--- title: Ascertain the meaning conveyed by the designation "the late" when it… — Soft words for hard things: death and… · tree and pragmatics description: Ascertain the meaning conveyed by the designation "the late" when it precedes the name of a person. Exam question 4 of lesson 1 «Soft words for hard things: death and dying» of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/e4/) [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/) / [Euphemisms](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/) / [Soft words for hard things: death and…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/) / e4 # Exam question 4 · Soft words for hard things: death and dying Ascertain the meaning conveyed by the designation "the late" when it precedes the name of a person. **Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** you, meaning · **What happens:** ascertain, convey, precede, name · **To what, where:** meaning, name, person This is exam question 4 of lesson 1 «Soft words for hard things: death and dying» of the euphemisms 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/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/#e4). ## The question {#question} ```conllu # sent_id = question:euphemisms:1-death-polite-and-joking:e4:1 # text = Ascertain the meaning conveyed by the designation "the late" when it precedes the name of a person. 1 Ascertain ascertain VERB VB Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 2 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 3 det _ _ 3 meaning meaning NOUN NN Number=Sing 1 obj _ _ 4 conveyed convey VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 3 acl _ _ 5 by by ADP IN _ 7 case _ _ 6 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 7 det _ _ 7 designation designation NOUN NN Number=Sing 4 obl _ _ 8 " " PUNCT `` _ 10 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 9 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 10 det _ _ 10 late late ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 7 amod _ SpaceAfter=No 11 " " PUNCT '' _ 10 punct _ _ 12 when when ADV WRB PronType=Int 14 advmod _ _ 13 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 14 nsubj _ _ 14 precedes precede VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 10 advcl _ _ 15 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 16 det _ _ 16 name name NOUN NN Number=Sing 14 obj _ _ 17 of of ADP IN _ 19 case _ _ 18 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 19 det _ _ 19 person person NOUN NN Number=Sing 16 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 20 . . PUNCT . _ 1 punct _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* | the meaning | | | | | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent meaning=Topic | | 2 | **convey** | participle | | the meaning *not said here* | | | | by the designation | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent | | 3 | **precede** | present | meaning | the name of a person | | | | | vn contiguous\_location-47.8 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme name=Co-Theme | | 4 | **name** | | | a person | | | | | nom name «communication transitive»: of=patient | 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 · ✓ the right answer {#o1} That the person is deceased ```conllu # sent_id = question:euphemisms:1-death-polite-and-joking:e4:o1:1 # text = That the person is deceased 1 That that DET DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 3 det _ _ 2 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 3 det _ _ 3 person person NOUN NN Number=Sing 5 nsubj:pass _ _ 4 is be AUX VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 5 aux:pass _ _ 5 deceased decease VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 0 root _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **decease** | present · passive | | that person | | | | | tree rules | ### Option 2 {#o2} That the person is habitually unpunctual ```conllu # sent_id = question:euphemisms:1-death-polite-and-joking:e4:o2:1 # text = That the person is habitually unpunctual 1 That that DET DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 3 det _ _ 2 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 3 det _ _ 3 person person NOUN NN Number=Sing 6 nsubj _ _ 4 is be AUX VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 6 cop _ _ 5 habitually habitually ADV RB _ 6 advmod _ _ 6 unpunctual unpunctual ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 0 root _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **is** | present | that person | | | | | habitually, unpunctual *property* | tree rules | ### Option 3 {#o3} That the person works during the night ```conllu # sent_id = question:euphemisms:1-death-polite-and-joking:e4:o3:1 # text = That the person works during the night 1 That that DET DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 3 det _ _ 2 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 3 det _ _ 3 person person NOUN NN Number=Sing 4 nsubj _ _ 4 works work VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 5 during during ADP IN _ 7 case _ _ 6 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 7 det _ _ 7 night night NOUN NN Number=Sing 4 obl _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **work** | present | that person | | | | night | | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent | ### Option 4 {#o4} That the person is late ```conllu # sent_id = question:euphemisms:1-death-polite-and-joking:e4:o4:1 # text = That the person is late 1 That that DET DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 3 det _ _ 2 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 3 det _ _ 3 person person NOUN NN Number=Sing 5 nsubj _ _ 4 is be AUX VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 5 cop _ _ 5 late late ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 0 root _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **is** | present | that person | | | | | late *property* | tree rules | **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. - ← previous: [Soft words for hard things: death and…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/e3/) - next →: [Soft words for hard things: death and…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/2-death-official-and-slang/t1/) - ↑ back to [Soft words for hard things: death and dying](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/1-death-polite-and-joking/)