---
title: A gran in Kerry says "Youse are grand." ("Grand" means fine.) Her gr… — Standard English and dialect: "we was"… · tree and pragmatics
description: A gran in Kerry says "Youse are grand." ("Grand" means fine.) Her grandson writes about her in a story. Should her words stay as she said them? Test 7 · ★ of lesson 38 «Standard English and dialect: "we was" in talk, "we were" in writing» of the English course of Mova's primary school, with the depe
---

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# Test 7 · ★ · Standard English and dialect: "we was" in talk, "we were"…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A gran in Kerry says "Youse are grand." ("Grand" means fine.) Her grandson writes about her in a story. Should her words stay as she said them?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 2 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** gran, Youse, Grand, grandson, words · **What happens:** say, be, mean, write, stay, word · **To what, where:** story, words · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 7 · ★ of lesson 38 «Standard English and dialect: "we was" in talk, "we were" in writing» 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/38-standard-english-and-dialect-we-was-and-we-were/#t7).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A gran in Kerry says "Youse are grand."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:38-standard-english-and-dialect-we-was-and-we-were:t7:1
# text = A gran in Kerry says "Youse are grand."
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	gran	gran	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	Kerry	Kerry	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	Youse	Youse	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
8	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	grand	grand	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | a gran in Kerry |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** *in a quote* | present | Youse |  |  |  |  | grand *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:* ("Grand" means fine.)

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:38-standard-english-and-dialect-we-was-and-we-were:t7:2
# text = ("Grand" means fine.)
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	Grand	Grand	PROPN	NNP	_	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
5	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	fine	fine	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Grand |  |  |  |  | fine *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 3:* Her grandson writes about her in a story.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:38-standard-english-and-dialect-we-was-and-we-were:t7:3
# text = Her grandson writes about her in a story.
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	grandson	grandson	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	writes	write	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	about	about	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	obl	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write** | present | Grand's grandson |  |  | a story |  | about Grand | vn lecture-37.11-1 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent about she=Topic |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 4:* Should her words stay as she said them?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:38-standard-english-and-dialect-we-was-and-we-were:t7:4
# text = Should her words stay as she said them?
1	Should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
2	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
3	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	stay	stay	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
8	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stay** | should | Grand's words |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Grand | words *= word* |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent they=Topic |
| 3 | **word** |  | Grand |  |  |  |  |  | nom word «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No, all dialect must be removed from stories

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:38-standard-english-and-dialect-we-was-and-we-were:t7:o1:1
# text = No, all dialect must be removed from stories
1	No	no	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Neg	7	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	4	det	_	_
4	dialect	dialect	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj:pass	_	_
5	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
6	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	aux:pass	_	_
7	removed	remove	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
8	from	from	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	stories	story	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **remove** | must · passive |  | all dialect |  | stories |  |  | vn fire-10.10 «NP V NP PP.source»: subject=Theme from story=Source |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yes, in speech marks, to show her voice

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:38-standard-english-and-dialect-we-was-and-we-were:t7:o2:1
# text = Yes, in speech marks, to show her voice
1	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	8	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	marks	mark	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	show	show	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	voice	voice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | to-infinitive | speech marks | her voice |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent voice=Recipient |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No, only Standard English may go in speech marks

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:38-standard-english-and-dialect-we-was-and-we-were:t7:o3:1
# text = No, only Standard English may go in speech marks
1	No	no	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Neg	7	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	only	only	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
4	Standard	Standard	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	English	English	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
6	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	go	go	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	speech	speech	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	marks	mark	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go** | may | Standard English |  |  | speech marks |  |  | vn occur-48.3-2 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme in mark=Location |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yes, but he must change "youse" to "you"

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:38-standard-english-and-dialect-we-was-and-we-were:t7:o4:1
# text = Yes, but he must change "youse" to "you"
1	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	6	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
3	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
5	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	change	change	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	youse	youse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	8	punct	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
11	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	6	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **change** | must | he | youse |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent youse=Patient |

<!-- 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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- ↑ back to [Standard English and dialect: "we was" in talk, "we were" in writing](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/38-standard-english-and-dialect-we-was-and-we-were/)