---
title: A boy on the bus: "That alien film was real, my cousin says it was o… — Scary films, nightmares and sad endings · tree and pragmatics
description: A boy on the bus: "That alien film was real, my cousin says it was on the news." What is the best check? Test 6 · ★ of lesson 56 «Scary films, nightmares and sad endings» of the adult life course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mo
---

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# Test 6 · ★ · Scary films, nightmares and sad endings

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A boy on the bus: "That alien film was real, my cousin says it was on the news." What is the best check?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** alien film, cousin, boy, best check · **What happens:** be, say · **To what, where:** film, news · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 6 · ★ of lesson 56 «Scary films, nightmares and sad endings» of the adult life course of Mova's primary school. 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/56-scary-films-nightmares-and-sad-endings/#t6).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A boy on the bus: "That alien film was real, my cousin says it was on the news."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:56-scary-films-nightmares-and-sad-endings:t6:1
# text = A boy on the bus: "That alien film was real, my cousin says it was on the news."
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	nsubj	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	bus	bus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	12	punct	_	_
7	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	That	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	10	det	_	_
9	alien	alien	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	film	film	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
11	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
12	real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
14	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
15	cousin	cousin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nsubj	_	_
16	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	conj	_	_
17	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	obj	_	_
18	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	21	cop	_	_
19	on	on	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
20	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
21	news	news	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	21	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	21	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | past | that alien film |  |  |  |  | real *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | present | my cousin | film |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent it=Topic |
| 3 | **is** *in a quote* | past | a boy on the bus |  |  | the news |  |  | 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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* What is the best check?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:56-scary-films-nightmares-and-sad-endings:t6:2
# text = What is the best check?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	0	root	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	5	amod	_	_
5	check	check	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the best check |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ask the boy to swear it is true on his life

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:56-scary-films-nightmares-and-sad-endings:t6:o1:1
# text = Ask the boy to swear it is true on his life
1	Ask	ask	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	swear	swear	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	xcomp	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	ccomp	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ask** *speech: ask* | imperative | you *not said here* |  | the boy |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP whether S\_INF»: agent=Agent boy=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **swear** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  | boy's life |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is** | present | it |  |  |  |  | true *property* | tree rules |

### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Look at a proper news channel; it would be everywhere

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:56-scary-films-nightmares-and-sad-endings:t6:o2:1
# text = Look at a proper news channel; it would be everywhere
1	Look	look	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
4	proper	proper	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
5	news	news	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	channel	channel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	1	punct	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
9	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
10	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	cop	_	_
11	everywhere	everywhere	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	1	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **look** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | at a proper news channel | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent at channel=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | would | channel |  |  |  |  | everywhere *property* | tree rules |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Watch the film again to see if it's true

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:56-scary-films-nightmares-and-sad-endings:t6:o3:1
# text = Watch the film again to see if it's true
1	Watch	watch	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	film	film	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	again	again	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	advcl	_	_
7	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	ccomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **watch** | imperative | you *not said here* | the film |  |  | again |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent film=Theme |
| 2 | **see** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 3 | **is** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | film |  |  |  |  | true *property* | tree rules |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Believe the cousin, because cousins always know these things

```conllu
# sent_id = question:adult-life:56-scary-films-nightmares-and-sad-endings:t6:o4:1
# text = Believe the cousin, because cousins always know these things
1	Believe	believe	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	cousin	cousin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
5	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
6	cousins	cousin	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
7	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	8	advmod	_	_
8	know	know	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	parataxis	_	_
9	these	this	DET	DT	Number=Plur|PronType=Dem	10	det	_	_
10	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **believe** | imperative | you *not said here* | the cousin |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer cousin=Stimulus |
| 2 | **know** | present | cousins | this things |  |  |  | always *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer thing=Stimulus |

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**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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