---
title: A report finds the railway's costs were hidden by "strategic misrepr… — Soft words for hard things: crime, pri… · tree and pragmatics
description: A report finds the railway's costs were hidden by "strategic misrepresentation". What happened? Test 12 · ★ of lesson 28 «Soft words for hard things: crime, prison and the police and lying and honesty» of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the 
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/28-stealing-and-lying/t12/)

<!-- 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: crime, pri…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/28-stealing-and-lying/) / t12

# Test 12 · ★ · Soft words for hard things: crime, prison and the police a…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A report finds the railway's costs were hidden by "strategic misrepresentation". What happened?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 4 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** report, strategic misrepresentation, railway · **What happens:** find, hide, cost, happen · **To what, where:** costs · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 12 · ★ of lesson 28 «Soft words for hard things: crime, prison and the police and lying and honesty» 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/28-stealing-and-lying/#t12).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A report finds the railway's costs were hidden by "strategic misrepresentation".

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:28-stealing-and-lying:t12:1
# text = A report finds the railway's costs were hidden by "strategic misrepresentation".
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	report	report	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	finds	find	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	railway	railway	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	's	's	PART	POS	_	5	case	_	_
7	costs	cost	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj:pass	_	_
8	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux:pass	_	_
9	hidden	hide	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	ccomp	_	_
10	by	by	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
11	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	strategic	strategic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	misrepresentation	misrepresentation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **find** | present | a report |  |  |  |  |  | vn declare-29.4-1-1 «NP V what S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **hide** | past · passive | strategic misrepresentation | the railway's costs |  |  |  |  | vn concealment-16-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Patient |
| 3 | **cost** |  | the railway |  |  |  |  |  | nom cost «possession transitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- .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 happened?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:28-stealing-and-lying:t12:2
# text = What happened?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	2	nsubj	_	_
2	happened	happen	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | past |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The railway won a strategy prize

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:28-stealing-and-lying:t12:o1:1
# text = The railway won a strategy prize
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	railway	railway	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	won	win	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	strategy	strategy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	prize	prize	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **win** | past | the railway | a strategy prize |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent prize=Eventuality |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The costs were counted by mistake

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:28-stealing-and-lying:t12:o2:1
# text = The costs were counted by mistake
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	costs	cost	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	counted	count	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	mistake	mistake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **count** | past · passive | mistake | the costs |  |  |  |  | vn multiply-108 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A map was drawn wrongly

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:28-stealing-and-lying:t12:o3:1
# text = A map was drawn wrongly
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	map	map	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	drawn	draw	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	wrongly	wrongly	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **draw** | past · passive |  | a map |  |  |  | wrongly *property* | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The real costs were hidden on purpose to win approval

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:28-stealing-and-lying:t12:o4:1
# text = The real costs were hidden on purpose to win approval
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	costs	cost	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	hidden	hide	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	purpose	purpose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	win	win	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	_
10	approval	approval	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hide** | past · passive |  | the real costs |  | purpose |  |  | vn concealment-16-1 «NP V NP PP.location»: subject=Patient on purpose=Location |
| 2 | **win** | to-infinitive |  | approval |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent approval=Eventuality |

<!-- 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: crime, pri…, test 11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/28-stealing-and-lying/t11/)
- next →: [Soft words for hard things: crime, pri…, test 13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/28-stealing-and-lying/t13/)
- ↑ back to [Soft words for hard things: crime, prison and the police and lying and honesty](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/28-stealing-and-lying/)