---
title: Why does Taffy's idea work better than her picture-letter? — Just So Stories, How the Alphabet Was… · tree and pragmatics
description: Why does Taffy's idea work better than her picture-letter? Test 2 · ★ of lesson 87 «Just So Stories, How the Alphabet Was Made, part 1: a carp-fish's mouth, a tail, an egg and a snake» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each o
---

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# Test 2 · ★ · Just So Stories, How the Alphabet Was Made, part 1: a carp…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Why does Taffy's idea work better than her picture-letter?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** idea work, Taffy · **What happens:** be, work, letter

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 2 · ★ of lesson 87 «Just So Stories, How the Alphabet Was Made, part 1: a carp-fish's mouth, a tail, an egg and a snake» 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/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/#t2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth:t2:1
# text = Why does Taffy's idea work better than her picture-letter?
1	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	0	root	_	_
2	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	cop	_	_
3	Taffy	Taffy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	's	's	PART	POS	_	3	case	_	_
5	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nsubj	_	_
7	better	well	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	1	advmod	_	_
8	than	than	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
9	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
10	picture	picture	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Taffy's idea work |  |  |  |  | well, why *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **work** |  | Taffy |  |  |  |  |  | nom work «act intransitive»: poss=agent |
| 3 | **letter** |  | Taffy |  |  |  |  |  | nom letter «communication transitive»: poss=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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It shows the whole battle in one picture, so Daddy can read it

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth:t2:o1:1
# text = It shows the whole battle in one picture, so Daddy can read it
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	shows	show	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	battle	battle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	picture	picture	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
10	so	so	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
11	Daddy	Daddy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
12	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
13	read	read	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	parataxis	_	_
14	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | present | It | the whole battle |  |  |  | in one picture | vn crane-40.3.2 «NP V NP PP.recipient PP.theme»: agent=Agent battle=Patient in picture=Topic |
| 2 | **read** | can | Daddy | battle |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Topic |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Each picture shows a whole story, so it's easy to follow

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth:t2:o2:1
# text = Each picture shows a whole story, so it's easy to follow
1	Each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	det	_	_
2	picture	picture	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	shows	show	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
8	so	so	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	expl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
11	easy	easy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	parataxis	_	_
12	to	to	PART	TO	_	13	mark	_	_
13	follow	follow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | present | each picture | a whole story |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent story=Recipient |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | easy *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **follow** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Each sign stands for one sound, so it can't be read as a battle

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth:t2:o3:1
# text = Each sign stands for one sound, so it can't be read as a battle
1	Each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	det	_	_
2	sign	sign	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	stands	stand	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
8	so	so	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj:pass	_	_
10	ca	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	13	advmod	_	_
12	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	aux:pass	_	_
13	read	read	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	parataxis	_	_
14	as	as	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	battle	battle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stand** | present | each sign |  |  |  |  | for one sound | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer for sound=Attribute |
| 2 | **not** **read** | can · passive |  | sign |  |  |  | as a battle | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: subject=Stimulus as battle=Attribute |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Each sign stands for a whole word, so it can be read as a long battle with spears and shields

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth:t2:o4:1
# text = Each sign stands for a whole word, so it can be read as a long battle with spears and shields
1	Each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	det	_	_
2	sign	sign	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	stands	stand	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
9	so	so	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj:pass	_	_
11	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
12	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	aux:pass	_	_
13	read	read	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	parataxis	_	_
14	as	as	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
16	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
17	battle	battle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	_
18	with	with	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
19	spears	spear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	nmod	_	_
20	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
21	shields	shield	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	19	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stand** | present | each sign |  |  |  |  | for a whole word | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer for word=Attribute |
| 2 | **read** | can · passive |  | sign |  |  |  | as a long battle with spears and shields | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: subject=Stimulus as battle=Attribute |

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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.

<!-- /div -->

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- ← previous: [Just So Stories, How the Alphabet Was…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t1/)
- next →: [Just So Stories, How the Alphabet Was…, test 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t3/)
- ↑ back to [Just So Stories, How the Alphabet Was Made, part 1: a carp-fish's mouth, a tail, an egg and a snake](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/)