--- title: Which is true about the opossum playing dead? — How animals defend themselves · tree and pragmatics description: Which is true about the opossum playing dead? Test 9 of lesson 53 «How animals defend themselves» 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. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/53-how-animals-defend-themselves/t9/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [questions](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/) / [Biology](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/) / [How animals defend themselves](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/53-how-animals-defend-themselves/) / t9 # Test 9 · How animals defend themselves Which is true about the opossum playing dead? **Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** opossum · **What happens:** be, play This is test 9 of lesson 53 «How animals defend themselves» 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/53-how-animals-defend-themselves/#t9). ## The question {#question} ```conllu # sent_id = question:biology:53-how-animals-defend-themselves:t9:1 # text = Which is true about the opossum playing dead? 1 Which which PRON WDT PronType=Rel 3 nsubj _ _ 2 is be AUX VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 3 cop _ _ 3 true true ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 0 root _ _ 4 about about ADP IN _ 6 case _ _ 5 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 6 det _ _ 6 opossum opossum NOUN NN Number=Sing 3 obl _ _ 7 playing play VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 6 acl _ _ 8 dead dead ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 7 xcomp _ SpaceAfter=No 9 ? ? PUNCT . _ 3 punct _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **is** | present | | | | | | about the opossum; true *property* | tree rules | | 2 | **play** | gerund | the opossum *not said here* | | | | | dead *property* | vn performance-26.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent | 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} It can play dead for only one second ```conllu # sent_id = question:biology:53-how-animals-defend-themselves:t9:o1:1 # text = It can play dead for only one second 1 It it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 3 nsubj _ _ 2 can can AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 3 aux _ _ 3 play play VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 0 root _ _ 4 dead dead ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 3 xcomp _ _ 5 for for ADP IN _ 8 case _ _ 6 only only ADV RB _ 7 advmod _ _ 7 one one NUM CD NumForm=Word|NumType=Card 8 nummod _ _ 8 second second NOUN NN Number=Sing 3 obl _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **play** | can | It | | | | second | dead *property* | vn performance-26.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent | ### Option 2 {#o2} It turns bright yellow while it does it ```conllu # sent_id = question:biology:53-how-animals-defend-themselves:t9:o2:1 # text = It turns bright yellow while it does it 1 It it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 2 nsubj _ _ 2 turns turn VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 3 bright bright ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 4 amod _ _ 4 yellow yellow ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 2 xcomp _ _ 5 while while SCONJ IN _ 7 mark _ _ 6 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 7 nsubj _ _ 7 does do VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 2 advcl _ _ 8 it it PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 7 obj _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **turn** | present | It | | | | | yellow *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme | | 2 | **do** | present | it | it | | | | | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Eventuality | ### Option 3 {#o3} It chooses to act dead to make the people watching laugh ```conllu # sent_id = question:biology:53-how-animals-defend-themselves:t9:o3:1 # text = It chooses to act dead to make the people watching laugh 1 It it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 2 nsubj _ _ 2 chooses choose VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 3 to to PART TO _ 4 mark _ _ 4 act act VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 2 xcomp _ _ 5 dead dead ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 4 xcomp _ _ 6 to to PART TO _ 7 mark _ _ 7 make make VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 4 advcl _ _ 8 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 9 det _ _ 9 people people NOUN NNS Number=Plur 7 obj _ _ 10 watching watch VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 9 acl _ _ 11 laugh laugh NOUN NN Number=Sing 10 obj _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **choose** | present | It | | | | | | tree rules | | 2 | **act** | to-infinitive | | | | | | dead *property* | vn act-114-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent | | 3 | **make** | to-infinitive | | the people | | | | | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset people=Product | | 4 | **watch** | gerund | the people *not said here* | laugh | | | | | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent laugh=Theme | ### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4} It is more like fainting from fear than acting ```conllu # sent_id = question:biology:53-how-animals-defend-themselves:t9:o4:1 # text = It is more like fainting from fear than acting 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 aux _ _ 3 more more ADV RBR Degree=Cmp 5 advmod _ _ 4 like like SCONJ IN _ 5 mark _ _ 5 fainting faint VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 0 root _ _ 6 from from ADP IN _ 7 case _ _ 7 fear fear NOUN NN Number=Sing 5 obl _ _ 8 than than SCONJ IN _ 9 mark _ _ 9 acting act VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 5 advcl _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **faint** | present · progressive | It | | | | | from fear | vn change\_bodily\_state-40.8.4 «NP V PP.stimulus»: agent=Experiencer from fear=Stimulus | | 2 | **act** | gerund | | | | | | | vn act-114-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent | **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. - ← previous: [How animals defend themselves, test 8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/53-how-animals-defend-themselves/t8/) - next →: [How animals defend themselves, test 10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/53-how-animals-defend-themselves/t10/) - ↑ back to [How animals defend themselves](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/53-how-animals-defend-themselves/)