---
title: What would happen if a python squeezed a rat but the rat's heart was… — Big snakes: pythons, boas and anaconda… · tree and pragmatics
description: What would happen if a python squeezed a rat but the rat's heart was still beating? Test 8 · ★ of lesson 321 «Big snakes: pythons, boas and anacondas, and how big they really get» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each opti
---

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# Test 8 · ★ · Big snakes: pythons, boas and anacondas, and how big they…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What would happen if a python squeezed a rat but the rat's heart was still beating?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 4 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** python, heart · **What happens:** happen, squeeze, beat · **To what, where:** rat

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 8 · ★ of lesson 321 «Big snakes: pythons, boas and anacondas, and how big they really get» 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/321-big-snakes-pythons-boas-and-anacondas-and-how-big-they-really-get/#t8).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:321-big-snakes-pythons-boas-and-anacondas-and-how-big-they-really-get:t8:1
# text = What would happen if a python squeezed a rat but the rat's heart was still beating?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	3	nsubj	_	_
2	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	happen	happen	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	python	python	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	squeezed	squeeze	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	rat	rat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	rat	rat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	's	's	PART	POS	_	12	case	_	_
14	heart	heart	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nsubj	_	_
15	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	17	aux	_	_
16	still	still	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
17	beating	beat	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | would |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **squeeze** *a condition, not said to happen* | past | a python | a rat |  |  |  |  | vn push-12-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent rat=Theme |
| 3 | **beat** | past · progressive | the rat's heart |  |  |  | still |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V»: agent=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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The snake would fall asleep at once

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:321-big-snakes-pythons-boas-and-anacondas-and-how-big-they-really-get:t8:o1:1
# text = The snake would fall asleep at once
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	snake	snake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	fall	fall	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	asleep	asleep	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fall** | would | the snake |  |  |  |  | asleep *property* | vn occur-48.3 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme at once=Location |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The snake would start to chew

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:321-big-snakes-pythons-boas-and-anacondas-and-how-big-they-really-get:t8:o2:1
# text = The snake would start to chew
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	snake	snake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	start	start	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	chew	chew	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **start** | would | the snake |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **chew** | to-infinitive | the snake *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn chew-39.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The snake would let go at once and slide away to find an easier meal

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:321-big-snakes-pythons-boas-and-anacondas-and-how-big-they-really-get:t8:o3:1
# text = The snake would let go at once and slide away to find an easier meal
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	snake	snake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	let	let	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	go	go	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	5	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	slide	slide	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
10	away	away	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	find	find	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	advcl	_	_
13	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	easier	easy	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	15	amod	_	_
15	meal	meal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **let** | would | the snake |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **go** | infinitive | the snake *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-2 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme at once=Location |
| 3 | **slide away** | infinitive | the snake *not said here* |  |  |  |  | away *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **find** | to-infinitive | the snake *not said here* | a easier meal |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent meal=Topic |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The snake would feel it through its coils and keep squeezing

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:321-big-snakes-pythons-boas-and-anacondas-and-how-big-they-really-get:t8:o4:1
# text = The snake would feel it through its coils and keep squeezing
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	snake	snake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	feel	feel	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obj	_	_
6	through	through	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	coils	coil	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	keep	keep	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
11	squeezing	squeeze	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	10	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **feel** | would | the snake | it |  | snake's coils |  |  | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent it=Theme through coil=Location |
| 2 | **keep** | present | the snake *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **squeeze** | gerund | the snake *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn push-12-1-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent |

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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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