---
title: In a cartoon a bear says «I'm a beer!» because «ear» always says /ea… — Vowel teams, split digraphs and choosi… · tree and pragmatics
description: In a cartoon a bear says «I'm a beer!» because «ear» always says /ear/. What should the bear learn? Test 7 · ★ of lesson 4 «Vowel teams, split digraphs and choosing the spelling» of the English course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each optio
---

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# Test 7 · ★ · Vowel teams, split digraphs and choosing the spelling

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In a cartoon a bear says «I'm a beer!» because «ear» always says /ear/. What should the bear learn?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 3 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** bear, ear · **What happens:** say, be, learn · **To what, where:** cartoon, beer · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 7 · ★ of lesson 4 «Vowel teams, split digraphs and choosing the spelling» 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/4-vowel-teams-split-digraphs-and-choosing-the-spelling/#t7).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* In a cartoon a bear says «I'm a beer!» because «ear» always says /ear/.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:4-vowel-teams-split-digraphs-and-choosing-the-spelling:t7:1
# text = In a cartoon a bear says «I'm a beer!» because «ear» always says /ear/.
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	6	obl	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	bear	bear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	'm	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	beer	beer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	_
14	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	19	mark	_	_
15	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	ear	ear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	16	punct	_	_
18	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	19	advmod	_	_
19	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	advcl	_	_
20	/	/	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	ear	ear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	/	/	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: express* | present | a bear |  |  | a cartoon |  |  | vn pronounce-29.3.1 «NP V NP PP.manner»: agent=Agent in cartoon=Manner |
| 2 | **is a** *in a quote* | present | a bear *= bear* | a beer |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | ear |  |  |  |  | always *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: 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 should the bear learn?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:4-vowel-teams-split-digraphs-and-choosing-the-spelling:t7:2
# text = What should the bear learn?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	5	obj	_	_
2	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	bear	bear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	learn	learn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **learn** | should | the bear |  |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«bear» should be spelled «bare» for the animal

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:4-vowel-teams-split-digraphs-and-choosing-the-spelling:t7:o1:1
# text = «bear» should be spelled «bare» for the animal
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	bear	bear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj:pass	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
4	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	aux:pass	_	_
6	spelled	spell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
7	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	bare	bare	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	8	punct	_	_
10	for	for	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spell** | should · passive |  | bear |  |  |  | for the animal; bare *property* | vn pronounce-29.3.1 «NP V NP ADVP»: subject=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«ear» always says /ear/, so the cartoon is right

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:4-vowel-teams-split-digraphs-and-choosing-the-spelling:t7:o2:1
# text = «ear» always says /ear/, so the cartoon is right
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	ear	ear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
4	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	5	advmod	_	_
5	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	/	/	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	ear	ear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	/	/	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
10	so	so	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	cartoon	cartoon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj	_	_
13	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	cop	_	_
14	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | ear |  |  |  |  | always *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | the cartoon |  |  |  |  | right *property* | tree rules |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«ear» says /air/ in «bear», «pear» and «wear»

<!-- fold The tree, 9 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:4-vowel-teams-split-digraphs-and-choosing-the-spelling:t7:o3:1
# text = «ear» says /air/ in «bear», «pear» and «wear»
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	ear	ear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
4	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	/	/	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	/	/	SYM	,	_	10	cc	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	bear	bear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
13	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	pear	pear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	14	punct	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
17	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	wear	wear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	14	punct	_	_
```

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

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«bear» and «beer» are the same word

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:4-vowel-teams-split-digraphs-and-choosing-the-spelling:t7:o4:1
# text = «bear» and «beer» are the same word
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	bear	bear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
5	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	beer	beer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
8	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	same	same	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | bear and beer | the same word |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- 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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- ← previous: [Vowel teams, split digraphs and choosi…, test 6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/4-vowel-teams-split-digraphs-and-choosing-the-spelling/t6/)
- next →: [Vowel teams, split digraphs and choosi…, test 8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/4-vowel-teams-split-digraphs-and-choosing-the-spelling/t8/)
- ↑ back to [Vowel teams, split digraphs and choosing the spelling](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/4-vowel-teams-split-digraphs-and-choosing-the-spelling/)