---
title: Ascertain the factor determining the colour of a hen's eggshell. — Farm animals: milk, eggs, wool and meat · tree and pragmatics
description: Ascertain the factor determining the colour of a hen's eggshell. Exam question 3 of lesson 287 «Farm animals: milk, eggs, wool and meat» 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 wrong.
---

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# Exam question 3 · Farm animals: milk, eggs, wool and meat

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ascertain the factor determining the colour of a hen's eggshell.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, factor · **What happens:** ascertain, determine · **To what, where:** factor, colour

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 287 «Farm animals: milk, eggs, wool and meat» 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/287-farm-animals-milk-eggs-wool-and-meat/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:287-farm-animals-milk-eggs-wool-and-meat:e3:1
# text = Ascertain the factor determining the colour of a hen's eggshell.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	factor	factor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	determining	determine	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	acl	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	colour	colour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	hen	hen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	's	's	PART	POS	_	9	case	_	_
11	eggshell	eggshell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* | the factor |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent factor=Topic |
| 2 | **determine** | gerund | the factor *not said here* | the colour of a hen's eggshell |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent colour=Topic |

<!-- .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 -->
The nutritional value of the egg

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:287-farm-animals-milk-eggs-wool-and-meat:e3:o1:1
# text = The nutritional value of the egg
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	nutritional	nutritional	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	value	value	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	egg	egg	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **value** |  |  | the egg |  |  |  |  | nom value «cognition transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The presence of a cockerel

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:287-farm-animals-milk-eggs-wool-and-meat:e3:o2:1
# text = The presence of a cockerel
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	presence	presence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	cockerel	cockerel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The season of laying

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:287-farm-animals-milk-eggs-wool-and-meat:e3:o3:1
# text = The season of laying
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	season	season	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	laying	laying	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The breed of the hen

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:287-farm-animals-milk-eggs-wool-and-meat:e3:o4:1
# text = The breed of the hen
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	breed	breed	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	hen	hen	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

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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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