---
title: «antarctica's a desert?? it's ice not sand, you're mad» Which is the… — The desert: living with little water · tree and pragmatics
description: «antarctica's a desert?? it's ice not sand, you're mad» Which is the best answer? Test 8 · ★ of lesson 5 «The desert: living with little water» 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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# Test 8 · ★ · The desert: living with little water

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«antarctica's a desert?? it's ice not sand, you're mad» Which is the best answer?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** antarctica, desert, you · **What happens:** be · **To what, where:** desert, ice, best answer · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 8 · ★ of lesson 5 «The desert: living with little water» 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/5-the-desert/#t8).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:5-the-desert:t8:1
# text = «antarctica's a desert?? it's ice not sand, you're mad» Which is the best answer?
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	antarctica	antarctica	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	??	??	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	ice	ice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
10	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
11	sand	sand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
13	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	're	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
15	mad	mad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	_
17	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	21	nsubj	_	_
18	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	21	cop	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
20	best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	21	amod	_	_
21	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** *in a quote* | present | antarctica | a desert |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is a** *in a quote* | present | a desert | ice and sand |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** *in a quote* | present | you |  |  |  |  | mad *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **be** *speech: assert* | present |  | the best answer |  |  |  |  | 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 -->
It is not a desert, because deserts must always be hot and covered in sand

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:5-the-desert:t8:o1:1
# text = It is not a desert, because deserts must always be hot and covered in sand
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
7	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
8	deserts	desert	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nsubj	_	_
9	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
10	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	12	advmod	_	_
11	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	cop	_	_
12	hot	hot	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	parataxis	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	covered	cover	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	12	conj	_	_
15	in	in	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	sand	sand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is a** | present | It | a desert |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | must | deserts |  |  |  |  | always, hot *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **cover** | participle | deserts *not said here* |  |  |  |  | in sand | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent in sand=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is a desert only in summer

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:5-the-desert:t8:o2:1
# text = It is a desert only in summer
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	only	only	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	summer	summer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | a desert |  |  | summer |  | tree rules |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is a desert because it has sand under the ice

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:5-the-desert:t8:o3:1
# text = It is a desert because it has sand under the ice
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
8	sand	sand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
9	under	under	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	ice	ice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | a desert |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **have** | present | desert | sand |  | the ice |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sand=Patient |

### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A desert means very little rain or snow, and Antarctica gets very little

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:5-the-desert:t8:o4:1
# text = A desert means very little rain or snow, and Antarctica gets very little
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	very	very	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	rain	rain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	snow	snow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
11	Antarctica	Antarctica	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
12	gets	get	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
13	very	very	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
14	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | a desert | little rain or snow |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent rain=Topic |
| 2 | **get** | present | Antarctica | little |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer little=Stimulus |

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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.

<!-- /div -->

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