---
title: Identify the characteristic by which the spawn of the common toad ma… — Frogs and toads near home: spawn, croa… · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the characteristic by which the spawn of the common toad may be distinguished from that of the common frog. Exam question 1 of lesson 309 «Frogs and toads near home: spawn, croaking choruses, toad crossings and the fire-bellied toad» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the 
---

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# Exam question 1 · Frogs and toads near home: spawn, croaking choruses, toad…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the characteristic by which the spawn of the common toad may be distinguished from that of the common frog.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, characteristic · **What happens:** identify, distinguish · **To what, where:** characteristic, spawn

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 309 «Frogs and toads near home: spawn, croaking choruses, toad crossings and the fire-bellied toad» 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/309-frogs-and-toads-near-home-spawn-croaking-choruses-toad-crossings-and-the-fire-bellied-toad/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:309-frogs-and-toads-near-home-spawn-croaking-choruses-toad-crossings-and-the-fire-bellied-toad:e1:1
# text = Identify the characteristic by which the spawn of the common toad may be distinguished from that of the common frog.
1	Identify	identify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	characteristic	characteristic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	by	by	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	14	obl	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	spawn	spawn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj:pass	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	common	common	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	toad	toad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
12	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
13	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	14	aux:pass	_	_
14	distinguished	distinguish	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl:relcl	_	_
15	from	from	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	14	obl	_	_
17	of	of	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
19	common	common	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	amod	_	_
20	frog	frog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **identify** | imperative | you *not said here* | the characteristic |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent characteristic=Theme |
| 2 | **distinguish** | may · passive | the characteristic | the spawn of the common toad |  |  |  | from the characteristic | vn distinguish-23.5-1 «NP V NP.theme PP.co-theme»: agent=Agent subject=Theme from that=Co-Theme |

<!-- .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 -->
It is laid within burrows upon dry land

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:309-frogs-and-toads-near-home-spawn-croaking-choruses-toad-crossings-and-the-fire-bellied-toad:e1:o1:1
# text = It is laid within burrows upon dry land
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	laid	lay	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	within	within	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	burrows	burrow	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
6	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	dry	dry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	land	land	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lay** | present · passive |  | It |  | dry land |  | within burrows | vn put\_spatial-9.2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: subject=Theme upon land=Destination |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is laid in a single rounded clump of jelly near the surface

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:309-frogs-and-toads-near-home-spawn-croaking-choruses-toad-crossings-and-the-fire-bellied-toad:e1:o2:1
# text = It is laid in a single rounded clump of jelly near the surface
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	laid	lay	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
6	single	single	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
7	rounded	round	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	amod	_	_
8	clump	clump	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	jelly	jelly	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
11	near	near	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	surface	surface	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lay** | present · passive |  | It |  | a single rounded clump of jelly near the surface |  |  | vn put\_spatial-9.2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: subject=Theme in clump=Destination |
| 2 | **round** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn bend-45.2 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is laid in long strings bearing a double row of eggs

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:309-frogs-and-toads-near-home-spawn-croaking-choruses-toad-crossings-and-the-fire-bellied-toad:e1:o3:1
# text = It is laid in long strings bearing a double row of eggs
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	laid	lay	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	strings	string	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
7	bearing	bear	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	acl	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	double	double	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	row	row	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	eggs	egg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lay** | present · passive |  | It |  | long strings |  |  | vn put\_spatial-9.2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: subject=Theme in string=Destination |
| 2 | **bear** | gerund | long strings *not said here* | a double row of eggs |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent row=Patient |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is laid singly upon the surface of the water

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:309-frogs-and-toads-near-home-spawn-croaking-choruses-toad-crossings-and-the-fire-bellied-toad:e1:o4:1
# text = It is laid singly upon the surface of the water
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	laid	lay	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	singly	singly	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	surface	surface	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lay** | present · passive |  | It |  | the surface of the water |  | singly *property* | vn put\_spatial-9.2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: subject=Theme upon surface=Destination |

<!-- 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 [Frogs and toads near home: spawn, croaking choruses, toad crossings and the fire-bellied toad](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/309-frogs-and-toads-near-home-spawn-croaking-choruses-toad-crossings-and-the-fire-bellied-toad/)