---
title: Ascertain the course of action which the lesson commends in respect… — How to handle gossip: is it true, is i… · tree and pragmatics
description: Ascertain the course of action which the lesson commends in respect of a secret confided by a classmate concerning her affections. Exam question 4 of lesson 49 «How to handle gossip: is it true, is it kind, would I say it to their face» of the adult life course of Mova's primary school, with the dep
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/adult-life/49-how-to-handle-gossip/e4/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [questions](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/) / [Adult life](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/adult-life/) / [How to handle gossip: is it true, is i…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/adult-life/49-how-to-handle-gossip/) / e4

# Exam question 4 · How to handle gossip: is it true, is it kind, would I say…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ascertain the course of action which the lesson commends in respect of a secret confided by a classmate concerning her affections.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, lesson, classmate · **What happens:** ascertain, commend, confide, concern, respect · **To what, where:** course, action, respect, secret, affections

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 49 «How to handle gossip: is it true, is it kind, would I say it to their face» 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/49-how-to-handle-gossip/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:49-how-to-handle-gossip:e4:1
# text = Ascertain the course of action which the lesson commends in respect of a secret confided by a classmate concerning her affections.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	course	course	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	action	action	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
6	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	obj	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	lesson	lesson	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	commends	commend	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	respect	respect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	secret	secret	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	_
15	confided	confide	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	14	acl	_	_
16	by	by	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	classmate	classmate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obl:agent	_	_
19	concerning	concern	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	18	acl	_	_
20	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	21	nmod:poss	_	_
21	affections	affection	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	19	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* | the course of action |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent course=Topic |
| 2 | **commend** | present | the lesson | action |  | respect of a secret |  |  | vn judgment-33.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent which=Theme |
| 3 | **confide** *speech: other* | participle |  | a secret *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **concern** | gerund | a classmate *not said here* | lesson's affections |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus affection=Experiencer |
| 5 | **respect** |  |  | a secret |  |  |  |  | nom respect «cognition transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It ought to be exchanged for another secret

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:49-how-to-handle-gossip:e4:o1:1
# text = It ought to be exchanged for another secret
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	ought	ought	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	exchanged	exchange	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	another	another	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	8	det	_	_
8	secret	secret	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **exchange** | ought · passive |  | It |  |  |  | for another secret | vn exchange-13.6.1 «NP V NP PP.co-theme»: subject=Theme for secret=Co-Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It ought to be disclosed to the person concerned

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:49-how-to-handle-gossip:e4:o2:1
# text = It ought to be disclosed to the person concerned
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	ought	ought	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	disclosed	disclose	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	concerned	concerned	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **disclose** | ought · passive |  | It | the person |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: subject=Topic to person=Recipient |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It ought to be kept, out of respect for the trust shown

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:49-how-to-handle-gossip:e4:o3:1
# text = It ought to be kept, out of respect for the trust shown
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	ought	ought	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	kept	keep	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
7	out	out	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	respect	respect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
10	for	for	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	trust	trust	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	_
13	shown	show	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	12	acl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | ought · passive |  | It |  | respect for the trust |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: subject=Theme out respect=Location |
| 2 | **show** | participle |  | the trust *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It ought to be announced to the entire class

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:49-how-to-handle-gossip:e4:o4:1
# text = It ought to be announced to the entire class
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	ought	ought	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	announced	announce	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	entire	entire	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **announce** *speech: other* | ought · passive |  | It | the entire class |  |  |  | vn reflexive\_appearance-48.1.2 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: subject=Theme to class=Recipient |

<!-- 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [How to handle gossip: is it true, is i…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/adult-life/49-how-to-handle-gossip/e3/)
- next →: [Rumours about classmates and what to d…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/adult-life/50-rumours-about-classmates-and-secrets/t1/)
- ↑ back to [How to handle gossip: is it true, is it kind, would I say it to their face](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/adult-life/49-how-to-handle-gossip/)