---
title: It is given that a pupil's report states that the pupil's written wo… — Soft words for hard things: failure an… · tree and pragmatics
description: It is given that a pupil's report states that the pupil's written work "needs improvement". Ascertain the assessment conveyed thereby. Exam question 3 of lesson 33 «Soft words for hard things: failure and mistakes» of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragm
---

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# Exam question 3 · Soft words for hard things: failure and mistakes

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is given that a pupil's report states that the pupil's written work "needs improvement". Ascertain the assessment conveyed thereby.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** report, written work, pupil, you, assessment · **What happens:** give, state, write, need, report, work · **To what, where:** It, improvement · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 33 «Soft words for hard things: 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/33-failure-and-mistakes/#e3).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* It is given that a pupil's report states that the pupil's written work "needs improvement".

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:33-failure-and-mistakes:e3:1
# text = It is given that a pupil's report states that the pupil's written work "needs improvement".
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	given	give	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	pupil	pupil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	report	report	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	states	state	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
10	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	17	mark	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	pupil	pupil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	's	's	PART	POS	_	12	case	_	_
14	written	write	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	15	amod	_	_
15	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nsubj	_	_
16	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	needs	need	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	advcl	_	_
18	improvement	improvement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | present · passive |  | It |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 2 | **state** *speech: other* | present | a pupil's report |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **write** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **need** *in a quote* | present | the pupil's written work | improvement |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot improvement=Theme |
| 5 | **report** |  | a pupil |  |  |  |  |  | nom report «communication transitive»: poss=agent |
| 6 | **work** |  | the pupil |  |  |  |  |  | nom work «act intransitive»: 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:* Ascertain the assessment conveyed thereby.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:33-failure-and-mistakes:e3:2
# text = Ascertain the assessment conveyed thereby.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	assessment	assessment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	conveyed	convey	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	1	ccomp	_	_
5	thereby	thereby	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **convey** | past | the assessment |  |  |  |  | thereby *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The pupil has completed an excessive quantity of work

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:33-failure-and-mistakes:e3:o1:1
# text = The pupil has completed an excessive quantity of work
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	pupil	pupil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	completed	complete	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	excessive	excessive	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	quantity	quantity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **complete** | present · perfect · passive |  | the pupil |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The work is of an unsatisfactory standard

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:33-failure-and-mistakes:e3:o2:1
# text = The work is of an unsatisfactory standard
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	unsatisfactory	unsatisfactory	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	standard	standard	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
```

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

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The pupil requires additional stationery

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:33-failure-and-mistakes:e3:o3:1
# text = The pupil requires additional stationery
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	pupil	pupil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	requires	require	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	additional	additional	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	stationery	stationery	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **require** | present | the pupil | additional stationery |  |  |  |  | vn require-103-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme stationery=Precondition |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The work is of an exemplary standard

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:33-failure-and-mistakes:e3:o4:1
# text = The work is of an exemplary standard
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	exemplary	exemplary	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	standard	standard	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
```

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

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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.

<!-- /div -->

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