---
title: You see a short-eared owl hunting over a field at noon. What is most… — How owls work: silent wings, turning h… · tree and pragmatics
description: You see a short-eared owl hunting over a field at noon. What is most likely? Test 9 · ★ of lesson 302 «How owls work: silent wings, turning heads, pellets and owl myths» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's
---

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# Test 9 · ★ · How owls work: silent wings, turning heads, pellets and ow…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
You see a short-eared owl hunting over a field at noon. What is most likely?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** You, eared owl · **What happens:** see, hunt, be · **To what, where:** eared owl, field

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 9 · ★ of lesson 302 «How owls work: silent wings, turning heads, pellets and owl myths» 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/302-how-owls-work-silent-wings-turning-heads-pellets-and-owl-myths/#t9).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* You see a short-eared owl hunting over a field at noon.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:302-how-owls-work-silent-wings-turning-heads-pellets-and-owl-myths:t9:1
# text = You see a short-eared owl hunting over a field at noon.
1	You	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	see	see	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
4	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	eared	eared	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	owl	owl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
8	hunting	hunt	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	acl	_	_
9	over	over	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	field	field	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
12	at	at	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	noon	noon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **see** | present | You | a eared owl |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer owl=Stimulus |
| 2 | **hunt** | gerund | a eared owl *not said here* |  |  | a field | noon |  | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V PP.theme PP.location»: agent=Agent over field=Location |

<!-- .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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* What is most likely?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:302-how-owls-work-silent-wings-turning-heads-pellets-and-owl-myths:t9:2
# text = What is most likely?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	4	advmod	_	_
4	likely	likely	ADV	RB	_	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | likely *property* | tree rules |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is sleep-walking

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:302-how-owls-work-silent-wings-turning-heads-pellets-and-owl-myths:t9:o1:1
# text = It is sleep-walking
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	sleep	sleep	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	walking	walking	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | sleep walking |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is a kind that often hunts by day, maybe feeding chicks

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:302-how-owls-work-silent-wings-turning-heads-pellets-and-owl-myths:t9:o2:1
# text = It is a kind that often hunts by day, maybe feeding chicks
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	kind	kind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
6	often	often	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	hunts	hunt	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
8	by	by	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
11	maybe	maybe	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
12	feeding	feed	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	acl	_	_
13	chicks	chick	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | a kind |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **hunt** | present | a kind |  |  |  | day | often *property* | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **feed** | gerund | a kind *not said here* |  | chicks |  |  | maybe *property* | vn feeding-39.7 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent chick=Recipient |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is blinded by the sun and has got lost

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:302-how-owls-work-silent-wings-turning-heads-pellets-and-owl-myths:t9:o3:1
# text = It is blinded by the sun and has got lost
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	blinded	blind	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	sun	sun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
9	got	get	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	3	conj	_	_
10	lost	lose	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	9	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **blind** | present · passive | the sun | It |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **get** | present · perfect | the sun *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 3 | **lose** | participle | the sun *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It must be a ghost owl

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:302-how-owls-work-silent-wings-turning-heads-pellets-and-owl-myths:t9:o4:1
# text = It must be a ghost owl
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
2	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
3	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	ghost	ghost	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	owl	owl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | must | It | a ghost owl |  |  |  |  | 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.

<!-- /div -->

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