Talking well: politeness, listening and saying sorry
Tests: 3 of 11 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 6 of 15 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72
Lesson 39 of the language 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 · ★★ · wrong ✗
Your mate goes "polite people say pardon, saying sorry when you didn't hear is wrong, innit." What's true?
- 1. He's right, only "pardon?" is correct English — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. You should say nothing and just guess — no support
- 3. "What?" is the only correct choice in Britain — no support
- 4. Both "sorry?" and "pardon?" are polite today — ✓ 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 2 · ★★ · right ✓
Mia from London answers "I'm going to school" when a man in Sydney says "How ya going?". What happened?
- 1. She thought he asked where; he asked how she is — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
- 2. He was asking her where she was going — score 3
- 3. She answered perfectly the Australian way — no support
- 4. He wanted to know if she was walking or on the bus — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 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 23, line 10: «The printer William Caxton told a story from the 1400s: a woman in the south did not understand a man asking for "eggys", but understood "eyren", the southern…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «ask» (+4). Against it: the same doer «man» (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 3 · ★★ · wrong ✗
A shopkeeper in Leeds says "There you go, love." Your cousin from abroad thinks it's strange. What's true?
- 1. It means the shopkeeper is in love with you — no support
- 2. It's a rude thing to say to a customer — no support
- 3. It's normal friendly politeness from strangers in much of England — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 4. The shopkeeper must know your family well — ← Mova's choice · score 5
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 5, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 5, line 12: «Long ago "thou" was the friendly word for one person you knew well, like Ukrainian ти or French tu, and "you" or "ye" was for more than one person or someone y…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «know» (+4); the same property (+1); a different doer (counts against) (+1). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-1). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 4 · ★★ · wrong ✗
What would happen if Leo kept saying "Sorry you're upset" every time he broke something?
- 1. His sister would feel fully apologised to every time — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. His sister would feel he never takes responsibility — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. His sister would start breaking his toys to be fair — no support
- 4. Nothing, because all sorrys are exactly the same — 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 5 · ★★ · right ✓
Your brother texts his mate the whole time Gran is telling a story. What would a better listener do?
- 1. Leave the room to text in peace and come back — no support
- 2. Put the phone down, look at Gran and ask about the story — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
- 3. Keep texting but say "uh-huh" every few seconds — score 7
- 4. Interrupt Gran to tell her about the texts — score 7
Why: It took the question to ask what is done. It chose option 2 with score 7, tied with another option at 7 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 23, line 10: «The printer William Caxton told a story from the 1400s: a woman in the south did not understand a man asking for "eggys", but understood "eyren", the southern…», 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 action «ask» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗
A Gen Z cousin says "no offence but your fit is mid." ("Fit" means outfit; "mid" means not great.) What's true?
- 1. "Mid" means the outfit is the best one there — ← Mova's choice · score 4
- 2. "No offence" means it can't possibly hurt — no support
- 3. It's a big compliment in Gen Z slang — no support
- 4. "No offence" doesn't make it less unkind — ✓ the right answer · no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 16, line 8: «In current slang "mid" means average, not great, and the skull emoji 💀 means "I'm dead", that is, it's so funny or so bad.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «mean» (+3); the same doer «mid» (+1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 7 · ★★ · wrong ✗
Your new classmate is called "Zhang Wei". You're not sure what to call her. What's the polite move?
- 1. Just call her "Zhang" because it comes first — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. Avoid calling her anything at all — no support
- 3. Make up an English nickname for her — no support
- 4. Ask her which name she likes to be called — ✓ 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 8 · ★★ · wrong ✗
A boy from Alabama says "Yes, sir" to your dad. Your mate says "that's fake posh." What's true?
- 1. He's showing off to look clever — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. It's only said in old films — no support
- 3. It's rude, because "sir" is for kings only — no support
- 4. It's a normal sign of respect in the southern USA — ✓ 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 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗
Your Glaswegian mate's mum says "Cheers, hen, ye're a wee darlin'." ("Wee" means little.) Is she being rude?
- 1. No, it's warm, friendly Glasgow talk — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Yes, she's calling you a chicken — ← Mova's choice · score 3
- 3. No, but she thinks you are a baby — no support
- 4. Yes, "hen" is a rude word in Scotland — no support
Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 33, line 8: «Ukrainian nouns change their endings to show their job in the sentence: "мама" (mum), "мами" (of mum), "мамі" (to mum), "маму" (mum, as the object), "мамою" (w…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «call» (+4). Against it: the same doer «mum» (-1). The right option, 1, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Test 10 · ★★ · wrong ✗
Two friends keep talking over each other at dinner, and both seem happy. What's fair?
- 1. They must not be friends any more — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. In some families people overlap more; it's not always rude — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. It means they are having a big argument — no support
- 4. It's always rude, and someone should stop them — 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 · ★★ · right ✓
Your teacher, Mr Okafor, asks you to say thanks to the visitor. Which is best?
- 1. Thank you for coming to talk to us — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Cheers for that, mate, ta-ra — no support
- 3. Thanks I guess, it was OK — no support
- 4. You can go now, thanks — 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 · wrong ✗
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises a genuine apology?
- 1. A brief remark that the damage was of no consequence — no support
- 2. An acknowledgement of one's action together with an offer to make amends — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. A statement that the injured party ought not to be upset — ← Mova's choice · score 4
- 4. An expression of regret at another person's feelings without admission of fault — no support
Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 3 with score 4, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 7, line 1: «English has four kinds of sentence: a statement tells (The cake is huge.), a question asks (What is that cake?), a command tells someone to do something (Eat t…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same doer «statement» (+1). The right option, 2, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics
Exam question 2 · formal language · right ✓
Identify the meaning of the Australian enquiry "How ya going?".
- 1. An enquiry after the wellbeing of the person addressed — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. An enquiry as to the mode of transport employed — no support
- 3. An enquiry as to the destination of the person addressed — no support
- 4. An instruction to depart without delay — 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 ✗
Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the Ukrainian form of address "Олена Петрівна".
- 1. It comprises two given names chosen by the parents — ← Mova's choice · no support
- 2. It comprises a given name and a patronymic derived from the father's given name — ✓ the right answer · no support
- 3. It comprises a title meaning "teacher" and a surname — no support
- 4. It comprises a given name and the family surname — 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 ✓
In respect of a Chinese name such as "Wang Lei", ascertain the position of the family name.
- 1. First — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
- 2. Absent — no support
- 3. Middle — no support
- 4. Last — 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/language/39-talking-well-politeness-listening-and-saying-sorry/