---
title: Why were small seed-eaters and burrowers more likely to survive? — The asteroid: the day the dinosaurs di… · tree and pragmatics
description: Why were small seed-eaters and burrowers more likely to survive? Test 8 · ★★ of lesson 271 «The asteroid: the day the dinosaurs died and who survived» 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 right.
---

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# Test 8 · ★★ · The asteroid: the day the dinosaurs died and who survived

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Why were small seed-eaters and burrowers more likely to survive?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** small seed eaters · **What happens:** be, survive

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 8 · ★★ of lesson 271 «The asteroid: the day the dinosaurs died and who survived» 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/271-the-asteroid-the-day-the-dinosaurs-died/#t8).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:271-the-asteroid-the-day-the-dinosaurs-died:t8:1
# text = Why were small seed-eaters and burrowers more likely to survive?
1	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	10	advmod	_	_
2	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
3	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
4	seed	seed	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	eaters	eater	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	burrowers	burrower	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	conj	_	_
9	more	more	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	10	advmod	_	_
10	likely	likely	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	survive	survive	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | small seed eaters and burrowers |  |  |  |  | likely *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **survive** | to-infinitive | small seed eaters and burrowers *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1-1 «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 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They could hide and live on seeds and dead things while plants were gone

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:271-the-asteroid-the-day-the-dinosaurs-died:t8:o1:1
# text = They could hide and live on seeds and dead things while plants were gone
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	hide	hide	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	live	live	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	seeds	seed	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	dead	dead	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	conj	_	_
11	while	while	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
12	plants	plant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	nsubj	_	_
13	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	14	aux:pass	_	_
14	gone	go	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hide** | could | They |  |  |  |  |  | vn concealment-16-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **live** | infinitive | They *not said here* |  |  | seeds and dead things |  |  | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on seed=Location |
| 3 | **go** | past · passive |  | plants |  |  |  |  | vn meander-47.7 «PP.location V NP»: subject=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They were much stronger and tougher than the big dinosaurs ever were

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:271-the-asteroid-the-day-the-dinosaurs-died:t8:o2:1
# text = They were much stronger and tougher than the big dinosaurs ever were
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	much	much	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	stronger	strong	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	tougher	tough	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	4	conj	_	_
7	than	than	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	dinosaurs	dinosaur	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
11	ever	ever	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	10	advmod	_	_
12	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | They |  |  |  |  | than the big dinosaurs; strong *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  | They *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They could not catch any illness, so nothing at all could harm them

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:271-the-asteroid-the-day-the-dinosaurs-died:t8:o3:1
# text = They could not catch any illness, so nothing at all could harm them
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	catch	catch	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	6	det	_	_
6	illness	illness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
8	so	so	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
9	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	13	nsubj	_	_
10	at	at	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	9	nmod	_	_
12	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
13	harm	harm	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
14	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **catch** | could | They | any illness |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent illness=Theme |
| 2 | **harm** | could | nothing | them *= they* |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus they=Experiencer |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They could fly away to another planet until the dust had cleared

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:271-the-asteroid-the-day-the-dinosaurs-died:t8:o4:1
# text = They could fly away to another planet until the dust had cleared
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	fly	fly	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	away	away	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	another	another	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	7	det	_	_
7	planet	planet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	until	until	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	dust	dust	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj:pass	_	_
11	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
12	cleared	clear	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fly away** | could | They |  |  |  |  | to another planet *result*; away *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.result»: agent=Theme to planet=Result |
| 2 | **clear** | past · perfect · passive |  | the dust |  |  |  |  | vn clear-10.3-1 «NP V NP.source»: subject=Source |

<!-- 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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