---
title: «that hen at the top pecks all the others, she's just mean» What is… — Chickens: eggs, pecking order and livi… · tree and pragmatics
description: «that hen at the top pecks all the others, she's just mean» What is happening? Test 11 · ★ of lesson 212 «Chickens: eggs, pecking order and living dinosaurs» 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 
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/212-chickens-eggs-pecking-order-and-living-dinosaurs/t11/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [questions](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/) / [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/) / [Chickens: eggs, pecking order and livi…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/212-chickens-eggs-pecking-order-and-living-dinosaurs/) / t11

# Test 11 · ★ · Chickens: eggs, pecking order and living dinosaurs

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«that hen at the top pecks all the others, she's just mean» What is happening?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 2 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** hen · **What happens:** peck, mean, happen · **To what, where:** others · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 11 · ★ of lesson 212 «Chickens: eggs, pecking order and living dinosaurs» 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/212-chickens-eggs-pecking-order-and-living-dinosaurs/#t11).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:212-chickens-eggs-pecking-order-and-living-dinosaurs:t11:1
# text = «that hen at the top pecks all the others, she's just mean» What is happening?
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	3	det	_	_
3	hen	hen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	top	top	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	pecks	peck	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	10	det:predet	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	others	other	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
12	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	aux	_	_
14	just	just	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
15	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	_
17	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	19	nsubj	_	_
18	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	19	aux	_	_
19	happening	happen	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	15	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **peck** *in a quote* | present | that hen at the top | all others |  |  |  |  | vn chew-39.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent other=Patient |
| 2 | **mean** *in a quote* | present | hen |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **happen** | present · progressive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- .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 -->
She is teaching them to read

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:212-chickens-eggs-pecking-order-and-living-dinosaurs:t11:o1:1
# text = She is teaching them to read
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	teaching	teach	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	read	read	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **teach** *speech: other* | present · progressive | She |  | them *= they* |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent they=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **read** | to-infinitive | She *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is the pecking order: she is top hen and eats first

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:212-chickens-eggs-pecking-order-and-living-dinosaurs:t11:o2:1
# text = It is the pecking order: she is top hen and eats first
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	pecking	pecking	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	order	order	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
7	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
9	top	top	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	hen	hen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	appos	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	eats	eat	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	conj	_	_
13	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	12	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | the pecking order |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is a** | present | she | top hen |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **eat** | present | she *not said here* |  |  |  |  | first *property* | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She is cleaning their feathers, because the others cannot reach their own backs

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:212-chickens-eggs-pecking-order-and-living-dinosaurs:t11:o3:1
# text = She is cleaning their feathers, because the others cannot reach their own backs
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	cleaning	clean	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	feathers	feather	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
7	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	others	other	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nsubj	_	_
10	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	12	advmod	_	_
12	reach	reach	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
13	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
14	own	own	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	backs	back	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **clean** | present · progressive | She | their feathers |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent feather=Patient |
| 2 | **not** **reach** | can | the others | others's own backs |  |  |  |  | vn body\_motion-49.2-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Agent back=Theme |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She is ill and confused

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:212-chickens-eggs-pecking-order-and-living-dinosaurs:t11:o4:1
# text = She is ill and confused
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|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	ill	ill	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	confused	confused	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | She |  |  |  |  | ill *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  | She *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [Chickens: eggs, pecking order and livi…, test 10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/212-chickens-eggs-pecking-order-and-living-dinosaurs/t10/)
- next →: [Chickens: eggs, pecking order and livi…, exam 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/212-chickens-eggs-pecking-order-and-living-dinosaurs/e1/)
- ↑ back to [Chickens: eggs, pecking order and living dinosaurs](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/212-chickens-eggs-pecking-order-and-living-dinosaurs/)