New partners and step-families
Tests: 5 of 11 right · Exam: 1 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 7 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 16 of the adult life course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: the lesson in the corpora.
Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: the lesson's questions in the corpora.
Test 1 · ★ · right ✓
Overheard on the phone: "I think it's time the kids met Tom, it's getting serious." What is going on?
- 1. Mum is hiring a babysitter called Tom — score 2
- 2. Mum's new partner is about to meet the children — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
- 3. Tom is a new boy in the children's class — no support
- 4. Mum is in trouble at work with Tom — score 3
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 16, line 6: «When Dad says "There's someone I'd like you to meet", he means he has a new partner he cares about and wants you to know.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+2); the same doer «new partner» (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 2 · ★ · right ✓
Your little brother says, "Dad's girlfriend is our new mum now, so Mum's not our mum any more." Put him right.
- 1. Mum is still our mum; Dad's partner could be a step-mum — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 10
- 2. He's right, but only at weekends — no support
- 3. He's right, the new partner replaces Mum — score 4
- 4. Mum stops being Mum only if they marry — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 10, against 4 for the next best. Its support: lesson 16, line 8: «When Mum says "We're just friends", she means they are friends, not boyfriend and girlfriend, and you can believe her.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «mum» (+4); the same thing acted on «friends» (+4); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 3 · ★ · right ✓
Gossip at the school gate: "His mum's remarrying, poor kid's got a whole new lot of siblings." What new siblings are meant?
- 1. Step-siblings, the children of Mum's new husband — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Twins who have just been born — no support
- 3. Half-siblings, born to his own mum and dad after the wedding — no support
- 4. Cousins who live with him now — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 4 · ★ · right ✓
Kayla in Toronto has one mum and one step-mum who married her mum. A boy says, "That's not a proper family." Who is right?
- 1. The boy, families need a mum and a dad to be proper — no support
- 2. Nobody, it depends on the country — no support
- 3. The boy, unless they live in the same house — score 2
- 4. Kayla, every loving family is a real family — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 5, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 16, line 17: «A single parent looks after the children mostly alone, maybe after a separation, a death or by choice, and it is a complete family.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «choice» (+2); the same thing acted on «complete family» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 5 · ★ · wrong ✗
Your mate goes, "ugh his kid's in MY room every weekend now, I didn't ask for this." Which is closest to how he feels?
- 1. Happy to have a new best friend to play with every weekend — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Glad to be moving to a bigger house — no support
- 3. Upset that blending families means sharing space — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. Bored because nothing has changed at home — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 6 · ★ · wrong ✗
Dad says, "Me and Jo are having a baby." What will the baby be to you?
- 1. A half-sibling, because you share Dad — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Nothing, because you live with Mum — ← Mova's choice · score 8
- 3. A step-sibling, because Jo is not your mum and never will be — no support
- 4. A cousin, because it is Jo's baby — no support
Why: It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). It chose option 2 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 16, line 4: «A new partner does not replace your mum or dad. If they marry or move in, they become a step-parent, their children become step-brothers and step-sisters, and…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same circumstance (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 7 · ★ · right ✓
Auntie to Mum in the kitchen, a bit sharp: "So is it serious with Mark or just a fling?" What is she asking?
- 1. Whether Mum's relationship with Mark will last — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Whether Mark is good at sports — no support
- 3. Whether Mark is Mum's new boss at the office in town — no support
- 4. Whether Mum and Mark are cousins — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 8 · ★ · wrong ✗
Your step-brother mutters, "shut up, you're not even my real brother." What is most likely behind it?
- 1. He has been told to say it by a parent — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. He is unsettled by the changes in his family — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. He has found out you are adopted — no support
- 4. He wants to be your best friend — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 9 · ★ · wrong ✗
Lucas in Auckland lives with just his mum since his dad died. Which is true?
- 1. He has no real family at all any more — no support
- 2. It is only a family once Mum remarries — no support
- 3. His is a complete one-parent family — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. He must be adopted by a new dad soon — ← Mova's choice · score 4
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 4, line 3: «Picture a kitchen in Adelaide: Dad comes off the phone pale and says "They're letting people go", and later that night the kids hear Mum and Dad talking quietl…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «up» (+2); the same thing acted on «dad» (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 10 · ★ · wrong ✗
Your sister insists, "If Mum marries Dave we'll have to call him Dad, that's the rule." Put her right.
- 1. No, you are not allowed to talk to him at all — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. There is no such rule; many children use the first name — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. Yes, it is the law once they marry, and you must say it every day — no support
- 4. Yes, but only in front of visitors — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗
Mum gives you a choice: "Would you like to walk with me at the wedding, or just sit with Gran?" What does that show?
- 1. She does not really want you there at the wedding at all — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. You are not invited to the party after — no support
- 3. She wants you included and lets you choose — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. You have to do whatever the partner says — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the relationship of a parent's new spouse to that parent's existing child?
- 1. The spouse replaces the other parent in every respect — no support
- 2. The spouse becomes a step-parent, not supplanting the child's other parent — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 9
- 3. The spouse has no relationship whatsoever to the child — no support
- 4. The spouse becomes the child's legal and biological parent in every respect — score 9
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 9, tied with another option at 9 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 16, line 4: «A new partner does not replace your mum or dad. If they marry or move in, they become a step-parent, their children become step-brothers and step-sisters, and…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «become» (+4); the same thing acted on «step parent» (+4); a different doer (counts against) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗
A child born to the child's father and the father's new partner shall hereinafter be designated as which of the following?
- 1. A step-sibling of the child — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. A foster sibling of the child — no support
- 3. A half-sibling of the child — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. A cousin of the child — no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗
Identify the principal meaning of the term "remarriage" as applied to a parent.
- 1. The repetition of vows with an existing spouse upon an anniversary — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. A formal engagement preceding marriage — no support
- 3. The dissolution of an existing marriage — no support
- 4. A further marriage following divorce or bereavement — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗
Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning families headed by two mothers.
- 1. Such a family requires a father to be complete — ← Mova's choice · score 8
- 2. Such a family is as genuine and complete as any other — ✓ the right answer · score 5
- 3. Such a family is not recognised as a family — score 8
- 4. Such a family is temporary by its nature — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 8, tied with another option at 8 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 16, line 17: «A single parent looks after the children mostly alone, maybe after a separation, a death or by choice, and it is a complete family.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «choice» (+4); the same property (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+2). The right option, 2, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/adult-life/16-new-partners-and-step-families/