---
title: Ascertain the role of grit retained within the avian gizzard. — Birds: feathers, wings, eggs and flight · tree and pragmatics
description: Ascertain the role of grit retained within the avian gizzard. Exam question 3 of lesson 33 «Birds: feathers, wings, eggs and flight» 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 was wrong.
---

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# Exam question 3 · Birds: feathers, wings, eggs and flight

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ascertain the role of grit retained within the avian gizzard.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you · **What happens:** ascertain, retain · **To what, where:** role, grit

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 33 «Birds: feathers, wings, eggs and flight» 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/33-birds-feathers-wings-eggs-and-flight/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:33-birds-feathers-wings-eggs-and-flight:e3:1
# text = Ascertain the role of grit retained within the avian gizzard.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	role	role	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	grit	grit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
6	retained	retain	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl	_	_
7	within	within	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	avian	avian	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	gizzard	gizzard	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* | the role of grit |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent role=Topic |
| 2 | **retain** | participle |  | grit *not said here* |  |  |  | within the avian gizzard | 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 -->
The neutralisation of stomach acid

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:33-birds-feathers-wings-eggs-and-flight:e3:o1:1
# text = The neutralisation of stomach acid
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	neutralisation	neutralisation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	stomach	stomach	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	acid	acid	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **neutralise** |  |  | stomach acid |  |  |  |  | nom neutralisation «process transitive»: of=patient |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The mechanical grinding of food

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:33-birds-feathers-wings-eggs-and-flight:e3:o2:1
# text = The mechanical grinding of food
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	mechanical	mechanical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	grinding	grinding	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The ballasting of the bird in flight

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:33-birds-feathers-wings-eggs-and-flight:e3:o3:1
# text = The ballasting of the bird in flight
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	ballasting	ballasting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	flight	flight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The production of eggshell material

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:33-birds-feathers-wings-eggs-and-flight:e3:o4:1
# text = The production of eggshell material
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	production	production	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	eggshell	eggshell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	material	material	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **produce** |  |  | eggshell material |  |  |  |  | nom production «act transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- 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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- ← previous: [Birds: feathers, wings, eggs and flight, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/33-birds-feathers-wings-eggs-and-flight/e2/)
- next →: [Birds: feathers, wings, eggs and flight, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/33-birds-feathers-wings-eggs-and-flight/e4/)
- ↑ back to [Birds: feathers, wings, eggs and flight](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/33-birds-feathers-wings-eggs-and-flight/)