---
title: Real life: was the Sahara always a desert? — Just So Stories, The Crab that Played… · tree and pragmatics
description: Real life: was the Sahara always a desert? Test 8 · ★ of lesson 90 «Just So Stories, The Crab that Played with the Sea, part 1: the Eldest Magician and the sea that will not behave» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each opti
---

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# Test 8 · ★ · Just So Stories, The Crab that Played with the Sea, part 1…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Real life: was the Sahara always a desert?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Real life · **What happens:** be · **To what, where:** desert

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 8 · ★ of lesson 90 «Just So Stories, The Crab that Played with the Sea, part 1: the Eldest Magician and the sea that will not behave» 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/90-justso-crab-1-the-eldest-magician/#t8).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:90-justso-crab-1-the-eldest-magician:t8:1
# text = Real life: was the Sahara always a desert?
1	Real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	2	punct	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	Sahara	Sahara	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
7	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	9	advmod	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | Real life | a desert |  |  |  | always *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.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No: it was green with lakes and forests until about 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, then the climate dried

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:90-justso-crab-1-the-eldest-magician:t8:o1:1
# text = No: it was green with lakes and forests until about 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, then the climate dried
1	No	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	5	det	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	5	punct	_	_
3	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	green	green	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	lakes	lake	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	forests	forest	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	conj	_	_
10	until	until	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
11	about	about	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
12	5,000	5000	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	15	nummod	_	_
13	to	to	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	6,000	6000	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	12	nmod	_	_
15	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	_
16	ago	ago	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
18	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	20	advmod	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	climate	climate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
21	dried	dry	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	20	acl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | it |  |  |  |  | with lakes until 5,000 years and forests; green *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **dry** | participle |  | the climate *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4-1 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yes, it has been a desert for millions of years now

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:90-justso-crab-1-the-eldest-magician:t8:o2:1
# text = Yes, it has been a desert for millions of years now
1	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	7	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
4	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
5	been	be	AUX	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	7	cop	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	millions	million	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nmod	_	_
12	now	now	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	7	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present · perfect | it | a desert |  |  | now | for millions of years | tree rules |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No: it was green with lakes until about 5,000 to 6,000 years ago

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:90-justso-crab-1-the-eldest-magician:t8:o3:1
# text = No: it was green with lakes until about 5,000 to 6,000 years ago
1	No	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	5	det	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	5	punct	_	_
3	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	green	green	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	lakes	lake	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
8	until	until	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
9	about	about	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	5,000	5000	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	13	nummod	_	_
11	to	to	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	6,000	6000	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	10	nmod	_	_
13	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl:unmarked	_	_
14	ago	ago	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | it |  |  |  | year | with lakes; green *property* | tree rules |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No: it was green with lakes and rivers until about 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, when the rains moved away

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:90-justso-crab-1-the-eldest-magician:t8:o4:1
# text = No: it was green with lakes and rivers until about 5,000 to 6,000 years ago, when the rains moved away
1	No	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	5	det	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	5	punct	_	_
3	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	green	green	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	21	advmod	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	lakes	lake	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	rivers	river	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	conj	_	_
10	until	until	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
11	about	about	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
12	5,000	5000	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	15	nummod	_	_
13	to	to	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	6,000	6000	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	12	nmod	_	_
15	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	obl:unmarked	_	_
16	ago	ago	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
18	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	21	advmod	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	rains	rain	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	21	nsubj	_	_
21	moved	move	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
22	away	away	ADV	RB	_	21	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | it |  |  |  |  | with lakes and rivers; ago, green *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **move away** | past | the rains |  |  |  |  | away *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- 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 Crab that Played…, test 7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/90-justso-crab-1-the-eldest-magician/t7/)
- next →: [Just So Stories, The Crab that Played…, test 9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/90-justso-crab-1-the-eldest-magician/t9/)
- ↑ back to [Just So Stories, The Crab that Played with the Sea, part 1: the Eldest Magician and the sea that will not behave](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/90-justso-crab-1-the-eldest-magician/)