---
title: Select the response that accurately identifies the device employed i… — Author's choices: why this word, why t… · tree and pragmatics
description: Select the response that accurately identifies the device employed in the phrase «the house was a sleeping giant». Exam question 3 of lesson 21 «Author's choices: why this word, why this way» of the English course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and 
---

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# Exam question 3 · Author's choices: why this word, why this way

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Select the response that accurately identifies the device employed in the phrase «the house was a sleeping giant».

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, response, house · **What happens:** select, identify, employ, be · **To what, where:** response, device, phrase, sleeping giant

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This is exam question 3 of lesson 21 «Author's choices: why this word, why this way» of the English 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/english/21-authors-choices-why-this-word-why-this-way/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:21-authors-choices-why-this-word-why-this-way:e3:1
# text = Select the response that accurately identifies the device employed in the phrase «the house was a sleeping giant».
1	Select	select	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	response	response	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	6	nsubj	_	_
5	accurately	accurately	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	identifies	identify	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	acl:relcl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	device	device	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	employed	employ	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	acl	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	phrase	phrase	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
13	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	house	house	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	nsubj	_	_
16	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	19	cop	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
18	sleeping	sleeping	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	compound	_	_
19	giant	giant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **select** | imperative | you *not said here* | the response |  |  |  |  | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent response=Theme |
| 2 | **identify** | present | the response | the device |  |  |  | accurately *property* | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent device=Theme |
| 3 | **employ** | participle |  | the device *not said here* |  | the phrase |  |  | vn hire-13.5.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is a** *in a quote* | past | the house | a sleeping giant |  |  |  |  | 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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Onomatopoeia

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:21-authors-choices-why-this-word-why-this-way:e3:o1:1
# text = Onomatopoeia
1	Onomatopoeia	onomatopoeia	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
```

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

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Alliteration

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:21-authors-choices-why-this-word-why-this-way:e3:o2:1
# text = Alliteration
1	Alliteration	alliteration	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
```

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

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Simile, the comparison being introduced by the word «as»

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:21-authors-choices-why-this-word-why-this-way:e3:o3:1
# text = Simile, the comparison being introduced by the word «as»
1	Simile	simile	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj:pass	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	comparison	comparison	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj:pass	_	_
5	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	aux:pass	_	_
6	introduced	introduce	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
7	by	by	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
10	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	as	as	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **introduce** | gerund · passive | the word | Simile |  |  |  |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Patient |

### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Metaphor

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:21-authors-choices-why-this-word-why-this-way:e3:o4:1
# text = Metaphor
1	Metaphor	metaphor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
```

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

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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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