---
title: «my nan says ostriches stick their heads in sand when scared» What w… — Animal myths put right: elephants and… · tree and pragmatics
description: «my nan says ostriches stick their heads in sand when scared» What would happen to a bird that really did that? Test 3 · ★★ of lesson 295 «Animal myths put right: elephants and mice, lemmings, ostriches and goldfish» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragma
---

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# Test 3 · ★★ · Animal myths put right: elephants and mice, lemmings, ostr…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«my nan says ostriches stick their heads in sand when scared» What would happen to a bird that really did that?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 1 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** nan, ostriches · **What happens:** say, stick, happen, do · **To what, where:** heads, sand, bird · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 3 · ★★ of lesson 295 «Animal myths put right: elephants and mice, lemmings, ostriches and goldfish» 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/295-animal-myths-put-right-elephants-and-mice-lemmings-ostriches-and-goldfish/#t3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:295-animal-myths-put-right-elephants-and-mice-lemmings-ostriches-and-goldfish:t3:1
# text = «my nan says ostriches stick their heads in sand when scared» What would happen to a bird that really did that?
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
3	nan	nan	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	ostriches	ostrich	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
6	stick	stick	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	ccomp	_	_
7	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	heads	head	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	sand	sand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
11	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	12	mark	_	_
12	scared	scared	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
14	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	16	nsubj	_	_
15	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	16	aux	_	_
16	happen	happen	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	parataxis	_	_
17	to	to	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obl	_	_
20	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	22	obj	_	_
21	really	really	ADV	RB	_	22	advmod	_	_
22	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	19	acl:relcl	_	_
23	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	22	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | present | my nan |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **stick** *in a quote* | present | ostriches | ostriches's heads |  | sand |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **happen** | would |  |  |  |  |  | to a bird | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **do** | past |  | a bird |  |  |  |  | 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 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It could not see danger or breathe well, so it would not survive long

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:295-animal-myths-put-right-elephants-and-mice-lemmings-ostriches-and-goldfish:t3:o1:1
# text = It could not see danger or breathe well, so it would not survive long
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|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	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	danger	danger	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	breathe	breathe	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
8	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
10	so	so	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
12	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
13	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	14	advmod	_	_
14	survive	survive	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
15	long	long	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	14	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **see** | could | It | danger |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer danger=Stimulus |
| 2 | **breathe** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | well *property* | vn breathe-40.1.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **not** **survive** | would | danger |  |  |  |  | long *property* | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It would be perfectly safe, because lions cannot see a bird without a head

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:295-animal-myths-put-right-elephants-and-mice-lemmings-ostriches-and-goldfish:t3:o2:1
# text = It would be perfectly safe, because lions cannot see a bird without a head
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
3	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	cop	_	_
4	perfectly	perfectly	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	safe	safe	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
7	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
8	lions	lion	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nsubj	_	_
9	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
11	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	parataxis	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
14	without	without	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | would | It |  |  |  |  | perfectly, safe *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **see** | can | lions | a bird |  |  |  | without a head | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer bird=Stimulus |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It would learn to breathe sand

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:295-animal-myths-put-right-elephants-and-mice-lemmings-ostriches-and-goldfish:t3:o3:1
# text = It would learn to breathe sand
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	learn	learn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	breathe	breathe	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	sand	sand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **learn** | would | It |  |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **breathe** | to-infinitive |  | sand |  |  |  |  | vn breathe-40.1.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sand=Theme |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It would grow a longer neck

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:295-animal-myths-put-right-elephants-and-mice-lemmings-ostriches-and-goldfish:t3:o4:1
# text = It would grow a longer neck
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	grow	grow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	longer	long	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	6	amod	_	_
6	neck	neck	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow** | would | It | a longer neck |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location neck=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 [Animal myths put right: elephants and mice, lemmings, ostriches and goldfish](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/295-animal-myths-put-right-elephants-and-mice-lemmings-ostriches-and-goldfish/)