---
title: Which reply to a friend's story is the most useful? — Putting it together: reading and writi… · tree and pragmatics
description: Which reply to a friend's story is the most useful? Test 10 · ★★ of lesson 54 «Putting it together: reading and writing like a writer» 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.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/54-reading-and-writing-like-a-writer/t10/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [questions](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/) / [English](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/) / [Putting it together: reading and writi…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/54-reading-and-writing-like-a-writer/) / t10

# Test 10 · ★★ · Putting it together: reading and writing like a writer

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which reply to a friend's story is the most useful?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **What happens:** reply, be · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 10 · ★★ of lesson 54 «Putting it together: reading and writing like a writer» 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/54-reading-and-writing-like-a-writer/#t10).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:54-reading-and-writing-like-a-writer:t10:1
# text = Which reply to a friend's story is the most useful?
1	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	2	nsubj	_	_
2	reply	reply	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	friend	friend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	's	's	PART	POS	_	5	case	_	_
7	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	11	advmod	_	_
11	useful	useful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **reply** *speech: assert* | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn respond-113 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | to a friend's story; useful *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.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It's good, I guess, it was all right, I suppose.

<!-- fold The tree, 11 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:54-reading-and-writing-like-a-writer:t10:o1:1
# text = It's good, I guess, it was all right, I suppose.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
5	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	guess	guess	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
9	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
10	all	all	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
13	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
14	suppose	suppose	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | It |  |  |  |  | good *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **guess** | present | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is** | past | it |  |  |  |  | all, right *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **suppose** | present | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Meh. It was a story. It had words in it, I think.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Meh.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:54-reading-and-writing-like-a-writer:t10:o2:1
# text = Meh.
1	Meh	Meh	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

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

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* It was a story.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:54-reading-and-writing-like-a-writer:t10:o2:2
# text = It was a story.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | It | a story |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 3:* It had words in it, I think.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:54-reading-and-writing-like-a-writer:t10:o2:3
# text = It had words in it, I think.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	think	think	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | story | words |  | it |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent word=Patient |
| 2 | **think** *speech: other* | present | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mine's better, to be honest, but yours is fine.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:54-reading-and-writing-like-a-writer:t10:o3:1
# text = Mine's better, to be honest, but yours is fine.
1	Mine	my	PRON	PRP	Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	better	good	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
6	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	cop	_	_
7	honest	honest	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
9	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
10	yours	your	PRON	PRP	Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
11	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
12	fine	fine	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Mine |  |  |  |  | good *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | to-infinitive | Mine *not said here* |  |  |  |  | honest *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | present | yours |  |  |  |  | fine *property* | tree rules |

### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Your opening grabbed me; the middle could be shorter.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:54-reading-and-writing-like-a-writer:t10:o4:1
# text = Your opening grabbed me; the middle could be shorter.
1	Your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	opening	opening	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	grabbed	grab	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	middle	middle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
8	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
9	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	cop	_	_
10	shorter	short	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	3	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grab** | past | Your opening | me |  |  |  |  | vn steal-10.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent i=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | could | the middle |  |  |  |  | short *property* | 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [Putting it together: reading and writi…, test 9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/54-reading-and-writing-like-a-writer/t9/)
- next →: [Putting it together: reading and writi…, test 11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/54-reading-and-writing-like-a-writer/t11/)
- ↑ back to [Putting it together: reading and writing like a writer](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/54-reading-and-writing-like-a-writer/)