---
title: Why might a lying-down ostrich be safer than a standing one? — Myth check: do ostriches bury their he… · tree and pragmatics
description: Why might a lying-down ostrich be safer than a standing one? Test 10 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 question and of each option; Mova's choice was wrong.
---

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# Test 10 · Myth check: do ostriches bury their heads in the sand?

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Why might a lying-down ostrich be safer than a standing one?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** lying ostrich · **What happens:** be, stand

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 10 of lesson 151 «Myth check: do ostriches bury their heads in the sand?» 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/151-ostriches-and-heads-in-the-sand/#t10).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:151-ostriches-and-heads-in-the-sand:t10:1
# text = Why might a lying-down ostrich be safer than a standing one?
1	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	9	advmod	_	_
2	might	might	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
4	lying	lying	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	down	down	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	_
7	ostrich	ostrich	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
8	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	cop	_	_
9	safer	safe	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	_
10	than	than	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	standing	stand	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	13	amod	_	_
13	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | might | a lying ostrich |  |  |  |  | than a standing one; safe *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **stand** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «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 -->
Lions never eat birds that are lying down, because they think they are dead

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:151-ostriches-and-heads-in-the-sand:t10:o1:1
# text = Lions never eat birds that are lying down, because they think they are dead
1	Lions	lion	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	eat	eat	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
6	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	lying	lie	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	acl:relcl	_	_
8	down	down	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
11	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
12	think	think	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
13	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
14	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
15	dead	dead	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	ccomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **eat** | present | Lions | birds |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bird=Patient |
| 2 | **lie down** | present · progressive | birds |  |  |  |  | down *property* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **think** *speech: other* | present | Lions *= lion* |  |  |  |  |  | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is** | present | Lions *= lion* |  |  |  |  | dead *property* | tree rules |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It can kick better lying down

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:151-ostriches-and-heads-in-the-sand:t10:o2:1
# text = It can kick better lying down
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	kick	kick	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	better	good	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	3	xcomp	_	_
5	lying	lie	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	_
6	down	down	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **kick** | can | It |  |  |  |  | good *property* | vn split-23.2 «NP V apart»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **lie down** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | down *property* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is closer to its buried head

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:151-ostriches-and-heads-in-the-sand:t10:o3:1
# text = It is closer to its buried head
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	closer	close	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
6	buried	bury	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	amod	_	_
7	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | It |  |  |  |  | to its buried head; close *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **bury** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn put-9.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A big bird flat on the ground is much harder to spot from far away

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:151-ostriches-and-heads-in-the-sand:t10:o4:1
# text = A big bird flat on the ground is much harder to spot from far away
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
4	flat	flat	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	ground	ground	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
9	much	much	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	harder	hard	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	spot	spot	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	xcomp	_	_
13	from	from	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	far	far	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	12	advmod	_	_
15	away	away	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a big bird on the ground |  |  |  |  | hard *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **spot** | to-infinitive | a big bird on the ground *not said here* |  |  |  |  | far *property* | vn weather-57 «It V PP.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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- ↑ back to [Myth check: do ostriches bury their heads in the sand?](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/151-ostriches-and-heads-in-the-sand/)