---
title: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the… — Suffixes -ous, -ly, -ful, -less, -ness… · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the suffix -less in the word «useless»? Exam question 4 of lesson 9 «Suffixes -ous, -ly, -ful, -less, -ness, -ment» of the English course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each opti
---

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# Exam question 4 · Suffixes -ous, -ly, -ful, -less, -ness, -ment

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the suffix -less in the word «useless»?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **What happens:** follow, characteris · **To what, where:** suffix

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 9 «Suffixes -ous, -ly, -ful, -less, -ness, -ment» 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/9-suffixes-ous-ly-ful-less-ness-ment/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:9-suffixes-ous-ly-ful-less-ness-ment:e4:1
# text = Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the suffix -less in the word «useless»?
1	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	following	follow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	amod	_	_
5	statements	statement	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
6	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	7	advmod	_	_
7	accurately	accurately	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	characterises	characteris	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	suffix	suffix	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	less	less	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	10	amod	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	_
16	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	useless	useless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **characteris** | present |  | the suffix |  |  |  | of the following statements; accurately *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 signifies «again» and requires the doubling of the s

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:9-suffixes-ous-ly-ful-less-ness-ment:e4:o1:1
# text = It signifies «again» and requires the doubling of the s
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	signifies	signify	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	again	again	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	requires	require	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	doubling	doubling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	s	s	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **signify** | present | It |  |  |  | again |  | vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot |
| 2 | **require** | present |  | the doubling of the s |  |  |  |  | vn require-103-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme doubling=Precondition |
| 3 | **double** |  |  | the s |  |  |  |  | nom doubling «process transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It signifies «full of» and requires the omission of the final e

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:9-suffixes-ous-ly-ful-less-ness-ment:e4:o2:1
# text = It signifies «full of» and requires the omission of the final e
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	signifies	signify	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	requires	require	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	omission	omission	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	final	final	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	e	e	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **signify** | present | It | full |  |  |  |  | vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot full=Theme |
| 2 | **require** | present |  | the omission of the final e |  |  |  |  | vn require-103-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme omission=Precondition |
| 3 | **omit** |  |  | the final e |  |  |  |  | nom omission «act transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It signifies «without» and is appended without alteration of the root

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:9-suffixes-ous-ly-ful-less-ness-ment:e4:o3:1
# text = It signifies «without» and is appended without alteration of the root
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	signifies	signify	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	without	without	ADP	IN	_	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux:pass	_	_
8	appended	append	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	conj	_	_
9	without	without	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	alteration	alteration	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	root	root	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **signify** | present | It |  |  |  |  |  | vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot |
| 2 | **append** | present · passive |  |  |  |  |  | without alteration of the root | tree rules |
| 3 | **alter** |  |  | the root |  |  |  |  | nom alteration «event transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It signifies «before» and is placed at the beginning of the word

```conllu
# sent_id = question:english:9-suffixes-ous-ly-ful-less-ness-ment:e4:o4:1
# text = It signifies «before» and is placed at the beginning of the word
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	signifies	signify	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux:pass	_	_
8	placed	place	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	conj	_	_
9	at	at	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	beginning	beginning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **signify** | present | It |  |  |  |  |  | vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot |
| 2 | **place** | present · passive |  |  |  |  | at the beginning of the word |  | vn put-9.1-2 «NP V NP PP.destination»: at beginning=Destination |
| 3 | **begin** |  |  | the word |  |  |  |  | nom beginning «event transitive»: of=patient |

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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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<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [Suffixes -ous, -ly, -ful, -less, -ness…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/9-suffixes-ous-ly-ful-less-ness-ment/e3/)
- next →: [i before e, silent letters and other f…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/10-i-before-e-silent-letters-and-famous-traps/t1/)
- ↑ back to [Suffixes -ous, -ly, -ful, -less, -ness, -ment](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/9-suffixes-ous-ly-ful-less-ness-ment/)