---
title: «rats chewed the car wires, are they thick or what» What is true? — Rodents: the biggest group of mammals… · tree and pragmatics
description: «rats chewed the car wires, are they thick or what» What is true? Test 8 · ★ of lesson 316 «Rodents: the biggest group of mammals and their ever-growing teeth» 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 wa
---

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# Test 8 · ★ · Rodents: the biggest group of mammals and their ever-growi…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«rats chewed the car wires, are they thick or what» What is true?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** rats · **What happens:** chew, be · **To what, where:** car wires

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 8 · ★ of lesson 316 «Rodents: the biggest group of mammals and their ever-growing teeth» 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/316-rodents-the-biggest-group-of-mammals-and-their-ever-growing-teeth/#t8).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:316-rodents-the-biggest-group-of-mammals-and-their-ever-growing-teeth:t8:1
# text = «rats chewed the car wires, are they thick or what» What is true?
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	rats	rat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	chewed	chew	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	wires	wire	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
9	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	thick	thick	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	parataxis	_	_
11	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	12	punct	_	_
14	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	16	nsubj	_	_
15	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
16	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **chew** *in a quote* | past | rats | the car wires |  |  |  |  | vn chew-39.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent wire=Patient |
| 2 | **is** *in a quote* | present | rats *= rat* |  |  |  |  | thick *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | true *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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Rats hate the smell of cars and chew the wires so the cars stop working for good

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:316-rodents-the-biggest-group-of-mammals-and-their-ever-growing-teeth:t8:o1:1
# text = Rats hate the smell of cars and chew the wires so the cars stop working for good
1	Rats	rat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	hate	hate	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	smell	smell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	cars	car	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	chew	chew	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	wires	wire	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	_
11	so	so	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	cars	car	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	nsubj	_	_
14	stop	stop	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
15	working	work	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	14	xcomp	_	_
16	for	for	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hate** | present | Rats | the smell of cars |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer smell=Stimulus |
| 2 | **chew** | present | Rats *not said here* | the wires |  |  |  |  | vn chew-39.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent wire=Patient |
| 3 | **stop** | present | the cars |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Affector clause=Eventuality |
| 4 | **work** | gerund | the cars *not said here* |  |  |  |  | for good | vn employment-95.3 «NP V PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent for good=Beneficiary |
| 5 | **smell** |  | cars |  |  |  |  |  | nom smell «cognition intransitive»: of=agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Rats only chew when they are bored of cheese

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:316-rodents-the-biggest-group-of-mammals-and-their-ever-growing-teeth:t8:o2:1
# text = Rats only chew when they are bored of cheese
1	Rats	rat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	only	only	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	chew	chew	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	7	advmod	_	_
5	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj:pass	_	_
6	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux:pass	_	_
7	bored	bore	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	advcl	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	cheese	cheese	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **chew** | present | Rats |  |  |  |  |  | vn chew-39.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **bore** | present · passive |  | Rats *= rat* |  |  |  | of cheese | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Experiencer |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Rats gnaw to keep their ever-growing teeth short and to get into places

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:316-rodents-the-biggest-group-of-mammals-and-their-ever-growing-teeth:t8:o3:1
# text = Rats gnaw to keep their ever-growing teeth short and to get into places
1	Rats	rat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	gnaw	gnaw	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	keep	keep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
6	ever	ever	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	8	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	growing	grow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	9	amod	_	_
9	teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
10	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
12	to	to	PART	TO	_	13	mark	_	_
13	get	get	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
14	into	into	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	places	place	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **gnaw** | present | Rats |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **keep** | to-infinitive | Rats *not said here* | Rats's growing teeth |  |  |  | short *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tooth=Theme |
| 3 | **grow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **get** | to-infinitive | Rats *not said here* |  |  | places |  |  | vn escape-51.1 «NP V PP.destination»: agent=Theme into place=Destination |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Rats eat electricity for energy

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:316-rodents-the-biggest-group-of-mammals-and-their-ever-growing-teeth:t8:o4:1
# text = Rats eat electricity for energy
1	Rats	rat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	eat	eat	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	electricity	electricity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	energy	energy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **eat** | present | Rats | electricity |  |  |  | for energy | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent electricity=Patient |

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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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- ↑ back to [Rodents: the biggest group of mammals and their ever-growing teeth](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/316-rodents-the-biggest-group-of-mammals-and-their-ever-growing-teeth/)