---
title: A dog barks at itself in the mirror. A chimp touches a mark on its o… — The great apes: chimpanzees, bonobos,… · tree and pragmatics
description: A dog barks at itself in the mirror. A chimp touches a mark on its own face. What does that tell us? Test 8 of lesson 16 «The great apes: chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each op
---

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# Test 8 · The great apes: chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A dog barks at itself in the mirror. A chimp touches a mark on its own face. What does that tell us?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** dog, chimp, that · **What happens:** bark, touch, tell · **To what, where:** mirror, mark, us · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 8 of lesson 16 «The great apes: chimpanzees, bonobos, gorillas, orangutans» 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/16-the-great-apes/#t8).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A dog barks at itself in the mirror.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:16-the-great-apes:t8:1
# text = A dog barks at itself in the mirror.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	barks	bark	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	itself	itself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	3	obl	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	mirror	mirror	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bark** | present | a dog |  |  | the mirror |  | at dog | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V PP.stimulus»: agent=Agent at itself=Stimulus |

<!-- .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:* A chimp touches a mark on its own face.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:16-the-great-apes:t8:2
# text = A chimp touches a mark on its own face.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	chimp	chimp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	touches	touch	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	mark	mark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
8	own	own	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	face	face	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **touch** | present | a chimp | a mark |  |  |  | on chimp's own face | vn touch-20-1 «NP V NP PP.theme PP.instrument»: agent=Agent mark=Experiencer on face=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 3:* What does that tell us?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:16-the-great-apes:t8:3
# text = What does that tell us?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	obj	_	_
2	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	4	nsubj	_	_
4	tell	tell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	iobj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | present · do-support | that |  | us |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent we=Recipient what=Topic |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The dog is cleverer than the chimp

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:16-the-great-apes:t8:o1:1
# text = The dog is cleverer than the chimp
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	cleverer	clever	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	_
5	than	than	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	chimp	chimp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the dog |  |  |  |  | than the chimp; clever *property* | tree rules |

### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The chimp knows the reflection is itself; the dog does not seem to

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:16-the-great-apes:t8:o2:1
# text = The chimp knows the reflection is itself; the dog does not seem to
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	chimp	chimp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	knows	know	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	reflection	reflection	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	itself	itself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Emp|Reflex=Yes	3	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	13	punct	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
11	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
12	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	13	advmod	_	_
13	seem	seem	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
14	to	to	PART	TO	_	13	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **know** | present | the chimp |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **is a** | present | the reflection | reflection |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **not** **seem** | present · do-support | the dog |  |  |  |  |  | vn seem-109-1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Theme |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Both know it is themselves

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:16-the-great-apes:t8:o3:1
# text = Both know it is themselves
1	Both	both	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	nsubj	_	_
2	know	know	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	themselves	themselves	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **know** | present | Both | it |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer it=Stimulus |
| 2 | **is a** | present |  | themselves *= they* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Neither can see mirrors

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:16-the-great-apes:t8:o4:1
# text = Neither can see mirrors
1	Neither	neither	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	see	see	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	mirrors	mirror	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **see** | can |  | mirrors |  |  |  | neither *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer mirror=Stimulus |

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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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