---
title: «gonna trim my cat's whiskers so they look neat» Why is that a bad i… — How real cats hunt: stalking, waiting… · tree and pragmatics
description: «gonna trim my cat's whiskers so they look neat» Why is that a bad idea? Test 5 · ★★ of lesson 119 «How real cats hunt: stalking, waiting and pouncing» 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 wrong.
---

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# Test 5 · ★★ · How real cats hunt: stalking, waiting and pouncing

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«gonna trim my cat's whiskers so they look neat» Why is that a bad idea?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, whiskers · **What happens:** trim, look, be · **To what, where:** whiskers, bad idea

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 5 · ★★ of lesson 119 «How real cats hunt: stalking, waiting and pouncing» 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/119-how-real-cats-hunt/#t5).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:119-how-real-cats-hunt:t5:1
# text = «gonna trim my cat's whiskers so they look neat» Why is that a bad idea?
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	gonna	gonna	X	FW	Foreign=Yes	3	dep	_	_
3	trim	trim	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	's	's	PART	POS	_	5	case	_	_
7	whiskers	whisker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
8	so	so	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
9	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	look	look	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
11	neat	neat	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
13	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	18	advmod	_	_
14	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	18	cop	_	_
15	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	18	mark	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
17	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **trim** *in a quote* | imperative | you *not said here* | my cat's whiskers |  |  |  |  | vn braid-41.2.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent whisker=Patient |
| 2 | **look** *in a quote* | present | whiskers *= whisker* |  |  |  |  | neat *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus |
| 3 | **is a** | present |  | a bad idea |  |  |  |  | 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.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Whiskers are what cats taste with, so it could not taste its food

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:119-how-real-cats-hunt:t5:o1:1
# text = Whiskers are what cats taste with, so it could not taste its food
1	Whiskers	whisker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	0	root	_	_
4	cats	cat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
5	taste	taste	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	acl:relcl	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
8	so	so	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
10	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
11	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	12	advmod	_	_
12	taste	taste	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	acl:relcl	_	_
13	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	14	nmod:poss	_	_
14	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Whiskers |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **taste** | present | cats |  |  |  |  |  | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |
| 3 | **not** **taste** | could | it | its food |  |  |  |  | vn seem-109 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Theme food=Attribute |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Whiskers keep the cat's head warm

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:119-how-real-cats-hunt:t5:o2:1
# text = Whiskers keep the cat's head warm
1	Whiskers	whisker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	keep	keep	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
7	warm	warm	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | present | Whiskers | the cat's head |  |  |  | warm *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent head=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Whiskers grow back in one minute, so trimming is a waste of time

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:119-how-real-cats-hunt:t5:o3:1
# text = Whiskers grow back in one minute, so trimming is a waste of time
1	Whiskers	whisker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	grow	grow	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	back	back	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	minute	minute	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
8	so	so	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
9	trimming	trimming	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	waste	waste	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	parataxis	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow back** | present | Whiskers |  |  |  | minute |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **is a** | present | trimming | a waste |  |  | time |  | tree rules |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Whiskers are full of nerves and help the cat feel its way and its prey

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:119-how-real-cats-hunt:t5:o4:1
# text = Whiskers are full of nerves and help the cat feel its way and its prey
1	Whiskers	whisker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	nerves	nerve	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	help	help	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	feel	feel	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	xcomp	_	_
11	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
14	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
15	prey	prey	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Whiskers |  |  |  |  | of nerves; full *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **help** | present | Whiskers *not said here* | the cat |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent cat=Beneficiary clause=Theme |
| 3 | **feel** | infinitive | the cat *not said here* | cat's way |  |  |  |  | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent way=Theme |

<!-- 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.

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