Not unhappy and not half: litotes

Tests: 4 of 10 right · Exam: 2 of 4 right · Kind: ★★ · Understood: 8 of 14 · Run: 2026-10-18, commit f3c23ea72

Lesson 50 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 ✗

«my mum said she's not unhappy with my report, so she's sad, right??» What is right?

1. Yes, «not» always means the opposite of good — no support
2. No, it means she hasn't read it yet — ← Mova's choice · score 3
3. No, «not unhappy» means she's pleased — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Yes, «unhappy» is in it, so she's sad — 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 50, line 2: «Picture Mum reading Jack's school report, full of «very good» and «excellent», and saying with a little smile: «Well, I'm not unhappy with that». She is please…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «say» (+4); the same thing acted on «report» (+2). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). The right option, 3, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 2 · ★★ · right ✓

Tia hears «That's not the worst idea you've had» and sulks: «so it's a bad idea». Then Dad gets the picnic basket out. What has she missed?

1. Dad is going on a picnic without her — no support
2. It was a dry way of saying «good idea» — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 15
3. Dad was talking about another idea — no support
4. Dad means it's only the second worst idea — score 6

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 2 with score 15, against 6 for the next best. Its support: lesson 50, line 7: ««That's not the worst idea you've had» is a dry way of saying «good idea»; a smile and «let's do it» show what Dad really means.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «say» (+4); the same doer «dry way» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same thing acted on «good idea» (+3). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 3 · ★★ · wrong ✗

★ Your friend calls a boy in your class «not the brightest, bless him» and says «it's fine, I said it nicely». What is true?

1. It's fine, because it means he's clever — no support
2. It means the boy needs a brighter lamp — ← Mova's choice · score 3
3. It's fine, because «bless him» turns it into praise — no support
4. Saying it softly doesn't stop it being a put-down — ✓ the right answer · 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 32, line 16: «Ukrainian Sign Language is a separate language, so a Deaf boy from Ukraine moving to London needs to learn BSL, just as hearing children learn English.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «need» (+4). Against it: the same doer «deaf boy» (-1). The right option, 4, found no support in what it remembers. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 4 · ★★ · right ✓

«they said 'not half' about the match so they only liked half of it lol» What is right?

1. They only watched the first half of the match — no support
2. They liked less than half of the players — no support
3. They wanted all their money back for the second half — no support
4. «Not half!» is old slang for «yes, very much» — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 2

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 4 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 50, line 12: ««Did I enjoy it? Not half!» is old British slang for «yes, very much»; it sounds like a no but means a big yes.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same thing acted on «old british slang» (+2); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). Against it: the same doer «half» (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 5 · ★★ · wrong ✗

You offer Gran a biscuit and she says «I wouldn't say no». You put the tin away because «she didn't say yes». What went wrong?

1. Gran said no in a very polite way — ← Mova's choice · score 6
2. Gran really wanted you to put them away — score 2
3. Gran only eats biscuits on Sundays — score 2
4. «I wouldn't say no» was a polite yes — ✓ the right answer · score 2

Why: It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 6, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 25, line 3: «Every language has idioms, and they sound mad when translated word for word: a Ukrainian gran says "вішати локшину на вуха", "to hang noodles on someone's ears…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: it fills the role the question asks for (+3); the same action «say» (+2); the same doer «ukrainian gran» (+1). The right option, 4, scored 2. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 6 · ★★ · wrong ✗

★ In a guessing game the answer is 85. Who is «not a million miles away»?

1. Leo, who guessed 1,000,000 — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Zoe, who guessed 300 — no support
3. Ben, who guessed 82 — ✓ the right answer · no support
4. Mia, who guessed 30 — 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 · ★★ · right ✓

★★ «Not bad», «not unhappy», «not too shabby», «no small thing». What do they all have in common?

1. They say something good by saying «not» plus its opposite — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. They are all sarcasm that means the opposite — no support
3. They all mean that the speaker is quite disappointed — no support
4. They are all hyperbole that makes things bigger — 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 8 · ★★ · right ✓

★★ A cartoon shows a man reading «she's no stranger to trouble» and thinking the girl has never met trouble. What is the right meaning?

1. She knows trouble very well, because she's often in it — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 3
2. She is new in town and doesn't know anyone — no support
3. She has never once been in any trouble at all — no support
4. Trouble is the name of her best friend — no support

Why: It took the question to ask what it is done to. It chose option 1 with score 3, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 50, line 11: ««She's no stranger to trouble» means she knows trouble very well, because she often gets into it.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «know» (+2); the same property (+1); it fills the role the question asks for (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 9 · ★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ Dad says «It's not unlikely that it won't rain». Count the «not»-type words: not, un-, won't. Does he think it will rain?

1. No: three negatives leave one, so he thinks it probably won't rain — ✓ the right answer · score 5
2. Yes: three negatives always mean a big yes — ← Mova's choice · score 7
3. Yes: the word «rain» is in it, so it will rain — no support
4. Nobody can ever work out a sentence with three negatives — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 7, against 5 for the next best. Its support: lesson 50, line 4: «But watch out: some of these phrases are put-downs dressed up softly («he's not the brightest»), and a few sound like «no» but mean a big yes («Not half!»).», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «mean» (+4); the same thing acted on «big yes» (+2); a different doer (counts against) (+1). The right option, 1, scored 5. · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

Test 10 · ★★ · wrong ✗

★★★ Gran says «It's not exactly warm» in the sports hall, and later «It's not exactly cold» by the fire. Where is it colder?

1. Neither is cold — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. The sports hall — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Both are the same — no support
4. By the fire — 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 ✗

Identify the figure of speech employed in the utterance «I'm not unhappy with that», made by a parent upon reading an excellent report.

1. Sarcasm, an expression of the opposite meaning in mockery — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. A literal statement of indifference — no support
3. Hyperbole, an exaggeration for effect — no support
4. Litotes, an affirmation expressed by the negation of its opposite — ✓ 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 · wrong ✗

Ascertain the meaning of the British expression «Not half!», given in reply to an enquiry whether the speaker enjoyed a match.

1. Departure at half time — ← Mova's choice · no support
2. Emphatic agreement: yes, very much — ✓ the right answer · no support
3. Complete disapproval of the match — no support
4. Partial enjoyment confined to one half of the match — 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 · right ✓

Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the remark «he's not the brightest», made concerning a third party?

1. A softened expression which nonetheless constitutes a disparagement — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · no support
2. A neutral observation without any judgement — no support
3. A comment concerning the person's lamp — no support
4. A compliment upon the person's intelligence — 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 ✓

It is given that a pupil guessed 80 and that the true number was 85. Select the response consistent with the expression «You're not a million miles away».

1. The guess was close — ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer · score 7
2. The guess was distant — no support
3. The guess exceeded a million — no support
4. The guess was exact — no support

Why: It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 7, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 50, line 14: ««You're not a million miles away» means you are close: a guess of 80 when the jar holds 85 is close.», reached through the same lesson line as the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «guess» (+3); the same property (+3); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics

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