---
title: "Bloody hell, they're calling a three-year war a 'conflict' now." Wh… — Soft words for hard things: war, the m… · tree and pragmatics
description: "Bloody hell, they're calling a three-year war a 'conflict' now." What is the speaker angry about? Test 9 · ★ of lesson 26 «Soft words for hard things: war, the military and violence» of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of ea
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/26-war-and-the-military/t9/)

<!-- 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/) / [Euphemisms](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/) / [Soft words for hard things: war, the m…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/26-war-and-the-military/) / t9

# Test 9 · ★ · Soft words for hard things: war, the military and violence

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Bloody hell, they're calling a three-year war a 'conflict' now." What is the speaker angry about?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** they, speaker · **What happens:** call, be · **To what, where:** year war · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 9 · ★ of lesson 26 «Soft words for hard things: war, the military and violence» of the euphemisms 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/euphemisms/26-war-and-the-military/#t9).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* "Bloody hell, they're calling a three-year war a 'conflict' now."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:26-war-and-the-military:t9:1
# text = "Bloody hell, they're calling a three-year war a 'conflict' now."
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Bloody	bloody	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	hell	hell	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
5	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	're	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	calling	call	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	acl	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
9	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	11	nummod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	year	year	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	war	war	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	'	'	PUNCT	``	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	conflict	conflict	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	'	'	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	_
17	now	now	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	7	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** *in a quote* | present · progressive | they | a year war |  |  | now |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent war=Recipient |

<!-- .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:* What is the speaker angry about?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:26-war-and-the-military:t9:2
# text = What is the speaker angry about?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	0	root	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	speaker	speaker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nsubj	_	_
5	angry	angry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

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

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There was no fighting at all

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:26-war-and-the-military:t9:o1:1
# text = There was no fighting at all
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	2	expl	_	_
2	was	be	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	4	det	_	_
4	fighting	fighting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** | past | no fighting |  |  | all; there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme at all=Location |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A war is being given a softer name

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:26-war-and-the-military:t9:o2:1
# text = A war is being given a softer name
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	war	war	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
4	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	given	give	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	softer	soft	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	8	amod	_	_
8	name	name	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | present · passive |  | a war |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: subject=Recipient name=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A conflict is worse than a war

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:26-war-and-the-military:t9:o3:1
# text = A conflict is worse than a war
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	conflict	conflict	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	worse	bad	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	0	root	_	_
5	than	than	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	war	war	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | a conflict |  |  |  |  | than a war; bad *property* | tree rules |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The war only lasted three days

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:26-war-and-the-military:t9:o4:1
# text = The war only lasted three days
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	war	war	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	only	only	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	lasted	last	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	days	day	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl:unmarked	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **last** | past | the war |  |  |  | day |  | vn cost-54.2 «NP V NP.value»: agent=Theme |

<!-- 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: [Soft words for hard things: war, the m…, test 8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/26-war-and-the-military/t8/)
- next →: [Soft words for hard things: war, the m…, test 10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/26-war-and-the-military/t10/)
- ↑ back to [Soft words for hard things: war, the military and violence](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/26-war-and-the-military/)