---
title: In a cartoon, a robot says "Yesterday I will be fixing the car." Wha… — Tense consistency and verb forms · tree and pragmatics
description: In a cartoon, a robot says "Yesterday I will be fixing the car." What would a grammar teacher say? Test 4 · ★ of lesson 31 «Tense consistency and verb forms» 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 
---

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# Test 4 · ★ · Tense consistency and verb forms

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In a cartoon, a robot says "Yesterday I will be fixing the car." What would a grammar teacher say?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 1 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** robot, grammar teacher · **What happens:** say, fix · **To what, where:** cartoon, car · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 4 · ★ of lesson 31 «Tense consistency and verb forms» 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/31-tense-consistency-and-verb-forms/#t4).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* In a cartoon, a robot says "Yesterday I will be fixing the car."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:31-tense-consistency-and-verb-forms:t4:1
# text = In a cartoon, a robot says "Yesterday I will be fixing the car."
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	cartoon	cartoon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	robot	robot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	Yesterday	yesterday	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
10	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
11	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
12	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	aux	_	_
13	fixing	fix	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	9	acl:relcl	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | a robot |  |  | a cartoon |  |  | vn pronounce-29.3.1 «NP V NP PP.manner»: agent=Agent in cartoon=Manner |
| 2 | **fix** *in a quote* | future · progressive | a robot *= robot* | the car |  |  |  |  | vn shake-22.3-2 «NP V NP together»: agent=Agent car=Patient |

<!-- .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 would a grammar teacher say?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:31-tense-consistency-and-verb-forms:t4:2
# text = What would a grammar teacher say?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	6	obj	_	_
2	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	grammar	grammar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | would | a grammar teacher |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yesterday needs a past verb: "Yesterday I was fixing the car"

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:31-tense-consistency-and-verb-forms:t4:o1:1
# text = Yesterday needs a past verb: "Yesterday I was fixing the car"
1	Yesterday	yesterday	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	needs	need	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	past	past	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	verb	verb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	11	punct	_	_
7	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	Yesterday	yesterday	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl:unmarked	_	_
9	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
10	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
11	fixing	fix	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	parataxis	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **need** | present | Yesterday | a past verb |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **fix** *in a quote* | past · progressive | I | the car |  |  | yesterday |  | vn shake-22.3-2 «NP V NP together»: agent=Agent car=Patient |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Change "yesterday" to "next year ago"

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:31-tense-consistency-and-verb-forms:t4:o2:1
# text = Change "yesterday" to "next year ago"
1	Change	change	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
2	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	yesterday	yesterday	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	1	fixed	_	_
6	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	1	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	next	next	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	year	year	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl:unmarked	_	_
9	ago	ago	ADV	RB	_	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	_
```

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

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Robots may use any tense they like in any sentence they say

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:31-tense-consistency-and-verb-forms:t4:o3:1
# text = Robots may use any tense they like in any sentence they say
1	Robots	robot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	use	use	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	5	det	_	_
5	tense	tense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	like	like	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	10	det	_	_
10	sentence	sentence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
11	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
12	say	say	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	acl:relcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | may | Robots | any tense |  | any sentence |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tense=Patient |
| 2 | **like** | present | Robots *= robot* | any tense *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot tense=Theme |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | Robots *= robot* | any sentence *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent sentence=Topic |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is correct because it uses -ing

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:31-tense-consistency-and-verb-forms:t4:o4:1
# text = It is correct because it uses -ing
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	correct	correct	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
5	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	uses	use	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
7	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	ing	ing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | It |  |  |  |  | correct *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **use** | present | it | ing |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ing=Patient |

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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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