---
title: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the… — Mammoths and the Ice Age giants: sabre… · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the animal popularly termed the Irish elk? Exam question 4 of lesson 272 «Mammoths and the Ice Age giants: sabre-tooths, ground sloths and woolly rhinos» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragm
---

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# Exam question 4 · Mammoths and the Ice Age giants: sabre-tooths, ground slot…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the animal popularly termed the Irish elk?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** animal · **What happens:** follow, characteris, term · **To what, where:** Irish elk

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 272 «Mammoths and the Ice Age giants: sabre-tooths, ground sloths and woolly rhinos» 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/272-mammoths-and-the-ice-age-giants/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:272-mammoths-and-the-ice-age-giants:e4:1
# text = Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the animal popularly termed the Irish elk?
1	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	following	follow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	amod	_	_
5	statements	statement	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
6	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	7	advmod	_	_
7	accurately	accurately	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	characterises	characteris	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
11	popularly	popularly	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
12	termed	term	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	ccomp	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	Irish	Irish	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	elk	elk	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **characteris** | present |  |  |  |  |  | of the following statements; accurately *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **term** | past | the animal | the Irish elk |  |  |  | popularly *property* | vn dub-29.3.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent elk=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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It was a horse of considerable size, so named for the shape of its long head

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:272-mammoths-and-the-ice-age-giants:e4:o1:1
# text = It was a horse of considerable size, so named for the shape of its long head
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	horse	horse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	considerable	considerable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	size	size	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
9	so	so	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	named	name	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
11	for	for	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	shape	shape	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
15	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	17	nmod:poss	_	_
16	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
17	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | It | a horse |  |  |  | of considerable size | tree rules |
| 2 | **name** | participle |  | a horse *not said here* |  |  |  | for the shape of shape's long head | vn appoint-29.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It was an elk lacking antlers, distinguished only by its great height

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:272-mammoths-and-the-ice-age-giants:e4:o2:1
# text = It was an elk lacking antlers, distinguished only by its great height
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	elk	elk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	lacking	lack	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	acl	_	_
6	antlers	antler	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
8	distinguished	distinguish	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
9	only	only	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
10	by	by	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
11	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
12	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	height	height	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | It | a elk |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **lack** | gerund | a elk *not said here* | antlers |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **distinguish** | participle |  | a elk *not said here* |  |  |  | by elk's great height | vn distinguish-23.5-1 «NP V NP.theme PP.attribute»: agent=Agent by height=Attribute |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It was a giant deer bearing antlers of some three and a half metres, found well beyond Ireland

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:272-mammoths-and-the-ice-age-giants:e4:o3:1
# text = It was a giant deer bearing antlers of some three and a half metres, found well beyond Ireland
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	giant	giant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	deer	deer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	ccomp	_	_
6	bearing	bear	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	acl	_	_
7	antlers	antler	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	10	det	_	_
10	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	7	nmod	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	half	half	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing|NumForm=Word|NumType=Frac	14	compound	_	_
14	metres	metre	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
16	found	find	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
17	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	16	advmod	_	_
18	beyond	beyond	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
19	Ireland	Ireland	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	16	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | It | a giant deer |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **bear** | gerund | a giant deer *not said here* | antlers of some three and half metres |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent antler=Patient |
| 3 | **find** | past |  |  |  |  |  | beyond Ireland; well *property* | vn declare-29.4-1-1 «NP V what S\_INF»: agent=Agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It was a true elk confined entirely to Ireland, where it was hunted to extinction by farmers

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:272-mammoths-and-the-ice-age-giants:e4:o4:1
# text = It was a true elk confined entirely to Ireland, where it was hunted to extinction by farmers
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	elk	elk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	confined	confine	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	entirely	entirely	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
8	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	Ireland	Ireland	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
11	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	14	advmod	_	_
12	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj:pass	_	_
13	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	14	aux:pass	_	_
14	hunted	hunt	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	conj	_	_
15	to	to	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	extinction	extinction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	_
17	by	by	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	farmers	farmer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obl:agent	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | It | a true elk |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **confine** | past | a true elk |  | Ireland |  |  | entirely *property* | vn confine-92-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent to ireland=Destination |
| 3 | **hunt** | past · passive | farmers | elk |  |  |  | to extinction | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Theme |

<!-- 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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- ↑ back to [Mammoths and the Ice Age giants: sabre-tooths, ground sloths and woolly rhinos](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/272-mammoths-and-the-ice-age-giants/)