---
title: A boy has told small lies for weeks and now lies without thinking. W… — Why people lie, and what is not a lie · tree and pragmatics
description: A boy has told small lies for weeks and now lies without thinking. What can he do? Test 7 · ★ of lesson 195 «Why people lie, and what is not a lie» of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choice was wrong.
---

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# Test 7 · ★ · Why people lie, and what is not a lie

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A boy has told small lies for weeks and now lies without thinking. What can he do?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** boy · **What happens:** tell, lie, think, do · **To what, where:** boy · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 7 · ★ of lesson 195 «Why people lie, and what is not a lie» of the everyday 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/everyday/195-why-people-lie/#t7).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A boy has told small lies for weeks and now lies without thinking.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:195-why-people-lie:t7:1
# text = A boy has told small lies for weeks and now lies without thinking.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	boy	boy	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	told	tell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	lies	lie	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	weeks	week	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
10	now	now	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	11	advmod	_	_
11	lies	lie	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
12	without	without	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
13	thinking	think	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	11	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | present · perfect · passive |  | a boy |  |  | week |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: subject=Recipient lie=Topic |
| 2 | **lie** | present |  |  |  |  | now |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **think** *speech: other* | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=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 can he do?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:195-why-people-lie:t7:2
# text = What can he do?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	obj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | can | boy |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent what=Eventuality |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Wait for the habit to vanish on its own

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:195-why-people-lie:t7:o1:1
# text = Wait for the habit to vanish on its own
1	Wait	wait	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
2	for	for	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	habit	habit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	vanish	vanish	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	advcl	_	_
7	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	own	own	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wait** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | for the habit | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **vanish** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  | habit's own |  |  | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tell bigger lies so the small ones stop

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:195-why-people-lie:t7:o2:1
# text = Tell bigger lies so the small ones stop
1	Tell	tell	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	bigger	big	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	3	amod	_	_
3	lies	lie	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
4	so	so	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	ones	one	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
8	stop	stop	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | imperative | you *not said here* | bigger lies |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent lie=Recipient |
| 2 | **stop** | present | the small ones |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nothing, because once a liar always a liar, and it can't be undone

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:195-why-people-lie:t7:o3:1
# text = Nothing, because once a liar always a liar, and it can't be undone
1	Nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
4	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	9	advmod	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	liar	liar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
7	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	9	advmod	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	liar	liar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
12	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj:pass	_	_
13	ca	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	16	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	16	advmod	_	_
15	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	aux:pass	_	_
16	undone	undo	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	1	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **liar** |  | a liar |  |  |  |  | always, once *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **undo** | can · passive |  | liar |  |  |  |  | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |

### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Practise small truths; honesty gets easier with practice

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:195-why-people-lie:t7:o4:1
# text = Practise small truths; honesty gets easier with practice
1	Practise	practise	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	truths	truth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	6	punct	_	_
5	honesty	honesty	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	gets	get	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	parataxis	_	_
7	easier	easy	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	6	xcomp	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	practice	practice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **practise** | imperative | you *not said here* | small truths |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **get** | present | honesty |  |  |  |  | with practice; easy *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |

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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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