---
title: Ethan: «A dog telling the story is dumb, dogs can't talk.» What is t… — Author's choices: why this word, why t… · tree and pragmatics
description: Ethan: «A dog telling the story is dumb, dogs can't talk.» What is true? Test 7 · ★★ 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 of each option; Mova's choice was wrong.
---

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# Test 7 · ★★ · Author's choices: why this word, why this way

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ethan: «A dog telling the story is dumb, dogs can't talk.» What is true?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** dog, Ethan · **What happens:** tell, be, not talk · **To what, where:** story, Ethan · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 7 · ★★ of lesson 21 «Author's choices: why this word, why this way» 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/21-authors-choices-why-this-word-why-this-way/#t7).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Ethan: «A dog telling the story is dumb, dogs can't talk.»

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:21-authors-choices-why-this-word-why-this-way:t7:1
# text = Ethan: «A dog telling the story is dumb, dogs can't talk.»
1	Ethan	Ethan	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	15	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
3	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
6	telling	tell	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	acl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	dumb	dumb	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
12	dogs	dog	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	nsubj	_	_
13	ca	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	15	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	15	advmod	_	_
15	talk	talk	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | gerund | a dog *not said here* | the story |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent story=Recipient |
| 2 | **is** *in a quote* | present | a dog | Ethan *not said here* |  |  |  | dumb *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **not** **talk** *in a quote* | can | Ethan |  |  |  |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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:* What is true?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:21-authors-choices-why-this-word-why-this-way:t7:2
# text = What is true?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | true *property* | tree rules |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ethan is right, only people can narrate

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:21-authors-choices-why-this-word-why-this-way:t7:o1:1
# text = Ethan is right, only people can narrate
1	Ethan	Ethan	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
5	only	only	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
7	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	narrate	narrate	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Ethan |  |  |  |  | right *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **narrate** *speech: other* | can | people |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dog narrators are only for babies

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:21-authors-choices-why-this-word-why-this-way:t7:o2:1
# text = Dog narrators are only for babies
1	Dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	narrators	narrator	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
4	only	only	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	babies	baby	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Dog narrators |  |  |  |  | for babies | tree rules |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Narrators can be animals, and it gives a new viewpoint

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:21-authors-choices-why-this-word-why-this-way:t7:o3:1
# text = Narrators can be animals, and it gives a new viewpoint
1	Narrators	narrator	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	cop	_	_
4	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	gives	give	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	viewpoint	viewpoint	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | can |  | animals |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **give** | present | Narrators | a new viewpoint |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent viewpoint=Theme |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Stories must be told by the author's mum or dad, who can check that it is all true

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:21-authors-choices-why-this-word-why-this-way:t7:o4:1
# text = Stories must be told by the author's mum or dad, who can check that it is all true
1	Stories	story	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	told	tell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	author	author	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	's	's	PART	POS	_	7	case	_	_
9	mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
10	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	dad	dad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
13	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	15	nsubj	_	_
14	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	15	aux	_	_
15	check	check	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	acl:relcl	_	_
16	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	20	mark	_	_
17	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	20	nsubj	_	_
18	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	20	cop	_	_
19	all	all	ADV	RB	_	20	advmod	_	_
20	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	ccomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | must · passive | the author's mum or dad | Stories |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent subject=Recipient |
| 2 | **check** | can | dad |  |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is** | present | author |  |  |  |  | all, true *property* | 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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