---
title: Identify the principal reason for which a tower of bricks stacked in… — Lego builds: instructions vs your own… · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the principal reason for which a tower of bricks stacked in vertical alignment is prone to fracture. Exam question 1 of lesson 32 «Lego builds: instructions vs your own ideas» of the arts course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each op
---

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# Exam question 1 · Lego builds: instructions vs your own ideas

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the principal reason for which a tower of bricks stacked in vertical alignment is prone to fracture.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, principal reason · **What happens:** identify, stack, be, fracture · **To what, where:** principal reason, bricks, vertical alignment, prone

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 32 «Lego builds: instructions vs your own ideas» of the arts 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/arts/32-lego-builds-instructions-vs-your-own-ideas/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:arts:32-lego-builds-instructions-vs-your-own-ideas:e1:1
# text = Identify the principal reason for which a tower of bricks stacked in vertical alignment is prone to fracture.
1	Identify	identify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	16	nsubj	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	tower	tower	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nsubj	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	bricks	brick	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nmod	_	_
11	stacked	stack	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	acl	_	_
12	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	vertical	vertical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	alignment	alignment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
15	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
16	prone	prone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
17	to	to	PART	TO	_	18	mark	_	_
18	fracture	fracture	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **identify** | imperative | you *not said here* | the principal reason |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent reason=Theme |
| 2 | **stack** | participle |  | bricks *not said here* |  | vertical alignment |  |  | vn spray-9.7-2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent in alignment=Destination |
| 3 | **is a** | present | the principal reason | prone |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **fracture** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn break-45.1 «NP.patient V»: agent=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 -->
Vertical towers are expressly prohibited by the manufacturer's instructions

```conllu
# sent_id = question:arts:32-lego-builds-instructions-vs-your-own-ideas:e1:o1:1
# text = Vertical towers are expressly prohibited by the manufacturer's instructions
1	Vertical	vertical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	towers	tower	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
4	expressly	expressly	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	prohibited	prohibit	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	by	by	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	manufacturer	manufacturer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	's	PART	POS	_	8	case	_	_
10	instructions	instruction	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **prohibit** | present · passive | the manufacturer's instructions | Vertical towers |  |  |  | expressly *property* | vn forbid-64.4-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer subject=Theme |
| 2 | **instruct** |  | the manufacturer |  |  |  |  |  | nom instruction «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The joins align, forming weak lines

```conllu
# sent_id = question:arts:32-lego-builds-instructions-vs-your-own-ideas:e1:o2:1
# text = The joins align, forming weak lines
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	joins	join	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	align	align	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	forming	form	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	_
6	weak	weak	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	lines	line	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **align** | infinitive | the joins |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **form** | gerund | the joins *not said here* | weak lines |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location line=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The quantity of bricks employed in its construction is insufficient

```conllu
# sent_id = question:arts:32-lego-builds-instructions-vs-your-own-ideas:e1:o3:1
# text = The quantity of bricks employed in its construction is insufficient
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	quantity	quantity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	bricks	brick	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
5	employed	employ	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	construction	construction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	insufficient	insufficient	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **employ** | participle |  | bricks *not said here* |  | quantity's construction |  |  | vn hire-13.5.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | the quantity of bricks |  |  |  |  | insufficient *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **construct** |  | quantity |  |  |  |  |  | nom construction «act transitive»: poss=agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The bricks are brittle metal

```conllu
# sent_id = question:arts:32-lego-builds-instructions-vs-your-own-ideas:e1:o4:1
# text = The bricks are brittle metal
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	bricks	brick	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	brittle	brittle	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	metal	metal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
```

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

<!-- 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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