---
title: Identify the principal reason why false alarms are harmful, as illus… — Lies that do real harm · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the principal reason why false alarms are harmful, as illustrated by "The Boy Who Cried Wolf". Exam question 1 of lesson 197 «Lies that do real harm» 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 wa
---

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# Exam question 1 · Lies that do real harm

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the principal reason why false alarms are harmful, as illustrated by "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** you, false alarms, Boy · **What happens:** identify, be, illustrate, cry · **To what, where:** principal reason

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 197 «Lies that do real harm» of the everyday 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/everyday/197-harmful-lies/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:197-harmful-lies:e1:1
# text = Identify the principal reason why false alarms are harmful, as illustrated by "The Boy Who Cried Wolf".
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	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	9	advmod	_	_
6	false	false	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	alarms	alarm	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
8	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	harmful	harmful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
11	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
12	illustrated	illustrate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	9	csubj	_	_
13	by	by	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
14	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	Boy	Boy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	obl:agent	_	_
17	Who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	18	nsubj	_	_
18	Cried	cry	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	16	acl:relcl	_	_
19	Wolf	Wolf	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	18	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	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 reason |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent reason=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | present | false alarms |  |  |  |  | harmful *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **illustrate** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **cry** *speech: express* *in a quote* | past | the Boy |  |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «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.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They make it harder to be believed when help is truly needed

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:197-harmful-lies:e1:o1:1
# text = They make it harder to be believed when help is truly needed
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	make	make	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	harder	hard	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	2	xcomp	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
6	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	aux:pass	_	_
7	believed	believe	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	advcl	_	_
8	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	12	advmod	_	_
9	help	help	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj:pass	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	aux:pass	_	_
11	truly	truly	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
12	needed	need	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present | They | it |  |  |  | hard *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset it=Product |
| 2 | **believe** | to-infinitive · passive | They *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S» |
| 3 | **need** | present · passive |  | help |  |  |  | truly *property* | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: subject=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They make wolves come to the village more often than before

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:197-harmful-lies:e1:o2:1
# text = They make wolves come to the village more often than before
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	make	make	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	wolves	wolf	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	village	village	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	more	more	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	9	advmod	_	_
9	often	often	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
10	than	than	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	before	before	ADV	RB	_	9	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | present | They | wolves |  |  |  | often *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **come** | infinitive | wolves *not said here* |  |  | the village |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme to village=Initial\_Location |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They are harmless as long as they are said only for fun

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:197-harmful-lies:e1:o3:1
# text = They are harmless as long as they are said only for fun
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	harmless	harmless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	as	as	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	long	long	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	3	advmod	_	_
6	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
7	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux:pass	_	_
9	said	say	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	advcl	_	_
10	only	only	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
11	for	for	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	fun	fun	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | They |  |  |  |  | harmless, long *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | present · passive |  | they |  |  |  | for fun | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: subject=Topic |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They help people practise for real dangers in the future

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:197-harmful-lies:e1:o4:1
# text = They help people practise for real dangers in the future
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	help	help	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	practise	practise	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	dangers	danger	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	future	future	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **help** | present | They | people |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent people=Beneficiary clause=Theme |
| 2 | **practise** | infinitive | people *not said here* |  |  | the future |  | for real dangers | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**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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- ← previous: [Lies that do real harm, test 18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/197-harmful-lies/t18/)
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