---
title: ★★★ «Every seat on the bus was empty except one. Priya sat beside th… — Inference: reading between the lines · tree and pragmatics
description: ★★★ «Every seat on the bus was empty except one. Priya sat beside the old man anyway, and he smiled for the first time that day.» What does this show about Priya? Test 7 · ★ of lesson 18 «Inference: reading between the lines» of the English course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree a
---

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# Test 7 · ★ · Inference: reading between the lines

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
★★★ «Every seat on the bus was empty except one. Priya sat beside the old man anyway, and he smiled for the first time that day.» What does this show about Priya?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** ★, Priya, this · **What happens:** be, sit, smile, show

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 7 · ★ of lesson 18 «Inference: reading between the lines» of the English 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/english/18-inference-reading-between-the-lines/#t7).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* ★★★ «Every seat on the bus was empty except one.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:18-inference-reading-between-the-lines:t7:1
# text = ★★★ «Every seat on the bus was empty except one.
1	★	★	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	★	★	X	FW	Foreign=Yes	1	dep	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	★	★	X	FW	Foreign=Yes	1	dep	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	Every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	6	det	_	_
6	seat	seat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	bus	bus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
10	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
11	empty	empty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
12	except	except	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | past | ★ |  |  |  |  | except one; empty *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:* Priya sat beside the old man anyway, and he smiled for the first time that day.»

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:18-inference-reading-between-the-lines:t7:2
# text = Priya sat beside the old man anyway, and he smiled for the first time that day.»
1	Priya	Priya	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sat	sit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	beside	beside	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	anyway	anyway	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
10	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	smiled	smile	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
12	for	for	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	first	first	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	15	amod	_	_
15	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
16	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	17	det	_	_
17	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl:unmarked	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sit** | past | Priya |  |  |  |  | beside the old man; anyway *property* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent beside man=Location |
| 2 | **smile** | past | Priya |  |  |  | day; time |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 3:* What does this show about Priya?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:18-inference-reading-between-the-lines:t7:3
# text = What does this show about Priya?
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	this	this	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	4	nsubj	_	_
4	show	show	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	about	about	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	Priya	Priya	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | present · do-support | this |  |  |  |  | about Priya | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent what=Recipient about priya=Topic |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She didn't see the empty seats

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:18-inference-reading-between-the-lines:t7:o1:1
# text = She didn't see the empty seats
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	empty	empty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	seats	seat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **see** | past · do-support | She | the empty seats |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer seat=Stimulus |

### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She was kind: she chose to sit with him when she didn't have to

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:18-inference-reading-between-the-lines:t7:o2:1
# text = She was kind: she chose to sit with him when she didn't have to
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	kind	kind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	6	punct	_	_
5	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	chose	choose	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	sit	sit	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	_
9	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obl	_	_
11	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	15	mark	_	_
12	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
13	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	15	advmod	_	_
15	have	have	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	advcl	_	_
16	to	to	PART	TO	_	15	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | She |  |  |  |  | kind *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **choose** | past | she |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **sit** | to-infinitive | she *not said here* |  |  |  |  | with him *= he* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **not** **have** | past · do-support | she |  |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She was lost

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:18-inference-reading-between-the-lines:t7:o3:1
# text = She was lost
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	lost	lose	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lose** | past · passive |  | She |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Eventuality |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She had to sit there because there was nowhere else to sit on the bus

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:18-inference-reading-between-the-lines:t7:o4:1
# text = She had to sit there because there was nowhere else to sit on the bus
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	sit	sit	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	4	advmod	_	_
6	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
7	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	8	expl	_	_
8	was	be	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
9	nowhere	nowhere	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
10	else	else	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	sit	sit	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
13	on	on	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	bus	bus	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | She |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **sit** | to-infinitive | She *not said here* |  |  | there |  | nowhere *property* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **be** | past | She *not said here* |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **sit** | to-infinitive | She *not said here* |  |  | the bus |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent on bus=Location |

<!-- 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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