---
title: Identify the principal reason for which the three-toed sloth descend… — The Amazon canopy: howlers, harpy eagl… · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the principal reason for which the three-toed sloth descends from the canopy approximately once each week. Exam question 2 of lesson 156 «The Amazon canopy: howlers, harpy eagles, toucans, dart frogs and sloth gardens» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree
---

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# Exam question 2 · The Amazon canopy: howlers, harpy eagles, toucans, dart fr…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the principal reason for which the three-toed sloth descends from the canopy approximately once each week.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, toed sloth · **What happens:** identify, descend · **To what, where:** principal reason, canopy

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This is exam question 2 of lesson 156 «The Amazon canopy: howlers, harpy eagles, toucans, dart frogs and sloth gardens» 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/156-the-amazon-canopy/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:156-the-amazon-canopy:e2:1
# text = Identify the principal reason for which the three-toed sloth descends from the canopy approximately once each week.
1	Identify	identify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	12	obl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
8	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	10	nummod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	toed	toed	ADJ	JJ	_	11	amod	_	_
11	sloth	sloth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
12	descends	descend	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl	_	_
13	from	from	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	canopy	canopy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	_
16	approximately	approximately	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
17	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	12	advmod	_	_
18	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	19	det	_	_
19	week	week	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **identify** | imperative | you *not said here* | the principal reason |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent reason=Theme |
| 2 | **descend** | present | the toed sloth |  |  | the canopy |  | for the principal reason; once *property* | vn meander-47.7-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme from canopy=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.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To seek a mate upon the forest floor

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:156-the-amazon-canopy:e2:o1:1
# text = To seek a mate upon the forest floor
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	seek	seek	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	mate	mate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	forest	forest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	floor	floor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **seek** | to-infinitive |  | a mate |  | the forest floor |  |  | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent mate=Theme upon floor=Location |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To sleep within a burrow in the earth

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:156-the-amazon-canopy:e2:o2:1
# text = To sleep within a burrow in the earth
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	sleep	sleep	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	within	within	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	burrow	burrow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	earth	earth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sleep** | to-infinitive |  |  |  | the earth |  | within a burrow | vn fit-54.3 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent in earth=Location |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To defecate upon the ground

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:156-the-amazon-canopy:e2:o3:1
# text = To defecate upon the ground
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	defecate	defecate	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	ground	ground	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **defecate** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | upon the ground | vn breathe-40.1.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To drink from the river below the tree

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:156-the-amazon-canopy:e2:o4:1
# text = To drink from the river below the tree
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	drink	drink	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	from	from	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	river	river	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	below	below	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	tree	tree	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **drink** | to-infinitive |  |  |  | the river |  | below the tree | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V PP.source»: agent=Agent from river=Source |

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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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