Endings that sound like «shun»: -tion, -sion, -ssion, -cian

Tests: 7 of 12 right · Exam: 3 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 14 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 8 of the english 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 ✓

«bruv, just write it how it sounds: televishun, stashun, mushun». What is the problem?

1. Those are the American spellings — score 5
2. Only «mushun» is wrong; the others are fine — no support
3. Nothing, sounding a word out always gives you its spelling — score 4
4. The /shun/ ending is almost never spelled «shun» — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 4 with score 7, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 8, line 1: «Liam writes «stashun» for «station». It sounds right, but in English the /shun/ ending is almost never spelled «shun». It has four main spellings, -tion, -sion…», reached through a sentence linked to the one the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same action «spell» (+2); the same thing acted on «shun ending» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«I'm a magition when I grow up». Which spelling is right, and why?

1. magition: -tion is the most common ending — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. magission: magic tricks need ss — no support
3. magician: a job from «magic», which ends in c — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. magision: the sound is soft like «television» — no support

Why: Nothing it remembers matched the question, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★ · right ✓

«yer man's sign says competishun, so that's how ya spell it». What is true?

1. It is the Irish spelling of the word — no support
2. Both spellings are fine in school work — no support
3. Signs are always checked by an editor, so it must be right — no support
4. Ads can misspell on purpose; it's «competition» — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · 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 8, line 15: «Signs and adverts sometimes misspell words on purpose for effect; that does not make the spelling correct.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same place «purpose» (+4); the same action «misspell» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★★ · wrong ✗

What would happen if you used -tion for every /shun/ word?

1. Teachers would accept it as long as the word sounds right when read aloud — ← Mova's choice · score 4
2. You'd misspell words like «discussion» and «musician» — ✓ the right answer · score 2
3. You would always be right — no support
4. You'd only misspell the very long words — score 2

Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 4, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 8, line 4: «Adding -tion often turns a doing word (verb) into a thing word (noun): inform becomes information, educate becomes education. Many of these are school and work…», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «school words» (+4). The right option, 2, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★ · right ✓

«expand, so it's expantion, innit». What is the right spelling and the clue?

1. expansion: the root ends in nd — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. expantion: the root ends in t — score 8
3. expancian: it is a job — score 2
4. expanssion: the root ends in ss — score 8

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. 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 8, line 2: «The secret is the root word, the word you start from. Root ends in t or te: -tion (act, action; invent, invention; complete, completion). Root ends in ss: -ssi…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «end» (+3); the same doer «root» (+3); the same place «d» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗

«-tion words are giving homework vibes, so I'll stuff 'em in my story to sound smart». Good idea?

1. No, -tion words are banned in stories — no support
2. Yes, long words always make writing better — ← Mova's choice · score 4
3. Yes, teachers give an extra mark for every -tion word in a story — no support
4. No, use them when they are clearer, not to show off — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 8, line 4: «Adding -tion often turns a doing word (verb) into a thing word (noun): inform becomes information, educate becomes education. Many of these are school and work…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «clear short word» (+2); the same property (+2). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 7 · ★★ · right ✓

A cartoon wizard spells his job «wizardcian». Why doesn't -cian fit?

1. -cian is only for words from music — no support
2. «Wizard» doesn't end in c — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 0
3. It does fit; every job ends in -cian — no support
4. -cian is only for women's jobs — no support

Why: It took the question to ask why something happens (its cause). It chose option 2 with score 0, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 7, line 4: «The past ending is always spelled -ed, even though it sounds like /t/ in «jumped», /d/ in «played» and /id/ in «wanted». Consonant + y changes to i before -ed…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «end» (+2); the same place «c» (+2). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1); one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 8 · ★★ · wrong ✗

Mum tests «discuss» → «discussion». Which other pair follows the same pattern?

1. divide, division — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. express, expression — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. music, musician — no support
4. invent, invention — 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 · ★★ · right ✓

«decision ends in zhun so it's decizhun». Spot the slip.

