---
title: State the principal cause of the decline of the Tasmanian devil in t… — Koalas, wombats, Tasmanian devils and… · tree and pragmatics
description: State the principal cause of the decline of the Tasmanian devil in the wild. Exam question 4 of lesson 104 «Koalas, wombats, Tasmanian devils and the platypus» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choice wa
---

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# Exam question 4 · Koalas, wombats, Tasmanian devils and the platypus

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
State the principal cause of the decline of the Tasmanian devil in the wild.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Tasmanian devil · **What happens:** cause, decline · **To what, where:** decline, wild

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This is exam question 4 of lesson 104 «Koalas, wombats, Tasmanian devils and the platypus» of the biology 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/biology/104-koalas-wombats-tasmanian-devils-and-the-platypus/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:104-koalas-wombats-tasmanian-devils-and-the-platypus:e4:1
# text = State the principal cause of the decline of the Tasmanian devil in the wild.
1	State	state	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	cause	cause	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	decline	decline	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	Tasmanian	Tasmanian	ADJ	NNP	Degree=Pos	11	compound	_	_
11	devil	Devil	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
12	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	wild	wild	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cause** |  |  | the decline of the Tasmanian devil in the wild |  |  |  |  | nom cause «event transitive»: of=patient |
| 2 | **decline** |  | the Tasmanian devil |  |  | the wild |  |  | nom decline «process intransitive»: of=agent in=place |

<!-- .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 -->
Predation by the koala

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:104-koalas-wombats-tasmanian-devils-and-the-platypus:e4:o1:1
# text = Predation by the koala
1	Predation	predation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	by	by	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	koala	koala	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **predate** |  | the koala |  |  |  |  |  | nom predation «act transitive»: by=agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A shortage of fresh water in Tasmania

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:104-koalas-wombats-tasmanian-devils-and-the-platypus:e4:o2:1
# text = A shortage of fresh water in Tasmania
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	shortage	shortage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	fresh	fresh	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	Tasmania	Tasmania	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The destruction of all the eucalyptus forest in Tasmania

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:104-koalas-wombats-tasmanian-devils-and-the-platypus:e4:o3:1
# text = The destruction of all the eucalyptus forest in Tasmania
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	destruction	destruction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
4	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	7	det:predet	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	eucalyptus	eucalyptus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	forest	forest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	Tasmania	Tasmania	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **destroy** |  |  | all eucalyptus forest in Tasmania |  |  |  |  | nom destruction «act transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A transmissible cancer passed on by bites to the face

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:104-koalas-wombats-tasmanian-devils-and-the-platypus:e4:o4:1
# text = A transmissible cancer passed on by bites to the face
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	transmissible	transmissible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	cancer	cancer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	passed	pass	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	_
6	by	by	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	bites	bite	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
8	to	to	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	face	face	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pass on** | participle |  | a transmissible cancer *not said here* |  | the face |  | by bites | vn send-11.1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent to face=Destination |

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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.

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