---
title: Identify the status of a promise made under threat. — Promises · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the status of a promise made under threat. Exam question 3 of lesson 199 «Promises» 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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# Exam question 3 · Promises

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the status of a promise made under threat.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you · **What happens:** identify, make · **To what, where:** status, promise, threat

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 199 «Promises» 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/199-promises/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:199-promises:e3:1
# text = Identify the status of a promise made under threat.
1	Identify	identify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	status	status	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	promise	promise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	acl	_	_
8	under	under	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	threat	threat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	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 status of a promise |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent status=Theme |
| 2 | **make** | participle |  | a promise *not said here* |  | threat |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |

<!-- .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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It counts only if it was a pinky promise

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:199-promises:e3:o1:1
# text = It counts only if it was a pinky promise
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	counts	count	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	only	only	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
4	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
5	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
6	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	pinky	pinky	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	promise	promise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **count** | present | It |  |  |  |  |  | vn matter-91 «NP V»: agent=Stimulus |
| 2 | **is a** *a condition, not said to happen* | past | it | a pinky promise |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It counts only until the next school day

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:199-promises:e3:o2:1
# text = It counts only until the next school day
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	counts	count	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	only	only	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
4	until	until	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
6	next	next	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
7	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **count** | present | It |  |  |  | day |  | vn matter-91 «NP V»: agent=Stimulus |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It must be kept, since a promise is a promise

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:199-promises:e3:o3:1
# text = It must be kept, since a promise is a promise
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	kept	keep	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
6	since	since	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	promise	promise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	promise	promise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | must · passive |  | It |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 2 | **is a** | present |  | a promise |  |  | since a promise |  | tree rules |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It does not count, and an adult should be told

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:199-promises:e3:o4:1
# text = It does not count, and an adult should be told
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	count	count	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
7	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	adult	adult	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj:pass	_	_
9	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
10	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	aux:pass	_	_
11	told	tell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	parataxis	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **count** | present · do-support | It |  |  |  |  |  | vn matter-91 «NP V»: agent=Stimulus |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* | should · passive |  | a adult |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: subject=Recipient |

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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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