---
title: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the… — The four tones: same sound, different… · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the utterance «wǒ yào shuìjiào», both principal syllables bearing the falling tone? Exam question 4 of lesson 2 «The four tones: same sound, different meaning» of the Chinese street course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency t
---

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# Exam question 4 · The four tones: same sound, different meaning

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the utterance «wǒ yào shuìjiào», both principal syllables bearing the falling tone?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 1 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** principal syllables · **What happens:** follow, characteris, bear, fall · **To what, where:** utterance, falling tone

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 2 «The four tones: same sound, different meaning» of the Chinese street course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. 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/chinese-street/2-the-four-tones/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:chinese-street:2-the-four-tones:e4:1
# text = Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the utterance «wǒ yào shuìjiào», both principal syllables bearing the falling tone?
1	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	following	follow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	amod	_	_
5	statements	statement	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
6	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	7	advmod	_	_
7	accurately	accurately	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	characterises	characteris	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	utterance	utterance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	wǒ	wǒ	X	FW	Foreign=Yes	10	appos	_	_
13	yào	yào	X	FW	Foreign=Yes	12	flat:foreign	_	_
14	shuìjiào	shuìjiào	X	FW	_	12	flat:foreign	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
17	both	both	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	19	det	_	_
18	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	syllables	syllable	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	appos	_	_
20	bearing	bear	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	19	acl	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
22	falling	fall	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	23	amod	_	_
23	tone	tone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **characteris** | present |  | the utterance |  |  |  | of the following statements; accurately *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **bear** | gerund | both principal syllables *not said here* | the falling tone |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tone=Patient |
| 4 | **fall** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- .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 -->
It expresses a desire to sleep

```conllu
# sent_id = question:chinese-street:2-the-four-tones:e4:o1:1
# text = It expresses a desire to sleep
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	expresses	express	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	desire	desire	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	sleep	sleep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	acl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **express** | present | It | a desire |  |  |  |  | vn reflexive\_appearance-48.1.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme desire=Reflexive |
| 2 | **sleep** | to-infinitive |  | a desire *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn snooze-40.4-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It expresses a desire for boiled dumplings

```conllu
# sent_id = question:chinese-street:2-the-four-tones:e4:o2:1
# text = It expresses a desire for boiled dumplings
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	expresses	express	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	desire	desire	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	boiled	boil	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	amod	_	_
7	dumplings	dumpling	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **express** | present | It | a desire |  |  |  | for boiled dumplings | vn reflexive\_appearance-48.1.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme desire=Reflexive |
| 2 | **boil** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn cooking-45.3 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It constitutes a request for sweets

```conllu
# sent_id = question:chinese-street:2-the-four-tones:e4:o3:1
# text = It constitutes a request for sweets
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	constitutes	constitute	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	request	request	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	sweets	sweet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **constitute** | present | It | a request |  |  |  | for sweets | vn comprise-107.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme request=Pivot |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is an enquiry concerning the hour

```conllu
# sent_id = question:chinese-street:2-the-four-tones:e4:o4:1
# text = It is an enquiry concerning the hour
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	enquiry	enquiry	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	concerning	concern	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	acl	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	hour	hour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | a enquiry |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **concern** | gerund | a enquiry *not said here* |  |  |  | hour |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |

<!-- 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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