | _ | 3 torch | case |
| 2 | a | a | DET | Definite=Ind PronType=Art | 3 torch | det |
| 3 | torch | torch | NOUN | Number=Sing | root | root |
| 4 | ? | ? | PUNCT | _ | 3 torch | punct |
| 5 | " | " | PUNCT | _ | 3 torch | punct |
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.
Sentence 3: What is he really asking?
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What | what | PRON | PronType=Int | 5 asking | obj |
| 2 | is | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 5 asking | aux |
| 3 | he | he | PRON | Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 5 asking | nsubj |
| 4 | really | really | ADV | _ | 5 asking | advmod |
| 5 | asking | ask | VERB | Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part | root | root |
| 6 | ? | ? | PUNCT | _ | 5 asking | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ask speech: ask | present · progressive | Harper | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent what=Recipient |
The options
Option 1 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer
Where the "seven years" number came from
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Where | where | ADV | PronType=Rel | 8 came | advmod |
| 2 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 7 number | det |
| 3 | " | " | PUNCT | _ | 5 years | punct |
| 4 | seven | seven | NUM | NumForm=Word NumType=Card | 5 years | nummod |
| 5 | years | year | NOUN | Number=Plur | 7 number | compound |
| 6 | " | " | PUNCT | _ | 5 years | punct |
| 7 | number | number | NOUN | Number=Sing | 8 came | nsubj |
| 8 | came | come | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 9 | from | from | ADP | _ | 8 came | obl |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | come | past | the years number | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
Option 2
Why chewing gum is so very sticky in your tummy
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Why | why | ADV | PronType=Int | 7 sticky | advmod |
| 2 | chewing | chew | VERB | VerbForm=Ger | 7 sticky | csubj |
| 3 | gum | gum | NOUN | Number=Sing | 2 chewing | obj |
| 4 | is | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 7 sticky | cop |
| 5 | so | so | ADV | _ | 7 sticky | advmod |
| 6 | very | very | ADV | _ | 7 sticky | advmod |
| 7 | sticky | sticky | ADJ | Degree=Pos | root | root |
| 8 | in | in | ADP | _ | 10 tummy | case |
| 9 | your | your | PRON | Case=Gen Person=2 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs | 10 tummy | nmod:poss |
| 10 | tummy | tummy | NOUN | Number=Sing | 7 sticky | obl |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | chew | gerund | gum | vn chew-39.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent gum=Patient | |||||
| 2 | is | present | chewing | your tummy | sticky property | tree rules |
Option 3
Who sells the best and brightest torches in town
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Who | who | PRON | PronType=Rel | 2 sells | nsubj |
| 2 | sells | sell | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 3 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 7 torches | det |
| 4 | best | good | ADJ | Degree=Sup | 7 torches | amod |
| 5 | and | and | CCONJ | _ | 6 brightest | cc |
| 6 | brightest | bright | ADJ | Degree=Sup | 7 torches | amod |
| 7 | torches | torch | NOUN | Number=Plur | 2 sells | obj |
| 8 | in | in | ADP | _ | 9 town | case |
| 9 | town | town | NOUN | Number=Sing | 7 torches | nmod |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | sell | present | the best brightest torches | town | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent torch=Theme |
Option 4
How long a piece of gum takes to chew properly
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | How | how | ADV | PronType=Int | 2 long | advmod |
| 2 | long | long | ADV | Degree=Pos | 7 takes | advmod |
| 3 | a | a | DET | Definite=Ind PronType=Art | 4 piece | det |
| 4 | piece | piece | NOUN | Number=Sing | 7 takes | nsubj |
| 5 | of | of | ADP | _ | 6 gum | case |
| 6 | gum | gum | NOUN | Number=Sing | 4 piece | nmod |
| 7 | takes | take | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 8 | to | to | PART | _ | 9 chew | mark |
| 9 | chew | chew | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 7 takes | xcomp |
| 10 | properly | properly | ADV | _ | 9 chew | advmod |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | take | present | a piece of gum | long property | vn require-103 «NP V for NP S_INF»: agent=Theme clause=Precondition | ||||
| 2 | chew | to-infinitive | a piece of gum not said here | properly property | vn chew-39.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
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/world/186-how-do-you-know/t9/