---
title: ★★★ Careful: when the friends say «Can't curl, but can swim — Stickl… — Just So Stories, The Beginning of the… · tree and pragmatics
description: ★★★ Careful: when the friends say «Can't curl, but can swim — Stickly-Prickly, that's him!», why is this a trick on Jaguar? Test 15 · ★ of lesson 83 «Just So Stories, The Beginning of the Armadillos, part 2: swimming lessons, curling lessons, and a new name» of the books course of Mova's primary sch
---

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# Test 15 · ★ · Just So Stories, The Beginning of the Armadillos, part 2:…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
★★★ Careful: when the friends say «Can't curl, but can swim — Stickly-Prickly, that's him!», why is this a trick on Jaguar?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** friends, that · **What happens:** say, not curl, swim, be · **To what, where:** ★, trick · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 15 · ★ of lesson 83 «Just So Stories, The Beginning of the Armadillos, part 2: swimming lessons, curling lessons, and a new name» of the books 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/books/83-justso-armadillos-2-the-first-armadillo/#t15).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:83-justso-armadillos-2-the-first-armadillo:t15:1
# text = ★★★ Careful: when the friends say «Can't curl, but can swim — Stickly-Prickly, that's him!», why is this a trick on Jaguar?
1	★	★	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	★	★	X	FW	Foreign=Yes	1	dep	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	★	★	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	Careful	careful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	9	punct	_	_
6	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	9	advmod	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	friends	friend	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
9	say	say	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
10	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	Ca	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	13	advmod	_	_
13	curl	curl	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
15	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
16	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	17	aux	_	_
17	swim	swim	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	conj	_	_
18	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	21	punct	_	_
19	Stickly	stickly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	21	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	Prickly	prickly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	25	punct	_	_
23	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	25	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	25	cop	_	_
25	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	33	punct	_	_
29	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	33	advmod	_	_
30	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	33	cop	_	_
31	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	33	det	_	_
32	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	33	det	_	_
33	trick	trick	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
34	on	on	ADP	IN	_	35	case	_	_
35	Jaguar	Jaguar	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	33	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
36	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: express* | present | the friends |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **not** **curl** *in a quote* | can |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn coil-9.6-1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **swim** *in a quote* | can |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **is a** *in a quote* | present | that | ★ |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **is a** | present |  | this trick |  |  |  | on Jaguar | 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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Because the rhyme is only sung and never written, so he cannot check it

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:83-justso-armadillos-2-the-first-armadillo:t15:o1:1
# text = Because the rhyme is only sung and never written, so he cannot check it
1	Because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	rhyme	rhyme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux:pass	_	_
5	only	only	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	sung	sing	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	15	advcl	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	written	write	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
11	so	so	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
12	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
13	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	15	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	15	advmod	_	_
15	check	check	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
16	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sing** *speech: express* | present · passive |  | the rhyme |  |  |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «PP.location V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 2 | **not** **write** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **not** **check** | can | he | rhyme |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Because Jaguar cannot read the rhyme properly

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:83-justso-armadillos-2-the-first-armadillo:t15:o2:1
# text = Because Jaguar cannot read the rhyme properly
1	Because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
2	Jaguar	Jaguar	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	read	read	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	rhyme	rhyme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	properly	properly	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **read** | can | Jaguar | the rhyme |  |  |  | properly *property* | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent rhyme=Topic |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Now BOTH can curl and BOTH can swim, so the rhyme no longer tells them apart

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:83-justso-armadillos-2-the-first-armadillo:t15:o3:1
# text = Now BOTH can curl and BOTH can swim, so the rhyme no longer tells them apart
1	Now	now	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	4	advmod	_	_
2	BOTH	both	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	4	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	curl	curl	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
6	BOTH	both	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	8	nsubj	_	_
7	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	swim	swim	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
10	so	so	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	rhyme	rhyme	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nsubj	_	_
13	no	no	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
14	longer	long	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	15	advmod	_	_
15	tells	tell	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
16	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	iobj	_	_
17	apart	apart	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **curl** | can | BOTH |  |  |  | now |  | vn coil-9.6-1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **swim** | can | BOTH |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **tell** *speech: assert* | present | the rhyme |  | them *= they* |  |  | apart, long *property* | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent they=Recipient |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Because it is rude

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:83-justso-armadillos-2-the-first-armadillo:t15:o4:1
# text = Because it is rude
1	Because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	4	mark	_	_
2	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	rude	rude	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | it |  |  |  |  | rude *property* | tree rules |

<!-- 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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- ← previous: [Just So Stories, The Beginning of the…, test 14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/83-justso-armadillos-2-the-first-armadillo/t14/)
- next →: [Just So Stories, The Beginning of the…, test 16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/83-justso-armadillos-2-the-first-armadillo/t16/)
- ↑ back to [Just So Stories, The Beginning of the Armadillos, part 2: swimming lessons, curling lessons, and a new name](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/83-justso-armadillos-2-the-first-armadillo/)