---
title: «there were billions of passenger pigeons, you can't kill billions»… — Extinct forever: the dodo, the passeng… · tree and pragmatics
description: «there were billions of passenger pigeons, you can't kill billions» What is right? Test 5 of lesson 281 «Extinct forever: the dodo, the passenger pigeon, the thylacine and more» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option
---

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# Test 5 · Extinct forever: the dodo, the passenger pigeon, the thyla…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«there were billions of passenger pigeons, you can't kill billions» What is right?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** billions, you · **What happens:** be, not kill · **To what, where:** billions · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 5 of lesson 281 «Extinct forever: the dodo, the passenger pigeon, the thylacine and more» 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/281-extinct-forever-the-dodo-the-passenger-pigeon-the-thylacine-and-more/#t5).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:281-extinct-forever-the-dodo-the-passenger-pigeon-the-thylacine-and-more:t5:1
# text = «there were billions of passenger pigeons, you can't kill billions» What is right?
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	3	expl	_	_
3	were	be	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	ccomp	_	_
4	billions	billion	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	passenger	passenger	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	pigeons	pigeon	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
9	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
10	ca	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	12	advmod	_	_
12	kill	kill	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
13	billions	billion	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	12	punct	_	_
15	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	17	nsubj	_	_
16	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	17	cop	_	_
17	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** *in a quote* | past | billions of passenger pigeons |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **not** **kill** *in a quote* | can | you | billions |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | right *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 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
People did: mass hunting and forest cutting killed them all by 1914

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:281-extinct-forever-the-dodo-the-passenger-pigeon-the-thylacine-and-more:t5:o1:1
# text = People did: mass hunting and forest cutting killed them all by 1914
1	People	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	4	punct	_	_
4	mass	mass	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	hunting	hunting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	forest	forest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
8	cutting	cutting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
9	killed	kill	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	ccomp	_	_
10	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	_
11	all	all	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
12	by	by	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	1914	1914	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	9	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | past | People |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **mass** | infinitive | People *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **kill** | past | hunting and forest and cutting | People |  |  |  | by 1914 | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They turned into ordinary pigeons

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:281-extinct-forever-the-dodo-the-passenger-pigeon-the-thylacine-and-more:t5:o2:1
# text = They turned into ordinary pigeons
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	turned	turn	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	into	into	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	ordinary	ordinary	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	pigeons	pigeon	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **turn** | past | They |  |  | ordinary pigeons |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V PP.trajectory»: agent=Theme into pigeon=Trajectory |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Right, they are still flying today in huge flocks over the forests of Canada

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:281-extinct-forever-the-dodo-the-passenger-pigeon-the-thylacine-and-more:t5:o3:1
# text = Right, they are still flying today in huge flocks over the forests of Canada
1	Right	right	INTJ	UH	_	6	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
4	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
5	still	still	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	flying	fly	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
7	today	today	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl:unmarked	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	huge	huge	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	flocks	flock	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	_
11	over	over	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	forests	forest	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	Canada	Canada	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fly** | present · progressive | they |  |  | huge flocks | still; today | over the forests of Canada | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in flock=Location |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They all flew to Europe

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:281-extinct-forever-the-dodo-the-passenger-pigeon-the-thylacine-and-more:t5:o4:1
# text = They all flew to Europe
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	3	advmod	_	_
3	flew	fly	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	Europe	Europe	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fly** | past | They |  | Europe |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.result»: agent=Theme to europe=Result |

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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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