---
title: «reefs are tiny, who cares if they die» What is a good answer? — Coral reef builders: polyps, bleaching… · tree and pragmatics
description: «reefs are tiny, who cares if they die» What is a good answer? Test 9 · ★ of lesson 172 «Coral reef builders: polyps, bleaching, sand from parrotfish and giant clams» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's ch
---

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# Test 9 · ★ · Coral reef builders: polyps, bleaching, sand from parrotfi…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«reefs are tiny, who cares if they die» What is a good answer?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 4 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** reefs · **What happens:** be, care, die · **To what, where:** good answer · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 9 · ★ of lesson 172 «Coral reef builders: polyps, bleaching, sand from parrotfish and giant clams» 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/172-coral-reef-builders-polyps-bleaching-sand-from-parrotfish-and-giant-clams/#t9).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:172-coral-reef-builders-polyps-bleaching-sand-from-parrotfish-and-giant-clams:t9:1
# text = «reefs are tiny, who cares if they die» What is a good answer?
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	reefs	reef	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	tiny	tiny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	cares	care	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
8	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
9	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	die	die	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	10	punct	_	_
12	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	16	nsubj	_	_
13	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
15	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | present | reefs |  |  |  |  | tiny *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **care** *in a quote* | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn care-88.1-1 «NP V what S»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 3 | **die** *a condition, not said to happen, in a quote* | present | reefs *= reef* |  |  |  |  |  | vn long-32.2 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 4 | **be** *speech: assert* | present |  | a good answer |  |  |  |  | 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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They are huge and cover the whole ocean, from coast to coast

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:172-coral-reef-builders-polyps-bleaching-sand-from-parrotfish-and-giant-clams:t9:o1:1
# text = They are huge and cover the whole ocean, from coast to coast
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	cop	_	_
3	huge	huge	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	cover	cover	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	ocean	ocean	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	from	from	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	coast	coast	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
12	to	to	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	coast	coast	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | They |  |  |  |  | huge *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **cover** | infinitive | They *not said here* | the whole ocean |  | coast |  | to coast | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme ocean=Destination |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Reefs only matter to tourists who come to dive

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:172-coral-reef-builders-polyps-bleaching-sand-from-parrotfish-and-giant-clams:t9:o2:1
# text = Reefs only matter to tourists who come to dive
1	Reefs	reef	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	only	only	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	matter	matter	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	tourists	tourist	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
6	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	come	come	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	dive	dive	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **matter** | present | Reefs |  |  |  |  | to tourists | vn matter-91 «NP V PP.experiencer»: agent=Stimulus to tourist=Experiencer |
| 2 | **come** | present | tourists |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **dive** | to-infinitive | tourists *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1-1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nothing lives on reefs anyway

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:172-coral-reef-builders-polyps-bleaching-sand-from-parrotfish-and-giant-clams:t9:o3:1
# text = Nothing lives on reefs anyway
1	Nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	2	nsubj	_	_
2	lives	live	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	reefs	reef	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
5	anyway	anyway	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **live** | present | Nothing |  |  | reefs |  | anyway *property* | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on reef=Location |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They cover under one percent of the sea floor but hold a huge share of sea life

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:172-coral-reef-builders-polyps-bleaching-sand-from-parrotfish-and-giant-clams:t9:o4:1
# text = They cover under one percent of the sea floor but hold a huge share of sea life
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	cover	cover	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	under	under	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	percent	percent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	floor	floor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
10	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	hold	hold	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	huge	huge	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	share	share	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
15	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	compound	_	_
17	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cover** | present | They |  |  | one percent of the sea floor |  |  | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **hold** | present | They *not said here* | a huge share of sea life |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent share=Theme |
| 3 | **share** |  |  | sea life |  |  |  |  | nom share «possession transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- 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.

<!-- /div -->

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