---
title: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the… — Megalodon and the giants of the sea, p… · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the dentition of sharks? Exam question 4 of lesson 273 «Megalodon and the giants of the sea, past and present» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; M
---

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# Exam question 4 · Megalodon and the giants of the sea, past and present

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the dentition of sharks?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **What happens:** follow, characteris · **To what, where:** dentition

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 273 «Megalodon and the giants of the sea, past and present» 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/273-megalodon-and-the-giants-of-the-sea/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:273-megalodon-and-the-giants-of-the-sea:e4:1
# text = Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the dentition of sharks?
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	dentition	dentition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	sharks	shark	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	?	?	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 |  | the dentition of sharks |  |  |  | of the following statements; accurately *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .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 -->
Each shark possesses a single set of teeth which must serve for the whole of its life

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:273-megalodon-and-the-giants-of-the-sea:e4:o1:1
# text = Each shark possesses a single set of teeth which must serve for the whole of its life
1	Each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	det	_	_
2	shark	shark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	possesses	possess	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	single	single	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	set	set	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	_
9	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
10	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
11	serve	serve	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	acl:relcl	_	_
12	for	for	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	obl	_	_
15	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	17	nmod:poss	_	_
17	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **possess** | present | each shark | a single set of teeth |  |  |  |  | vn own-100.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot set=Theme |
| 2 | **serve** | must | a single set of teeth |  |  |  |  | for the whole | vn fulfilling-13.4.1-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent for whole=Recipient |

### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Teeth are shed and replaced continually, thousands being produced over a lifetime

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:273-megalodon-and-the-giants-of-the-sea:e4:o2:1
# text = Teeth are shed and replaced continually, thousands being produced over a lifetime
1	Teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	shed	shed	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	replaced	replace	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	conj	_	_
6	continually	continually	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	thousands	thousand	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj:pass	_	_
9	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	aux:pass	_	_
10	produced	produce	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	conj	_	_
11	over	over	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	lifetime	lifetime	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **shed** | present · passive |  | Teeth |  |  |  |  | vn substance\_emission-43.4-1 «PP.location V NP»: subject=Source |
| 2 | **replace** | participle |  |  |  |  |  | continually *property* | vn substitute-13.6.2-1 «NP V PP.co-theme»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **produce** | gerund · passive |  | thousands |  | a lifetime |  |  | vn create-26.4 «NP V NP»: subject=Result |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Teeth are replaced only once, in old age

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:273-megalodon-and-the-giants-of-the-sea:e4:o3:1
# text = Teeth are replaced only once, in old age
1	Teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	replaced	replace	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	only	only	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	age	age	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **replace** | present · passive |  | Teeth |  |  | in old age | once *property* | vn substitute-13.6.2-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Co-Theme |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sharks are entirely without teeth

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:273-megalodon-and-the-giants-of-the-sea:e4:o4:1
# text = Sharks are entirely without teeth
1	Sharks	shark	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	entirely	entirely	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
4	without	without	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Sharks |  |  |  |  | without teeth; entirely *property* | tree rules |

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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: [Megalodon and the giants of the sea, p…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/273-megalodon-and-the-giants-of-the-sea/e3/)
- next →: [Terror birds, moas, giant insects and…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/274-terror-birds-moas-giant-insects-and-lost-giants/t1/)
- ↑ back to [Megalodon and the giants of the sea, past and present](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/273-megalodon-and-the-giants-of-the-sea/)