Soft words for hard things: death and dying
Tests: 2 of 12 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: ★ · Understood: 2 of 16 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 1 of the euphemisms 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 ✓
News: "The singer, who passed away on Sunday, will be buried in her home town." What happened on Sunday?
- 1. The singer died — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. She fell ill on stage — no support
- 3. The singer went back home — no support
- 4. The singer gave her last concert — 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 2 · ★ · wrong ✗
Mia: "my goldfish croaked lol, flushing him tonight." Is Mia sad about a real person?
- 1. Yes, a person in her family died — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Yes, her fish is sick but alive — no support
- 3. No, her fish is making noises — no support
- 4. No, she is joking roughly about her dead fish — ✓ 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
Test 3 · ★ · wrong ✗
At a funeral, which would hurt the family most?
- 1. "Sorry for your loss" — no support
- 2. "Sorry he is no longer with us" — ← Mova's choice · score 4
- 3. "Sorry he kicked the bucket" — ✓ the right answer · score 4
- 4. "Sorry he passed away" — score 3
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 2 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 1, line 2: «Death is the thing people soften most: at a funeral nobody says "Grandad is dead", they say "Grandad passed away" or "he is no longer with us", to be kind to t…», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same circumstance (+2); the same property (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). The right option, 3, scored 4. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 4 · ★ · right ✓
Gossip: "Old Fred? Six feet under since March, mate." What do you learn about Fred?
- 1. He died and was buried in March — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. He moved to a small flat in March — no support
- 3. He went to live underground in March — no support
- 4. He fell into a hole in March — 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 5 · ★ · wrong ✗
Ben's friend says "the late Mr Hill built this school". Ben says "so he's always late?" What should you tell Ben?
- 1. Yes, he was never on time — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. No, it means he built it late at night — no support
- 3. No, "the late" means Mr Hill has died — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. Yes, the school was finished late — 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 ✗
A neighbour says "We lost our dad in the spring." What should you say?
- 1. "Did you find him?" — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. "I'm so sorry he died" — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. "Was he lost in the park?" — no support
- 4. "Where did you lose him?" — 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 7 · ★ · wrong ✗
In a western: "Three outlaws bit the dust in the shootout." What happened?
- 1. They ate dinner — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Three outlaws were killed — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. Three outlaws ran into the desert — no support
- 4. Three outlaws fell off horses — 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 ✗
Mum: "Your great-grandad departed this life before you were born." What does she mean?
- 1. He was born before you were — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. He left the country before you were born — no support
- 3. He died before you were born — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. He stopped working before you were born — 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 ✗
A plaque in a park reads "Here lies Captain Grey, at rest at last." What is under the plaque?
- 1. A bench for Captain Grey — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Captain Grey's old boat — no support
- 3. Captain Grey's bed — no support
- 4. Captain Grey's grave — ✓ the right answer · 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 10 · ★ · wrong ✗
Tom: "Grandpa says when he goes to meet his maker I get his watch." When will Tom get the watch?
- 1. When Grandpa visits his own dad — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. When it is made — no support
- 3. When Grandpa finishes making it — no support
- 4. When Grandpa dies — ✓ 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
Test 11 · ★ · wrong ✗
Chatty: "Bloody car finally bit the dust on the motorway." What happened?
- 1. The car got covered in dust — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. The car was washed — no support
- 3. The car broke down for good — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. The car hit a man — 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 12 · ★ · wrong ✗
A US pilot story: "Two of his friends bought the farm over the sea." What happened to his friends?
- 1. They bought farms by the sea — ← Mova's choice · score 4
- 2. They moved to the country — no support
- 3. They were killed over the sea — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. They landed on a farm safely — no support
Why: It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 1, line 11: «"Bought the farm" means died, often in a crash or in battle; it is American slang.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «buy» (+2); the same thing acted on «farm» (+2). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗
Identify the plain meaning of the expression "passed away" as employed in a formal notice of bereavement.
- 1. Was discharged from hospital — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Relocated to another address — no support
- 3. Lost consciousness briefly — no support
- 4. The person has died — ✓ 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 2 · formal language · right ✓
It is given that a churchyard is described as the "final resting place" of a certain individual. Determine what is thereby asserted.
- 1. The individual is buried there — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. The individual worked there — no support
- 3. The individual last resided there — no support
- 4. The individual habitually slept there — 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
Exam question 3 · formal language · wrong ✗
Select the response that most accurately characterises the expression "kicked the bucket".
- 1. A literal description of upsetting a vessel of water — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. An informal and humorous way of stating that a person died — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. A term denoting the commencement of a sporting contest — no support
- 4. A formal and respectful way of stating that a person died — 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 · right ✓
Ascertain the meaning conveyed by the designation "the late" when it precedes the name of a person.
- 1. That the person is deceased — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. That the person is habitually unpunctual — no support
- 3. That the person works during the night — no support
- 4. That the person is late — 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
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/