---
title: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the… — Myth check: do ostriches bury their he… · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the function of the stones swallowed by the ostrich? Exam question 4 of lesson 151 «Myth check: do ostriches bury their heads in the sand?» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the q
---

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# Exam question 4 · Myth check: do ostriches bury their heads in the sand?

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the function of the stones swallowed by the ostrich?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **What happens:** follow, characteris, swallow · **To what, where:** function, stones

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 151 «Myth check: do ostriches bury their heads in the sand?» 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/151-ostriches-and-heads-in-the-sand/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:151-ostriches-and-heads-in-the-sand:e4:1
# text = Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the function of the stones swallowed by the ostrich?
1	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	following	follow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	amod	_	_
5	statements	statement	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
6	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	7	advmod	_	_
7	accurately	accurately	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	characterises	characteris	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	function	function	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	stones	stone	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nmod	_	_
14	swallowed	swallow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	13	acl	_	_
15	by	by	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	ostrich	ostrich	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl:agent	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **characteris** | present |  | the function of the stones |  |  |  | of the following statements; accurately *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **swallow** | participle |  | the stones *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn hiccup-40.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They are swallowed accidentally and serve no purpose

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:151-ostriches-and-heads-in-the-sand:e4:o1:1
# text = They are swallowed accidentally and serve no purpose
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	swallowed	swallow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	accidentally	accidentally	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	serve	serve	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
7	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	8	det	_	_
8	purpose	purpose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swallow** | present · passive |  | They |  |  |  | accidentally *property* | vn gobble-39.3 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |
| 2 | **serve** | present |  | no purpose |  |  |  |  | vn masquerade-29.6-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent purpose=Attribute |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They are regurgitated by the bird and arranged in a circle in order to construct the nest

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:151-ostriches-and-heads-in-the-sand:e4:o2:1
# text = They are regurgitated by the bird and arranged in a circle in order to construct the nest
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	regurgitated	regurgitate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	arranged	arrange	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	conj	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	circle	circle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
12	in	in	SCONJ	IN	ExtPos=SCONJ	15	mark	_	_
13	order	order	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	fixed	_	_
14	to	to	PART	TO	_	15	mark	_	_
15	construct	construct	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	advcl	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	nest	nest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **regurgitate** | present · passive | the bird | They |  |  |  |  | vn exhale-40.1.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Theme |
| 2 | **arrange** | participle | the bird *not said here* |  |  | a circle |  |  | vn put-9.1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent in circle=Destination |
| 3 | **construct** | to-infinitive | the bird *not said here* | the nest |  |  |  |  | vn create-26.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent nest=Result |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They are retained in the gizzard and grind food, the bird possessing no teeth

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:151-ostriches-and-heads-in-the-sand:e4:o3:1
# text = They are retained in the gizzard and grind food, the bird possessing no teeth
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	retained	retain	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	gizzard	gizzard	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	grind	grind	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
9	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	parataxis	_	_
13	possessing	possess	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	12	acl	_	_
14	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	15	det	_	_
15	teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **retain** | present · passive |  | They |  | the gizzard |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **grind** | present |  | food |  |  |  |  | vn carve-21.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent food=Patient |
| 3 | **possess** | gerund | the bird *not said here* | no teeth |  |  |  |  | vn own-100.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot tooth=Theme |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They serve as ballast against strong winds

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:151-ostriches-and-heads-in-the-sand:e4:o4:1
# text = They serve as ballast against strong winds
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	serve	serve	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	as	as	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	ballast	ballast	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
5	against	against	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	strong	strong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	winds	wind	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **serve** | present | They |  |  |  |  | as ballast against strong winds | vn masquerade-29.6-2 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Agent as ballast=Attribute |

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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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