---
title: Real life: where did true writing first begin, about 5,000 years ago? — Just So Stories, How the First Letter… · tree and pragmatics
description: Real life: where did true writing first begin, about 5,000 years ago? Test 7 · ★ of lesson 86 «Just So Stories, How the First Letter Was Written, part 3: «a great invention» and the road on Merrow Down» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the ques
---

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# Test 7 · ★ · Just So Stories, How the First Letter Was Written, part 3:…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Real life: where did true writing first begin, about 5,000 years ago?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 1 · wrong ✗ · **What happens:** write, begin

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 7 · ★ of lesson 86 «Just So Stories, How the First Letter Was Written, part 3: «a great invention» and the road on Merrow Down» 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/86-justso-first-letter-3-a-great-invention/#t7).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:86-justso-first-letter-3-a-great-invention:t7:1
# text = Real life: where did true writing first begin, about 5,000 years ago?
1	Real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	6	punct	_	_
4	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	6	advmod	_	_
5	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	parataxis	_	_
7	writing	write	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	advcl	_	_
8	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	7	advmod	_	_
9	begin	begin	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
11	about	about	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
12	5,000	5000	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	13	nummod	_	_
13	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obl:unmarked	_	_
14	ago	ago	ADV	RB	_	6	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | first *property* | vn say-37.7-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **begin** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

<!-- .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 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In Mesopotamia, from pictures and counting marks

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:86-justso-first-letter-3-a-great-invention:t7:o1:1
# text = In Mesopotamia, from pictures and counting marks
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	Mesopotamia	Mesopotamia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	pictures	picture	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	conj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
7	counting	count	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	amod	_	_
8	marks	mark	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **count** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn matter-91 «NP V»: agent=Stimulus |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
On Merrow Down in Surrey, with a girl called Taffy

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:86-justso-first-letter-3-a-great-invention:t7:o2:1
# text = On Merrow Down in Surrey, with a girl called Taffy
1	On	on	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	Merrow	Merrow	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	Down	Down	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	Surrey	Surrey	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	girl	girl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	appos	_	_
10	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	9	acl	_	_
11	Taffy	Taffy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | participle |  | a girl *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In Rome

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:86-justso-first-letter-3-a-great-invention:t7:o3:1
# text = In Rome
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	Rome	Rome	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In a cave by the Wagai

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:86-justso-first-letter-3-a-great-invention:t7:o4:1
# text = In a cave by the Wagai
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	cave	cave	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	Wagai	Wagai	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

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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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- ← previous: [Just So Stories, How the First Letter…, test 6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/86-justso-first-letter-3-a-great-invention/t6/)
- next →: [Just So Stories, How the First Letter…, test 8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/86-justso-first-letter-3-a-great-invention/t8/)
- ↑ back to [Just So Stories, How the First Letter Was Written, part 3: «a great invention» and the road on Merrow Down](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/86-justso-first-letter-3-a-great-invention/)