---
title: Which of the following most accurately characterises a zero-hours co… — Shifts, nights and other ways of working · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following most accurately characterises a zero-hours contract? Exam question 1 of lesson 2 «Shifts, nights and other ways of working» of the adult life course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choice was right.
---

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# Exam question 1 · Shifts, nights and other ways of working

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following most accurately characterises a zero-hours contract?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **What happens:** follow, characteris · **To what, where:** hours contract

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 2 «Shifts, nights and other ways of working» of the adult life course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. The page gives the question's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause, then the 4 options as the student saw them, each with its tree and pragmatics. Every text is parsed by Mova itself. How the student answered it, with the score of every option and why: [the test at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/adult-life/2-shifts-nights-and-other-ways-of-working/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:2-shifts-nights-and-other-ways-of-working:e1:1
# text = Which of the following most accurately characterises a zero-hours contract?
1	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	following	follow	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	6	advmod	_	_
6	accurately	accurately	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	characterises	characteris	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
9	zero	zero	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	11	nummod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	hours	hour	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	compound	_	_
12	contract	contract	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **characteris** | present |  | a hours contract |  |  |  | accurately *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No minimum number of working hours is guaranteed by the employer

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:2-shifts-nights-and-other-ways-of-working:e1:o1:1
# text = No minimum number of working hours is guaranteed by the employer
1	No	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	3	det	_	_
2	minimum	minimum	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	number	number	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	working	working	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	hours	hour	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nmod	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux:pass	_	_
8	guaranteed	guarantee	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
9	by	by	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	employer	employer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **guarantee** | present · passive | the employer | no minimum number of working hours |  |  |  |  | vn ensure-99 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition subject=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An arrangement whereby the employee works exclusively at night

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:2-shifts-nights-and-other-ways-of-working:e1:o2:1
# text = An arrangement whereby the employee works exclusively at night
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	arrangement	arrangement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	whereby	whereby	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	employee	employee	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	works	work	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	exclusively	exclusively	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
8	at	at	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | present | a arrangement |  |  |  | night | exclusively, whereby *property* | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An arrangement whereby the employee works no hours whatsoever and is paid in full

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:2-shifts-nights-and-other-ways-of-working:e1:o3:1
# text = An arrangement whereby the employee works no hours whatsoever and is paid in full
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	arrangement	arrangement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
3	whereby	whereby	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	employee	employee	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	works	work	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	8	det	_	_
8	hours	hour	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl:unmarked	_	_
9	whatsoever	whatsoever	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
11	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	aux:pass	_	_
12	paid	pay	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	conj	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | present | a arrangement |  |  |  | hour | whatsoever, whereby *property* | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **pay** | present · passive | a arrangement *not said here* |  |  | full |  |  | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP» |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An arrangement whereby wages are paid only once per annum

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:2-shifts-nights-and-other-ways-of-working:e1:o4:1
# text = An arrangement whereby wages are paid only once per annum
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	arrangement	arrangement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	whereby	whereby	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
4	wages	wage	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj:pass	_	_
5	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux:pass	_	_
6	paid	pay	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl:relcl	_	_
7	only	only	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	6	advmod	_	_
9	per	per	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	annum	annum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pay** | present · passive |  | wages |  |  |  | per annum; once, whereby *property* | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Asset |

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** the tests of Mova's primary school, written for Mova (`world/data/school/`), as the course runner gave them to the student. **Trees:** Mova's own parse — the `en` model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), each text read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.

<!-- /div -->

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- ← previous: [Shifts, nights and other ways of working, test 11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/adult-life/2-shifts-nights-and-other-ways-of-working/t11/)
- next →: [Shifts, nights and other ways of working, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/adult-life/2-shifts-nights-and-other-ways-of-working/e2/)
- ↑ back to [Shifts, nights and other ways of working](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/adult-life/2-shifts-nights-and-other-ways-of-working/)