---
title: A lad from Newcastle says "That story's canny scary, man." ("Canny"… — Building tension and suspense · tree and pragmatics
description: A lad from Newcastle says "That story's canny scary, man." ("Canny" means quite or very in the North East.) What probably made it scary? Test 5 · ★★ of lesson 42 «Building tension and suspense» of the English course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question an
---

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# Test 5 · ★★ · Building tension and suspense

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A lad from Newcastle says "That story's canny scary, man." ("Canny" means quite or very in the North East.) What probably made it scary?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** lad, Canny · **What happens:** say, mean, make · **To what, where:** East · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 5 · ★★ of lesson 42 «Building tension and suspense» 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/42-building-tension-and-suspense/#t5).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A lad from Newcastle says "That story's canny scary, man."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:42-building-tension-and-suspense:t5:1
# text = A lad from Newcastle says "That story's canny scary, man."
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	lad	lad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	from	from	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	Newcastle	Newcastle	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	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	That	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	8	det	_	_
8	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	's	PART	POS	_	8	case	_	_
10	canny	canny	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
11	scary	scary	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
13	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | a lad from Newcastle |  |  |  |  |  | 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:* ("Canny" means quite or very in the North East.)

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:42-building-tension-and-suspense:t5:2
# text = ("Canny" means quite or very in the North East.)
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	Canny	Canny	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	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	quite	quite	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
7	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	very	very	ADV	RB	_	6	conj	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	North	North	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	East	East	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | Canny |  |  |  |  | in the North East | vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Pivot in east=Attribute |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 3:* What probably made it scary?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:42-building-tension-and-suspense:t5:3
# text = What probably made it scary?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	3	obl	_	_
2	probably	probably	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	scary	scary	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past |  | East |  |  |  | probably, scary *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset it=Product |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The writer used no full stops

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:42-building-tension-and-suspense:t5:o1:1
# text = The writer used no full stops
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	writer	writer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	used	use	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	5	det	_	_
5	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	nsubj	_	_
6	stops	stop	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | past | the writer |  |  |  |  |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **stop** | present | no full |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The writer kept us waiting and guessing

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:42-building-tension-and-suspense:t5:o2:1
# text = The writer kept us waiting and guessing
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	writer	writer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	kept	keep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	waiting	wait	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	xcomp	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	guessing	guess	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | past | the writer | us |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **wait** | gerund | us *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **guess** | gerund | us *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The writer only described the sky and the clouds

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:42-building-tension-and-suspense:t5:o3:1
# text = The writer only described the sky and the clouds
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	writer	writer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	only	only	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	described	describe	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	sky	sky	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	clouds	cloud	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **describe** | past | the writer | the sky and the clouds |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent sky=Theme |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The writer told us the whole ending first

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:42-building-tension-and-suspense:t5:o4:1
# text = The writer told us the whole ending first
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	writer	writer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	told	tell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	iobj	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	ending	ending	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
8	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	3	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past | the writer | the whole ending | us |  |  | first *property* | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent we=Recipient ending=Topic |

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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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