---
title: Identify the principal meaning of "a misstatement" as acknowledged b… — Soft words for hard things: lying and… · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the principal meaning of "a misstatement" as acknowledged by an official spokesman. Exam question 2 of lesson 29 «Soft words for hard things: lying and honesty and drinking and drugs» of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question 
---

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# Exam question 2 · Soft words for hard things: lying and honesty and drinking…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the principal meaning of "a misstatement" as acknowledged by an official spokesman.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** you · **What happens:** identify, acknowledge, mean · **To what, where:** principal meaning, misstatement

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This is exam question 2 of lesson 29 «Soft words for hard things: lying and honesty and drinking and drugs» 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/29-lying-and-drinking/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:29-lying-and-drinking:e2:1
# text = Identify the principal meaning of "a misstatement" as acknowledged by an official spokesman.
1	Identify	identify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	meaning	meaning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	misstatement	misstatement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	8	punct	_	_
10	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
11	acknowledged	acknowledge	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	1	advcl	_	_
12	by	by	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
13	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	official	official	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	spokesman	spokesman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **identify** | imperative | you *not said here* | the principal meaning of a misstatement |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent meaning=Theme |
| 2 | **acknowledge** | participle | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | by a official spokesman | vn confess-37.10 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **mean** |  |  | a misstatement |  |  |  |  | nom meaning «communication 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 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A lie or false claim

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:29-lying-and-drinking:e2:o1:1
# text = A lie or false claim
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	lie	lie	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
4	false	false	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	claim	claim	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An address written incorrectly

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:29-lying-and-drinking:e2:o2:1
# text = An address written incorrectly
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	address	address	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
3	written	write	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	incorrectly	incorrectly	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write** | participle |  | a address |  |  |  | incorrectly *property* | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent address=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A typographical error

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:29-lying-and-drinking:e2:o3:1
# text = A typographical error
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	typographical	typographical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	error	error	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A statement delivered at excessive speed

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:29-lying-and-drinking:e2:o4:1
# text = A statement delivered at excessive speed
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	statement	statement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	delivered	deliver	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	excessive	excessive	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	speed	speed	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **deliver** | participle |  | a statement *not said here* |  | excessive speed |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1-1 «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.

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- ← previous: [Soft words for hard things: lying and…, exam 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/29-lying-and-drinking/e1/)
- next →: [Soft words for hard things: lying and…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/29-lying-and-drinking/e3/)
- ↑ back to [Soft words for hard things: lying and honesty and drinking and drugs](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/29-lying-and-drinking/)