---
title: Uncle says Thriller sold a billion "because my mate told me". What i… — Charts, number ones and famous musicia… · tree and pragmatics
description: Uncle says Thriller sold a billion "because my mate told me". What is the wise move? Test 9 · ★★ of lesson 6 «Charts, number ones and famous musicians as public record» of the arts course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's cho
---

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# Test 9 · ★★ · Charts, number ones and famous musicians as public record

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Uncle says Thriller sold a billion "because my mate told me". What is the wise move?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 3 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** Uncle, Thriller, mate, wise move · **What happens:** say, sell, tell, be · **To what, where:** billion, Uncle · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 9 · ★★ of lesson 6 «Charts, number ones and famous musicians as public record» of the arts 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/arts/6-charts-number-ones-and-famous-musicians-as-public-record/#t9).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Uncle says Thriller sold a billion "because my mate told me".

```conllu
# sent_id = question:arts:6-charts-number-ones-and-famous-musicians-as-public-record:t9:1
# text = Uncle says Thriller sold a billion "because my mate told me".
1	Uncle	uncle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	Thriller	Thriller	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	sold	sell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	billion	billion	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	4	obj	_	_
7	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
9	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	mate	mate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
11	told	tell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
12	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	11	iobj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | Uncle |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **sell** | past | Thriller | a billion |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent billion=Theme |
| 3 | **tell** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | past | my mate |  | Uncle |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent i=Recipient |

<!-- .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 wise move?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:arts:6-charts-number-ones-and-famous-musicians-as-public-record:t9:2
# text = What is the wise move?
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	wise	wise	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	move	move	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 wise move |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Believe it, because uncles are always right

```conllu
# sent_id = question:arts:6-charts-number-ones-and-famous-musicians-as-public-record:t9:o1:1
# text = Believe it, because uncles are always right
1	Believe	believe	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	1	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
4	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
5	uncles	uncle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
6	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	8	advmod	_	_
8	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	parataxis	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **believe** | imperative | you *not said here* | it |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer it=Stimulus |
| 2 | **is** | present | uncles |  |  |  |  | always, right *property* | tree rules |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Add a few more millions to be safe

```conllu
# sent_id = question:arts:6-charts-number-ones-and-famous-musicians-as-public-record:t9:o2:1
# text = Add a few more millions to be safe
1	Add	add	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
3	few	few	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
4	more	more	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	5	amod	_	_
5	millions	million	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
7	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	cop	_	_
8	safe	safe	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **add** *speech: assert* | imperative | you *not said here* | a few more millions |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent million=Patient |
| 2 | **is** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | safe *property* | tree rules |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Check big numbers, because they grow when repeated

```conllu
# sent_id = question:arts:6-charts-number-ones-and-famous-musicians-as-public-record:t9:o3:1
# text = Check big numbers, because they grow when repeated
1	Check	check	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	numbers	number	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
5	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	grow	grow	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	parataxis	_	_
8	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	9	advmod	_	_
9	repeated	repeat	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **check** | imperative | you *not said here* | big numbers |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent number=Theme |
| 2 | **grow** | present | numbers *= number* |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **repeat** | participle | numbers *= number* *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Repeat it to everyone at school

```conllu
# sent_id = question:arts:6-charts-number-ones-and-famous-musicians-as-public-record:t9:o4:1
# text = Repeat it to everyone at school
1	Repeat	repeat	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	1	obj	_	_
3	to	to	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	everyone	everyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	1	obl	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **repeat** | imperative | you *not said here* | it | everyone | school |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent it=Topic to everyone=Recipient |

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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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