---
title: A boy says a whiting swims around with its tail in its mouth. What d… — Wonderland's sea creatures and made-up… · tree and pragmatics
description: A boy says a whiting swims around with its tail in its mouth. What do you tell him? Test 5 · ★★ of lesson 402 «Wonderland's sea creatures and made-up ones: lobsters, whiting, turtles, the Mock Turtle, the Gryphon and the Caterpillar» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependenc
---

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# Test 5 · ★★ · Wonderland's sea creatures and made-up ones: lobsters, whi…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A boy says a whiting swims around with its tail in its mouth. What do you tell him?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** boy, whiting, you · **What happens:** say, swim around, tell · **To what, where:** mouth, boy · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 5 · ★★ of lesson 402 «Wonderland's sea creatures and made-up ones: lobsters, whiting, turtles, the Mock Turtle, the Gryphon and the Caterpillar» 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/402-wonderland-sea-creatures-and-made-up-ones-lobster-whiting-turtle-mock-turtle-gryphon/#t5).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A boy says a whiting swims around with its tail in its mouth.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:402-wonderland-sea-creatures-and-made-up-ones-lobster-whiting-turtle-mock-turtle-gryphon:t5:1
# text = A boy says a whiting swims around with its tail in its mouth.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	whiting	whiting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	swims	swim	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
7	around	around	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	mouth	mouth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | a boy |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **swim around** | present | a whiting |  |  | whiting's mouth |  | with whiting's tail; around *property* | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in mouth=Trajectory |

<!-- .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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* What do you tell him?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:402-wonderland-sea-creatures-and-made-up-ones-lobster-whiting-turtle-mock-turtle-gryphon:t5:2
# text = What do you tell him?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	obj	_	_
2	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	tell	tell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	iobj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | present · do-support | you |  | boy |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent he=Recipient what=Topic |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Live whiting swim normally; the tail-in-mouth was how cooks served them

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:402-wonderland-sea-creatures-and-made-up-ones-lobster-whiting-turtle-mock-turtle-gryphon:t5:o1:1
# text = Live whiting swim normally; the tail-in-mouth was how cooks served them
1	Live	live	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	whiting	whiting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	swim	swim	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	normally	normally	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	3	punct	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
7	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	mouth	mouth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
12	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
13	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	15	advmod	_	_
14	cooks	cook	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	nsubj	_	_
15	served	serve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	acl:relcl	_	_
16	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swim** | present | Live whiting |  |  | the tail mouth |  | normally *property* | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in mouth=Trajectory |
| 2 | **is** | past | cooks |  |  |  |  | serve *property* | tree rules |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No, whiting have no tails, only fins

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:402-wonderland-sea-creatures-and-made-up-ones-lobster-whiting-turtle-mock-turtle-gryphon:t5:o2:1
# text = No, whiting have no tails, only fins
1	No	no	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Neg	4	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
3	whiting	whiting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	6	det	_	_
6	tails	tail	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	only	only	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	fins	fin	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | present | whiting | no tails and fins |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tail=Patient |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yes, that is how all the fish in the cod family swim, so they can steer and stay together

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:402-wonderland-sea-creatures-and-made-up-ones-lobster-whiting-turtle-mock-turtle-gryphon:t5:o3:1
# text = Yes, that is how all the fish in the cod family swim, so they can steer and stay together
1	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	13	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
3	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	5	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	13	advmod	_	_
6	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	8	det:predet	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	fish	fish	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	nsubj	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	cod	cod	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	family	family	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
13	swim	swim	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
15	so	so	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
16	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
17	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	18	aux	_	_
18	steer	steer	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	conj	_	_
19	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	stay	stay	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	18	conj	_	_
21	together	together	ADV	RB	_	20	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | that |  |  |  |  | how *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **swim** | present | all fish in the cod family |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **steer** | can | fish |  |  |  |  |  | vn accompany-51.7 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **stay together** | infinitive | fish *not said here* |  |  |  |  | together *property* | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yes, but only when they are dancing the quadrille

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:402-wonderland-sea-creatures-and-made-up-ones-lobster-whiting-turtle-mock-turtle-gryphon:t5:o4:1
# text = Yes, but only when they are dancing the quadrille
1	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	8	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
4	only	only	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
5	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	8	advmod	_	_
6	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
7	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	dancing	dance	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	quadrille	quadrille	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dance** | present · progressive | they | the quadrille |  |  |  |  | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location quadrille=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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