---
title: Ascertain the function of the epiglottis during the act of swallowing. — Digestion: the journey of a sandwich · tree and pragmatics
description: Ascertain the function of the epiglottis during the act of swallowing. Exam question 4 of lesson 67 «Digestion: the journey of a sandwich» 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 right.
---

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# Exam question 4 · Digestion: the journey of a sandwich

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ascertain the function of the epiglottis during the act of swallowing.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** you, act · **What happens:** ascertain, swallow · **To what, where:** function

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 67 «Digestion: the journey of a sandwich» 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/67-digestion-the-journey-of-a-sandwich/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:67-digestion-the-journey-of-a-sandwich:e4:1
# text = Ascertain the function of the epiglottis during the act of swallowing.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	function	function	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	epiglottis	epiglottis	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	during	during	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	act	act	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
10	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
11	swallowing	swallow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	9	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	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 function of the epiglottis |  |  | during the act |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent function=Topic |
| 2 | **swallow** | gerund | the act *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn hiccup-40.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It covers the windpipe, preventing the entry of food

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:67-digestion-the-journey-of-a-sandwich:e4:o1:1
# text = It covers the windpipe, preventing the entry of food
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	covers	cover	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	windpipe	windpipe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	preventing	prevent	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	entry	entry	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cover** | present | It | the windpipe |  |  |  |  | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme windpipe=Destination |
| 2 | **prevent** | gerund |  | the entry of food |  |  |  |  | vn forbid-64.4-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer entry=Theme |
| 3 | **enter** |  |  | food |  |  |  |  | nom entry «communication transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It grinds food prior to swallowing

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:67-digestion-the-journey-of-a-sandwich:e4:o2:1
# text = It grinds food prior to swallowing
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	grinds	grind	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	prior	prior	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=SCONJ	6	mark	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	4	fixed	_	_
6	swallowing	swallow	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grind** | present | It | food |  |  |  |  | vn carve-21.2-1 «NP.instrument V NP»: agent=Instrument food=Patient |
| 2 | **swallow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn hiccup-40.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It secretes acid into the stomach during swallowing

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:67-digestion-the-journey-of-a-sandwich:e4:o3:1
# text = It secretes acid into the stomach during swallowing
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	secretes	secrete	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	acid	acid	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	into	into	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	stomach	stomach	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	during	during	ADP	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
8	swallowing	swallow	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **secrete** | present | It | acid |  | the stomach |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **swallow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn hiccup-40.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It absorbs water from the food as it passes downward

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:67-digestion-the-journey-of-a-sandwich:e4:o4:1
# text = It absorbs water from the food as it passes downward
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	absorbs	absorb	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	passes	pass	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
10	downward	downward	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **absorb** | present | It | water |  | the food |  |  | vn absorb-39.8 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Goal water=Theme from food=Source |
| 2 | **pass** | present | water |  |  |  |  | downward *property* | vn occur-48.3-1 «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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