---
title: Select the response consistent with the established meaning of the p… — Soft words for hard things: age and lo… · tree and pragmatics
description: Select the response consistent with the established meaning of the phrase "a senior moment". Exam question 3 of lesson 9 «Soft words for hard things: age and looks and weight» of the euphemisms course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each optio
---

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# Exam question 3 · Soft words for hard things: age and looks and weight

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Select the response consistent with the established meaning of the phrase "a senior moment".

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you · **What happens:** select, establish, mean · **To what, where:** response, phrase

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 9 «Soft words for hard things: age and looks and weight» 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/9-age-looks-and-size/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:9-age-looks-and-size:e3:1
# text = Select the response consistent with the established meaning of the phrase "a senior moment".
1	Select	select	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	response	response	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	consistent	consistent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	established	establish	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	amod	_	_
8	meaning	meaning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	phrase	phrase	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
12	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	senior	senior	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **select** | imperative | you *not said here* | the response |  |  |  |  | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent response=Theme |
| 2 | **establish** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn indicate-78-1-1 «NP V NP to be NP»: agent=Pivot |
| 3 | **mean** |  |  | the phrase |  |  |  |  | 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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A period of seniority at work

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:9-age-looks-and-size:e3:o1:1
# text = A period of seniority at work
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	period	period	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	seniority	seniority	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
```

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

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A lapse of memory attributed to advancing age

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:9-age-looks-and-size:e3:o2:1
# text = A lapse of memory attributed to advancing age
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	lapse	lapse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	memory	memory	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	attributed	attribute	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	advancing	advancing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	age	age	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **attribute** | participle |  | a lapse of memory *not said here* |  |  | to advancing age |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **lapse** |  | memory |  |  |  |  |  | nom lapse «act intransitive»: of=agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An occasion on which the eldest person speaks

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:9-age-looks-and-size:e3:o3:1
# text = An occasion on which the eldest person speaks
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	occasion	occasion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
4	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	eldest	eld	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	7	amod	_	_
7	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
8	speaks	speak	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **speak** *speech: other* | present | a occasion on the eldest person |  |  |  |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A ceremony marking retirement

```conllu
# sent_id = question:euphemisms:9-age-looks-and-size:e3:o4:1
# text = A ceremony marking retirement
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	ceremony	ceremony	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	marking	mark	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	acl	_	_
4	retirement	retirement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mark** | gerund | a ceremony *not said here* | retirement |  |  |  |  | vn image\_impression-25.1 «NP V NP.destination»: agent=Agent retirement=Destination |

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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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