---
title: «why bother feeding birds, they managed for ages without us» Why can… — Garden birds: robins, blackbirds, tits… · tree and pragmatics
description: «why bother feeding birds, they managed for ages without us» Why can it help in winter? Test 9 · ★ of lesson 216 «Garden birds: robins, blackbirds, tits and feeders» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's cho
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/216-garden-birds-robins-blackbirds-tits-and-feeders/t9/)

<!-- 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/) / [Garden birds: robins, blackbirds, tits…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/216-garden-birds-robins-blackbirds-tits-and-feeders/) / t9

# Test 9 · ★ · Garden birds: robins, blackbirds, tits and feeders

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«why bother feeding birds, they managed for ages without us» Why can it help in winter?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** feeding birds, it · **What happens:** feed, manage, help

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 9 · ★ of lesson 216 «Garden birds: robins, blackbirds, tits and feeders» 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/216-garden-birds-robins-blackbirds-tits-and-feeders/#t9).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:216-garden-birds-robins-blackbirds-tits-and-feeders:t9:1
# text = «why bother feeding birds, they managed for ages without us» Why can it help in winter?
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	8	advmod	_	_
3	bother	bother	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	feeding	feed	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	amod	_	_
5	birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
7	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	managed	manage	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	ages	age	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
11	without	without	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	8	punct	_	_
14	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	17	advmod	_	_
15	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	17	aux	_	_
16	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
17	help	help	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	advcl	_	_
18	in	in	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
19	winter	winter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **feed** *in a quote* | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn gorge-39.6 «NP V PP.patient»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **manage** *in a quote* | past | bother feeding birds |  |  |  | for ages | without us | vn succeed-74-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **help** | can | it |  |  |  | winter |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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 -->
Birds hibernate all winter and need food left out to help them wake up

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:216-garden-birds-robins-blackbirds-tits-and-feeders:t9:o1:1
# text = Birds hibernate all winter and need food left out to help them wake up
1	Birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	hibernate	hibernate	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	4	det	_	_
4	winter	winter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	need	need	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
7	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
8	left	leave	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	acl	_	_
9	out	out	ADP	RP	_	8	compound:prt	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	help	help	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	advcl	_	_
12	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	_
13	wake	wake	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	xcomp	_	_
14	up	up	ADP	RP	_	13	compound:prt	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hibernate** | present | Birds |  |  |  | winter |  | vn fit-54.3 «NP.location V NP»: agent=Location |
| 2 | **need** | present | Birds *not said here* | food |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot food=Theme |
| 3 | **leave out** | participle |  | food *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn neglect-75.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **help** | to-infinitive | Birds *not said here* | Birds *= bird* |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent they=Beneficiary clause=Theme |
| 5 | **wake up** | infinitive | Birds *= bird* *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Birds cannot eat at all in winter

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:216-garden-birds-robins-blackbirds-tits-and-feeders:t9:o2:1
# text = Birds cannot eat at all in winter
1	Birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	eat	eat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	4	obl	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	winter	winter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **eat** | can | Birds |  |  | all | winter |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Birds only eat bird seed bought from shops, nothing they find for themselves

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:216-garden-birds-robins-blackbirds-tits-and-feeders:t9:o3:1
# text = Birds only eat bird seed bought from shops, nothing they find for themselves
1	Birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	only	only	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	eat	eat	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	seed	seed	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	bought	buy	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl	_	_
7	from	from	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	shops	shop	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	5	appos	_	_
11	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
12	find	find	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	acl:relcl	_	_
13	for	for	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	themselves	themselves	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	12	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **eat** | present | Birds | bird seed |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent seed=Patient |
| 2 | **buy** | participle |  | bird seed *not said here* |  | shops |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent from shop=Source |
| 3 | **find** | present | Birds *= bird* |  |  |  |  | for Birds *= bird* | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent for themselves=Beneficiary |

### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Short days and cold nights make it hard for small birds to get enough food

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:216-garden-birds-robins-blackbirds-tits-and-feeders:t9:o4:1
# text = Short days and cold nights make it hard for small birds to get enough food
1	Short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	days	day	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
4	cold	cold	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	nights	night	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	conj	_	_
6	make	make	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	xcomp	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	birds	bird	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	_
12	to	to	PART	TO	_	13	mark	_	_
13	get	get	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	advcl	_	_
14	enough	enough	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present | Short days and cold nights | it |  |  |  | for small birds; hard *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent it=Material for bird=Beneficiary |
| 2 | **get** | to-infinitive | Short days and cold nights *not said here* | enough food |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer food=Stimulus |

<!-- 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: [Garden birds: robins, blackbirds, tits…, test 8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/216-garden-birds-robins-blackbirds-tits-and-feeders/t8/)
- next →: [Garden birds: robins, blackbirds, tits…, test 10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/216-garden-birds-robins-blackbirds-tits-and-feeders/t10/)
- ↑ back to [Garden birds: robins, blackbirds, tits and feeders](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/216-garden-birds-robins-blackbirds-tits-and-feeders/)