---
title: Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning… — Spelling plurals: -s, -es, -ies, -ves… · tree and pragmatics
description: Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the use of the apostrophe in plural nouns. Exam question 3 of lesson 6 «Spelling plurals: -s, -es, -ies, -ves and odd ones» of the English course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and
---

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# Exam question 3 · Spelling plurals: -s, -es, -ies, -ves and odd ones

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the use of the apostrophe in plural nouns.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 3 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** you, established facts · **What happens:** select, establish, concern, use · **To what, where:** response, use, apostrophe

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 6 «Spelling plurals: -s, -es, -ies, -ves and odd ones» of the English course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. 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/6-spelling-plurals/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:6-spelling-plurals:e3:1
# text = Select the response consistent with the established facts concerning the use of the apostrophe in plural nouns.
1	Select	select	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	response	response	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	consistent	consistent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	xcomp	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	established	establish	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	amod	_	_
8	facts	fact	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
9	concerning	concern	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	acl	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	use	use	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	apostrophe	apostrophe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	_
15	in	in	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	plural	plural	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
17	nouns	noun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **select** | imperative | you *not said here* | the response |  |  |  | consistent *property* | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent response=Theme |
| 2 | **establish** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn indicate-78-1-1 «NP V NP to be NP»: agent=Pivot |
| 3 | **concern** | gerund | the established facts *not said here* | the use of the apostrophe in plural nouns |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus use=Experiencer |
| 4 | **use** |  |  | the apostrophe in plural nouns |  |  |  |  | nom use «act transitive»: of=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.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The apostrophe is required in every plural noun

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:6-spelling-plurals:e3:o1:1
# text = The apostrophe is required in every plural noun
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	apostrophe	apostrophe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	required	require	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	8	det	_	_
7	plural	plural	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	noun	noun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **require** | present · passive |  | the apostrophe |  | every plural noun |  |  | vn require-103-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Precondition |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The apostrophe is required in plural nouns which terminate in s

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:6-spelling-plurals:e3:o2:1
# text = The apostrophe is required in plural nouns which terminate in s
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	apostrophe	apostrophe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	required	require	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	plural	plural	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	nouns	noun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl:agent	_	_
8	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	terminate	terminate	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	s	s	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **require** | present · passive | plural nouns | the apostrophe |  |  |  |  | vn require-103-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme subject=Precondition |
| 2 | **terminate** | present | plural nouns |  |  | s |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The apostrophe is not employed in order to form the plural of a noun

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:6-spelling-plurals:e3:o3:1
# text = The apostrophe is not employed in order to form the plural of a noun
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	apostrophe	apostrophe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	employed	employ	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	order	order	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	form	form	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	plural	plural	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	noun	noun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **employ** | present · passive |  | the apostrophe |  | order |  |  | vn hire-13.5.3 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 2 | **form** | to-infinitive |  | the plural of a noun |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location plural=Theme |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The apostrophe is required in plurals displayed upon shop signs

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:6-spelling-plurals:e3:o4:1
# text = The apostrophe is required in plurals displayed upon shop signs
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	apostrophe	apostrophe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	required	require	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	in	in	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	plurals	plural	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
7	displayed	display	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
8	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	shop	shop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	signs	sign	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **require** | present · passive |  | the apostrophe |  |  |  |  | vn require-103-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Precondition |
| 2 | **display** | past | plurals |  |  |  |  | upon shop signs | vn reflexive\_appearance-48.1.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

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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.

<!-- /div -->

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- ← previous: [Spelling plurals: -s, -es, -ies, -ves…, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/6-spelling-plurals/e2/)
- next →: [Spelling plurals: -s, -es, -ies, -ves…, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/6-spelling-plurals/e4/)
- ↑ back to [Spelling plurals: -s, -es, -ies, -ves and odd ones](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/6-spelling-plurals/)