---
title: Old stories tell of ghostly lights dancing over marshes at night. Wh… — Swamps, marshes, mangroves and bogs · tree and pragmatics
description: Old stories tell of ghostly lights dancing over marshes at night. What do scientists say? Test 10 of lesson 11 «Swamps, marshes, mangroves and bogs» 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 was right.
---

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# Test 10 · Swamps, marshes, mangroves and bogs

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Old stories tell of ghostly lights dancing over marshes at night. What do scientists say?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 4 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** Old stories, ghostly lights, scientists · **What happens:** tell, dance, say · **To what, where:** marshes · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 10 of lesson 11 «Swamps, marshes, mangroves and bogs» of the biology 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/biology/11-swamps-marshes-mangroves-and-bogs/#t10).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Old stories tell of ghostly lights dancing over marshes at night.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:11-swamps-marshes-mangroves-and-bogs:t10:1
# text = Old stories tell of ghostly lights dancing over marshes at night.
1	Old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	stories	story	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	tell	tell	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	ghostly	ghostly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	lights	light	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
7	dancing	dance	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	acl	_	_
8	over	over	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	marshes	marsh	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
10	at	at	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | present | Old stories |  |  |  |  | of ghostly lights | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **dance** | gerund | ghostly lights *not said here* |  |  | marshes | night |  | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme over marsh=Location |

<!-- .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 do scientists say?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:11-swamps-marshes-mangroves-and-bogs:t10:2
# text = What do scientists say?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	obj	_	_
2	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	scientists	scientist	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present · do-support | scientists |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They are reflections of the Moon on the mud

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:11-swamps-marshes-mangroves-and-bogs:t10:o1:1
# text = They are reflections of the Moon on the mud
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	reflections	reflection	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	Moon	Moon	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	mud	mud	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
```

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

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They are proven to be fireflies in every case

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:11-swamps-marshes-mangroves-and-bogs:t10:o2:1
# text = They are proven to be fireflies in every case
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	proven	prove	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	cop	_	_
6	fireflies	firefly	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	xcomp	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	9	det	_	_
9	case	case	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **prove** | present · passive |  | They |  | every case |  |  | vn deduce-97.2 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 2 | **is a** | to-infinitive |  | fireflies |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They are definitely the ghosts of people who were lost in the bog long ago

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:11-swamps-marshes-mangroves-and-bogs:t10:o3:1
# text = They are definitely the ghosts of people who were lost in the bog long ago
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	definitely	definitely	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	ghosts	ghost	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	_
8	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
9	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux:pass	_	_
10	lost	lose	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	acl:relcl	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	bog	bog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
14	long	long	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	15	advmod	_	_
15	ago	ago	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | They | the ghosts |  |  |  | of people; definitely *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **lose** | past · passive |  | people |  | the bog |  | ago *property* | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Eventuality |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They may come from marsh gas catching fire, but it is not proven

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:11-swamps-marshes-mangroves-and-bogs:t10:o4:1
# text = They may come from marsh gas catching fire, but it is not proven
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	marsh	marsh	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	gas	gas	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	catching	catch	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	acl	_	_
8	fire	fire	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
10	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj:pass	_	_
12	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	aux:pass	_	_
13	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	14	advmod	_	_
14	proven	prove	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | may | They |  |  | marsh gas |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from gas=Initial\_Location |
| 2 | **catch** | gerund | marsh gas *not said here* | fire |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fire=Theme |
| 3 | **not** **prove** | present · passive |  | fire |  |  |  |  | vn deduce-97.2 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |

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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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