1. The soft /zhun/ sound is spelled -sion — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
2. It should be «decissian» — no support
3. It's right; always spell it exactly like it sounds — no support
4. It should be «decition» — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 8, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 8, line 4: «Adding -tion often turns a doing word (verb) into a thing word (noun): inform becomes information, educate becomes education. Many of these are school and work…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «spell» (+4); the same thing acted on «words» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ Which word has the SAME ending spelling as «musician»?

1. politician — ✓ the right answer · no support
2. television — ← Mova's choice · score 7
3. position — no support
4. passion — no support

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 8, line 4: «Adding -tion often turns a doing word (verb) into a thing word (noun): inform becomes information, educate becomes education. Many of these are school and work…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «television» (+3). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 11 · ★★ · right ✓

★★★ «Complete» becomes «completion». What happened to the e?

1. It moved to the front of the word, before the c — no support
2. It stayed: «completetion» — no support
3. It dropped, because the ending starts with a vowel — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 5
4. It doubled to make «completeetion» — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 7, line 2: «Two rules do most of the work. Drop the silent e before an ending that starts with a vowel (make, making; bake, baked) but keep it before one that starts with…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «start» (+4); the same circumstance (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 12 · ★★ · right ✓

★★★ Which list has all four /shun/ spellings, one each?

1. station, vision, mission, optician — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 13
2. action, fiction, mission, magician — no support
3. passion, session, mission, tension — no support
4. nation, motion, potion, lotion — no support

Why: It took the question to ask a circumstance (with what, when, how). It chose option 1 with score 13, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 8, line 16: «Many -tion words sound formal; use them when they are clearer, not just to sound clever.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+6); the same circumstance (+4); the same thing acted on «spellings» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 1 · formal language · right ✓

Identify the principal means by which the correct spelling of the ending pronounced /shun/ may be determined.

1. By reference to the first letter of the word — no support
2. By reference to the country in which the word is written — no support
3. By reference to the length of the word in letters and the number of its syllables — no support
4. By reference to the ending of the root word from which the word is formed — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 7, line 4: «The past ending is always spelled -ed, even though it sounds like /t/ in «jumped», /d/ in «played» and /id/ in «wanted». Consonant + y changes to i before -ed…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «k» (+4). Against it: a different action (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the ending -cian?

1. It denotes a person's occupation and is formed from a root terminating in c — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 11
2. It denotes an action or a process and is invariably formed from a root terminating in the letter t — score 11
3. It is an obsolete spelling no longer in use — no support
4. It is employed in all words of more than three syllables — score 10

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 11, tied with another option at 11 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 8, line 2: «The secret is the root word, the word you start from. Root ends in t or te: -tion (act, action; invent, invention; complete, completion). Root ends in ss: -ssi…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «root» (+3); the same action «end» (+2); the same place «c» (+2). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓

Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning words which terminate in a softer /zhun/ sound.

1. Such words have no settled spelling — score 4
2. Such words are commonly spelled with the ending -sion — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 8
3. Such words are invariably spelled with the ending -tion — score 8
4. Such words are spelled with the ending -shun in formal writing — score 8

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 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 8, line 4: «Adding -tion often turns a doing word (verb) into a thing word (noun): inform becomes information, educate becomes education. Many of these are school and work…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «spell» (+4); the same thing acted on «words» (+4). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Exam question 4 · formal language · wrong ✗

It is given that the word «competishun» appears in a commercial advertisement. Ascertain the inference which may properly be drawn.

1. The advertisement must be withdrawn by law — no support
2. The spelling is thereby established as correct — no support
3. The word has changed its spelling in recent years — ← Mova's choice · score 6
4. The misspelling may be deliberate and does not establish the correct form — ✓ the right answer · no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score 6, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 6, line 12: «Some old common words change their vowel or ending: mouse/mice, man/men, foot/feet, tooth/teeth, goose/geese, child/children.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «old common words» (+3); the same action «change» (+2); a different thing acted on (counts against) (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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