---
title: Mia, a bit nesh (feels the cold): «why'd she make the tail a separat… — Just So Stories, How the Alphabet Was… · tree and pragmatics
description: Mia, a bit nesh (feels the cold): «why'd she make the tail a separate sign? join them, it's quicker.» What does Taffy say? Test 4 · ★ 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 
---

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# Test 4 · ★ · Just So Stories, How the Alphabet Was Made, part 1: a carp…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mia, a bit nesh (feels the cold): «why'd she make the tail a separate sign? join them, it's quicker.» What does Taffy say?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 4 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** bit nesh, Mia, tail, sign, Taffy · **What happens:** feel, make, join, be, say · **To what, where:** cold, tail, them · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 4 · ★ 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/#t4).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Mia, a bit nesh (feels the cold): «why'd she make the tail a separate sign? join them, it's quicker.»

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth:t4:1
# text = Mia, a bit nesh (feels the cold): «why'd she make the tail a separate sign? join them, it's quicker.»
1	Mia	Mia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	16	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	bit	bit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	nesh	nesh	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	appos	_	_
6	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	feels	feel	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	cold	cold	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	16	punct	_	_
12	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	16	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	'd	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	16	aux	_	_
15	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
16	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obj	_	_
19	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
20	separate	separate	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	21	amod	_	_
21	sign	sign	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	16	punct	_	_
23	join	join	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	xcomp	_	_
24	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	23	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	28	punct	_	_
26	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	28	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	28	cop	_	_
28	quicker	quick	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	16	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	16	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **feel** | present | a bit nesh *not said here* | the cold |  |  |  |  | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cold=Theme |
| 2 | **make** *in a quote* | would | Mia | the tail |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **join** *in a quote* | infinitive | the tail *not said here* | them *= they* |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=Patient |
| 4 | **is** *in a quote* | present | sign |  |  |  |  | quick *property* | 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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* What does Taffy say?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth:t4:2
# text = What does Taffy say?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	obj	_	_
2	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	Taffy	Taffy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present · do-support | Taffy |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mia is right, but the tail is too long

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth:t4:o1:1
# text = Mia is right, but the tail is too long
1	Mia	Mia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
5	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
9	too	too	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Mia |  |  |  |  | right *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | the tail |  |  |  |  | long *property* | tree rules |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mia's right, joined is quicker

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth:t4:o2:1
# text = Mia's right, joined is quicker
1	Mia	Mia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	's	PART	POS	_	1	case	_	_
3	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
5	joined	join	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	conj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	quicker	quick	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **join** | participle | Mia's right *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **is** | present | Mia's right |  |  |  |  | quick *property* | tree rules |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Joined signs look like one big muddle on the wall

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth:t4:o3:1
# text = Joined signs look like one big muddle on the wall
1	Joined	join	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	amod	_	_
2	signs	sign	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	look	look	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	like	like	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	7	nummod	_	_
6	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	muddle	muddle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	on	on	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	wall	wall	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **join** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **look** | present | Joined signs |  |  |  |  | like one big muddle; on the wall | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent on wall=Theme |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
If they're joined she'll forget which sound is which

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth:t4:o4:1
# text = If they're joined she'll forget which sound is which
1	If	if	SCONJ	IN	_	4	mark	_	_
2	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	're	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	joined	join	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	'll	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	forget	forget	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
8	which	which	DET	WDT	PronType=Int	9	det	_	_
9	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
11	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **join** | present · passive |  | they |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |
| 2 | **forget** | future | she | which sound |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **is a** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

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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 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t3/)
- next →: [Just So Stories, How the Alphabet Was…, test 5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/87-justso-alphabet-1-a-carp-fishs-mouth/t5/)
- ↑ 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/)