---
title: Ascertain the means by which the pufferfish renders itself too large… — Coral reef partners and tricksters: cl… · tree and pragmatics
description: Ascertain the means by which the pufferfish renders itself too large to be consumed. Exam question 4 of lesson 173 «Coral reef partners and tricksters: clownfish, cleaners, mimics and puffers» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and
---

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# Exam question 4 · Coral reef partners and tricksters: clownfish, cleaners, m…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ascertain the means by which the pufferfish renders itself too large to be consumed.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 3 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** you, the, pufferfish · **What happens:** ascertain, mean, render, consume · **To what, where:** pufferfish

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 173 «Coral reef partners and tricksters: clownfish, cleaners, mimics and puffers» 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/173-coral-reef-partners-and-tricksters-clownfish-cleaners-mimics-and-puffers/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:173-coral-reef-partners-and-tricksters-clownfish-cleaners-mimics-and-puffers:e4:1
# text = Ascertain the means by which the pufferfish renders itself too large to be consumed.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	nsubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	ccomp	_	_
4	by	by	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	obl	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	pufferfish	pufferfish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	renders	render	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
9	itself	itself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	8	obj	_	_
10	too	too	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	large	large	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	xcomp	_	_
12	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
13	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	14	aux:pass	_	_
14	consumed	consume	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	11	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **mean** | present | the |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **render** | present | the pufferfish | pufferfish |  |  |  | large *property* | vn give-13.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent itself=Theme |
| 4 | **consume** | to-infinitive · passive | the pufferfish *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn consume-66 «NP V NP» |

<!-- .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 -->
Its skeleton is extended by additional bones

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:173-coral-reef-partners-and-tricksters-clownfish-cleaners-mimics-and-puffers:e4:o1:1
# text = Its skeleton is extended by additional bones
1	Its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	skeleton	skeleton	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	extended	extend	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	additional	additional	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	bones	bone	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **extend** | present · passive | additional bones | Its skeleton |  |  |  |  | vn body\_motion-49.2-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Agent subject=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It adheres to larger fish for concealment

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:173-coral-reef-partners-and-tricksters-clownfish-cleaners-mimics-and-puffers:e4:o2:1
# text = It adheres to larger fish for concealment
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	adheres	adhere	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	larger	large	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	5	amod	_	_
5	fish	fish	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	concealment	concealment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **adhere** | present | It |  |  |  |  | to larger fish; for concealment | vn cling-22.5 «NP V PP.co-theme»: agent=Theme to fish=Co-Theme |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Water is swallowed so that the body is distended into a sphere

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:173-coral-reef-partners-and-tricksters-clownfish-cleaners-mimics-and-puffers:e4:o3:1
# text = Water is swallowed so that the body is distended into a sphere
1	Water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	swallowed	swallow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	so	so	SCONJ	IN	ExtPos=SCONJ	9	mark	_	_
5	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	4	fixed	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	body	body	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj:pass	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux:pass	_	_
9	distended	distend	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	advcl	_	_
10	into	into	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	sphere	sphere	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swallow** | present · passive |  | Water |  |  |  |  | vn gobble-39.3 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |
| 2 | **distend** | present · passive |  | the body |  |  |  | into a sphere *result* | vn bend-45.2 «NP V NP PP.result»: subject=Patient into sphere=Result |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Air is expelled forcibly through its gills

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:173-coral-reef-partners-and-tricksters-clownfish-cleaners-mimics-and-puffers:e4:o4:1
# text = Air is expelled forcibly through its gills
1	Air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	expelled	expel	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	forcibly	forcibly	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	through	through	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	gills	gill	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **expel** | present · passive |  | Air |  | Air's gills |  | forcibly *property* | vn banish-10.2 «NP V NP»: subject=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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- ← previous: [Coral reef partners and tricksters: cl…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/173-coral-reef-partners-and-tricksters-clownfish-cleaners-mimics-and-puffers/e3/)
- next →: [Reef giants and wanderers: whale shark…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/174-reef-giants-and-wanderers-whale-sharks-mantas-dugongs-and-sea-turtles/t1/)
- ↑ back to [Coral reef partners and tricksters: clownfish, cleaners, mimics and puffers](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/173-coral-reef-partners-and-tricksters-clownfish-cleaners-mimics-and-puffers/)