--- title: Determine the meaning of the expression "suboptimal" as employed in… — Soft words for hard things: religion a… · tree and pragmatics description: Determine the meaning of the expression "suboptimal" as employed in respect of an organisation's annual results. Exam question 2 of lesson 32 «Soft words for hard things: religion and fate and failure and mistakes» of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragm --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/32-religion-fate-failure/e2/) [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: religion a…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/32-religion-fate-failure/) / e2 # Exam question 2 · Soft words for hard things: religion and fate and failure… Determine the meaning of the expression "suboptimal" as employed in respect of an organisation's annual results. **Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, organisation · **What happens:** determine, employ, mean, respect, result · **To what, where:** meaning, respect, expression, annual results This is exam question 2 of lesson 32 «Soft words for hard things: religion and fate and failure and mistakes» 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/32-religion-fate-failure/#e2). ## The question {#question} ```conllu # sent_id = question:euphemisms:32-religion-fate-failure:e2:1 # text = Determine the meaning of the expression "suboptimal" as employed in respect of an organisation's annual results. 1 Determine determine 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 of of ADP IN _ 6 case _ _ 5 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 6 det _ _ 6 expression expression NOUN NN Number=Sing 3 nmod _ _ 7 " " PUNCT `` _ 8 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 8 suboptimal suboptimal ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 6 amod _ SpaceAfter=No 9 " " PUNCT '' _ 8 punct _ _ 10 as as SCONJ IN _ 11 mark _ _ 11 employed employ VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 1 advcl _ _ 12 in in ADP IN _ 13 case _ _ 13 respect respect NOUN NN Number=Sing 11 obl _ _ 14 of of ADP IN _ 19 case _ _ 15 an a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 16 det _ _ 16 organisation organisation NOUN NN Number=Sing 19 nmod:poss _ SpaceAfter=No 17 's 's PART POS _ 16 case _ _ 18 annual annual ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 19 amod _ _ 19 results result NOUN NNS Number=Plur 13 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 20 . . PUNCT . _ 1 punct _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **determine** | imperative | you *not said here* | the meaning of the expression | | | | | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent meaning=Topic | | 2 | **employ** | participle | you *not said here* | | | respect of a organisation's annual results | | | vn hire-13.5.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent | | 3 | **mean** | | | the expression | | | | | nom meaning «communication transitive»: of=patient | | 4 | **respect** | | | a organisation's annual results | | | | | nom respect «cognition transitive»: of=patient | | 5 | **result** | | a organisation | | | | | | nom result «phenomenon transitive»: poss=agent | 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} The results exceeded all projections ```conllu # sent_id = question:euphemisms:32-religion-fate-failure:e2:o1:1 # text = The results exceeded all projections 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 2 det _ _ 2 results result NOUN NNS Number=Plur 3 nsubj _ _ 3 exceeded exceed VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 4 all all DET DT PronType=Tot 5 det _ _ 5 projections projection NOUN NNS Number=Plur 3 obj _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **exceed** | past | the results | all projections | | | | | vn exceed-90 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot projection=Theme | ### Option 2 {#o2} The results were withheld from publication ```conllu # sent_id = question:euphemisms:32-religion-fate-failure:e2:o2:1 # text = The results were withheld from publication 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 2 det _ _ 2 results result 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 withheld withhold VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 0 root _ _ 5 from from ADP IN _ 6 case _ _ 6 publication publication NOUN NN Number=Sing 4 obl _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **withhold** | past · passive | | the results | | publication | | | tree rules | ### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3} The results were unsatisfactory ```conllu # sent_id = question:euphemisms:32-religion-fate-failure:e2:o3:1 # text = The results were unsatisfactory 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 2 det _ _ 2 results result NOUN NNS Number=Plur 4 nsubj _ _ 3 were be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 4 cop _ _ 4 unsatisfactory unsatisfactory ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 0 root _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **is** | past | the results | | | | | unsatisfactory *property* | tree rules | ### Option 4 {#o4} The results were determined below sea level ```conllu # sent_id = question:euphemisms:32-religion-fate-failure:e2:o4:1 # text = The results were determined below sea level 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 2 det _ _ 2 results result 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 determined determine VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 0 root _ _ 5 below below ADP IN _ 7 case _ _ 6 sea sea NOUN NN Number=Sing 7 compound _ _ 7 level level NOUN NN Number=Sing 4 obl _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **determine** | past · passive | | the results | | sea level | | | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: subject=Topic | **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: religion a…, exam 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/32-religion-fate-failure/e1/) - next →: [Soft words for hard things: religion a…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/32-religion-fate-failure/e3/) - ↑ back to [Soft words for hard things: religion and fate and failure and mistakes](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/euphemisms/32-religion-fate-failure/)