---
title: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the… — Words that hurt — what they mean, neve… · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the term "lǎowài"? Exam question 3 of lesson 24 «Words that hurt — what they mean, never to be said» of the Chinese street course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova
---

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# Exam question 3 · Words that hurt — what they mean, never to be said

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the term "lǎowài"?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **What happens:** follow, characteris · **To what, where:** term

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 24 «Words that hurt — what they mean, never to be said» 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/24-words-that-hurt/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:chinese-street:24-words-that-hurt:e3:1
# text = Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the term "lǎowài"?
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	term	term	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	lǎowài	lǎowài	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	?	?	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 term |  |  |  | of the following statements; accurately *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 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A colloquial word for a foreigner, mostly without malice

```conllu
# sent_id = question:chinese-street:24-words-that-hurt:e3:o1:1
# text = A colloquial word for a foreigner, mostly without malice
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	colloquial	colloquial	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	foreigner	foreigner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	mostly	mostly	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
9	without	without	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	malice	malice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
```

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

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It denotes an elderly relative

```conllu
# sent_id = question:chinese-street:24-words-that-hurt:e3:o2:1
# text = It denotes an elderly relative
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	denotes	denote	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	elderly	elderly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	relative	relative	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **denote** | present | It | a elderly relative |  |  |  |  | vn indicate-78 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot relative=Topic |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is a grave racial slur, invariably intended to wound the hearer

```conllu
# sent_id = question:chinese-street:24-words-that-hurt:e3:o3:1
# text = It is a grave racial slur, invariably intended to wound the hearer
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
4	grave	grave	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
5	racial	racial	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	slur	slur	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	invariably	invariably	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	intended	intend	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	acl	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	wound	wound	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	hearer	hearer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | a grave racial slur |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **intend** | participle |  | a grave racial slur *not said here* |  |  |  | invariably *property* | vn intend-61.2-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **wound** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | the hearer |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus hearer=Experiencer |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is a formal diplomatic title

```conllu
# sent_id = question:chinese-street:24-words-that-hurt:e3:o4:1
# text = It is a formal diplomatic title
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
4	formal	formal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
5	diplomatic	diplomatic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	title	title	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | a formal diplomatic title |  |  |  |  | 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.

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