---
title: An owl hunts mice in the dark by sound alone. Why are its two ears u… — Senses: eyes and ears · tree and pragmatics
description: An owl hunts mice in the dark by sound alone. Why are its two ears useful? Test 9 · ★ of lesson 69 «Senses: eyes and ears» 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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# Test 9 · ★ · Senses: eyes and ears

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An owl hunts mice in the dark by sound alone. Why are its two ears useful?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 2 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** owl, two ears · **What happens:** hunt, be · **To what, where:** mice, dark

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 9 · ★ of lesson 69 «Senses: eyes and ears» 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/69-senses-eyes-and-ears/#t9).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* An owl hunts mice in the dark by sound alone.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:69-senses-eyes-and-ears:t9:1
# text = An owl hunts mice in the dark by sound alone.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	owl	owl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	hunts	hunt	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	mice	mouse	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	dark	dark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	by	by	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
10	alone	alone	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hunt** | present | a owl | mice |  | the dark |  | by sound | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent mouse=Theme in dark=Location |

<!-- .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:* Why are its two ears useful?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:69-senses-eyes-and-ears:t9:2
# text = Why are its two ears useful?
1	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
3	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
4	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	ears	ear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
6	useful	useful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | sound's two ears |  |  |  |  | useful *property* | tree rules |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
One ear is for day and one for night

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:69-senses-eyes-and-ears:t9:o1:1
# text = One ear is for day and one for night
1	One	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	ear	ear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	conj	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | One ear |  |  |  | for day; night |  | tree rules |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Each ear hears the sound a little differently, giving the direction

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:69-senses-eyes-and-ears:t9:o2:1
# text = Each ear hears the sound a little differently, giving the direction
1	Each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	det	_	_
2	ear	ear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	hears	hear	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	obl:unmarked	_	_
8	differently	differently	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	giving	give	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	direction	direction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hear** | present | each ear | the sound |  |  |  | a little *obl:unmarked* | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer sound=Stimulus |
| 2 | **give** | gerund | each ear *not said here* | the direction |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent direction=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Two ears let the owl hear the colours of the mice in the dark

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:69-senses-eyes-and-ears:t9:o3:1
# text = Two ears let the owl hear the colours of the mice in the dark
1	Two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	ears	ear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	let	let	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	owl	owl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	hear	hear	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	colours	colour	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	mice	mouse	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nmod	_	_
12	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	dark	dark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **let** | present | Two ears | the owl |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **hear** | infinitive | the owl *not said here* | the colours of the mice |  | the dark |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer colour=Stimulus |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Two ears keep its head balanced

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:69-senses-eyes-and-ears:t9:o4:1
# text = Two ears keep its head balanced
1	Two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	ears	ear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	keep	keep	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	balanced	balance	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | present | Two ears | its head |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **balance** | participle | its head *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

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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.

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