---
title: «grabbed the gecko by the tail and it came off, it's broken now» Wha… — Tortoises, lizards and geckos as pets:… · tree and pragmatics
description: «grabbed the gecko by the tail and it came off, it's broken now» What is true? Test 4 of lesson 329 «Tortoises, lizards and geckos as pets: heat, light and washing hands» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova'
---

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# Test 4 · Tortoises, lizards and geckos as pets: heat, light and was…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«grabbed the gecko by the tail and it came off, it's broken now» What is true?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 3 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** gecko · **What happens:** grab, come off, break, be · **To what, where:** gecko

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 4 of lesson 329 «Tortoises, lizards and geckos as pets: heat, light and washing hands» 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/329-tortoises-lizards-and-geckos-as-pets-heat-light-and-washing-hands/#t4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:329-tortoises-lizards-and-geckos-as-pets-heat-light-and-washing-hands:t4:1
# text = «grabbed the gecko by the tail and it came off, it's broken now» What is true?
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	grabbed	grab	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	gecko	gecko	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
11	off	off	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj:pass	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	aux:pass	_	_
15	broken	break	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	parataxis	_	_
16	now	now	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	15	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	_
18	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	20	nsubj	_	_
19	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	20	cop	_	_
20	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grab** *in a quote* | past |  | the gecko |  |  |  | by the tail | vn steal-10.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent gecko=Theme |
| 2 | **come off** *in a quote* | past | gecko |  |  |  |  | off *property* | vn occur-48.3-2 «NP V ADV»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **break** *in a quote* | present · passive |  | gecko |  |  | now |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |
| 4 | **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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is broken for ever and the gecko will die soon, because geckos need their tails to live

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:329-tortoises-lizards-and-geckos-as-pets-heat-light-and-washing-hands:t4:o1:1
# text = It is broken for ever and the gecko will die soon, because geckos need their tails to live
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	broken	break	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	ever	ever	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	3	obl	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	gecko	gecko	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
9	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	die	die	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
11	soon	soon	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	10	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
13	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
14	geckos	gecko	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	nsubj	_	_
15	need	need	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
16	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	17	nmod:poss	_	_
17	tails	tail	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	obj	_	_
18	to	to	PART	TO	_	19	mark	_	_
19	live	live	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	15	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **break** | present · passive |  | It |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |
| 2 | **die** | future | the gecko |  |  |  |  | soon *property* | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |
| 3 | **need** | present | geckos | their tails |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **live** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | their tails *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Geckos like having their tails pulled

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:329-tortoises-lizards-and-geckos-as-pets-heat-light-and-washing-hands:t4:o2:1
# text = Geckos like having their tails pulled
1	Geckos	gecko	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	like	like	SCONJ	IN	_	3	mark	_	_
3	having	have	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	tails	tail	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
6	pulled	pull	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | gerund | Geckos |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **pull** | participle | Geckos's tails |  |  |  |  |  | vn slide-11.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Geckos drop tails to escape; it will regrow shorter, but never pick one up by the tail

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:329-tortoises-lizards-and-geckos-as-pets-heat-light-and-washing-hands:t4:o3:1
# text = Geckos drop tails to escape; it will regrow shorter, but never pick one up by the tail
1	Geckos	gecko	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	drop	drop	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	tails	tail	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	escape	escape	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
9	regrow	regrow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	conj	_	_
10	shorter	short	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	9	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
12	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
13	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	14	advmod	_	_
14	pick	pick	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	parataxis	_	_
15	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	14	obj	_	_
16	up	up	ADP	RP	_	14	compound:prt	_	_
17	by	by	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **drop** | present | Geckos | tails |  |  |  |  | vn put\_direction-9.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tail=Theme |
| 2 | **escape** | to-infinitive | Geckos *not said here* | tails *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **regrow** | future | it |  |  |  |  | short *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **not** **pick up** | infinitive |  | one |  |  |  | by the tail | vn discover-84-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent one=Topic |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The tail will grow back exactly the same tomorrow

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:329-tortoises-lizards-and-geckos-as-pets-heat-light-and-washing-hands:t4:o4:1
# text = The tail will grow back exactly the same tomorrow
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	grow	grow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	back	back	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
6	exactly	exactly	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	same	same	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	tomorrow	tomorrow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl:unmarked	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow back** | future | the tail |  |  |  | tomorrow |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=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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