---
title: Why would agreeing on rules before a game prevent arguments? — Playing fair and cheating in games · tree and pragmatics
description: Why would agreeing on rules before a game prevent arguments? Test 3 · ★ of lesson 200 «Playing fair and cheating in games» 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 right.
---

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# Test 3 · ★ · Playing fair and cheating in games

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Why would agreeing on rules before a game prevent arguments?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 4 · right ✓ · **What happens:** agree, prevent · **To what, where:** arguments

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This is test 3 · ★ of lesson 200 «Playing fair and cheating in games» 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/200-cheating-in-games/#t3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:200-cheating-in-games:t3:1
# text = Why would agreeing on rules before a game prevent arguments?
1	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	3	advmod	_	_
2	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	agreeing	agree	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	rules	rule	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
6	before	before	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
9	prevent	prevent	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
10	arguments	argument	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **agree** *speech: agree* | would |  |  |  |  | before a game | on rules | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V PP.theme S»: agent=Agent on rule=Topic |
| 2 | **prevent** | infinitive |  | arguments |  |  |  |  | vn forbid-64.4-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer argument=Theme |

<!-- .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 -->
Because the loser gets to choose new rules

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:200-cheating-in-games:t3:o1:1
# text = Because the loser gets to choose new rules
1	Because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	4	mark	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	loser	loser	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	gets	get	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	choose	choose	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	rules	rule	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** | present | the loser |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 2 | **choose** | to-infinitive | the loser *not said here* | new rules |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent rule=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Because games with rules are always boring

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:200-cheating-in-games:t3:o2:1
# text = Because games with rules are always boring
1	Because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
2	games	game	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
3	with	with	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	rules	rule	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
5	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	7	advmod	_	_
7	boring	boring	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | games with rules |  |  |  |  | always, boring *property* | tree rules |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Because rules are only for the winners

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:200-cheating-in-games:t3:o3:1
# text = Because rules are only for the winners
1	Because	because	ADP	IN	ExtPos=ADP	2	case	_	_
2	rules	rule	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
4	only	only	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	winners	winner	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | for the winners; because rules | tree rules |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nobody can change them halfway to win

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:200-cheating-in-games:t3:o4:1
# text = Nobody can change them halfway to win
1	Nobody	nobody	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	change	change	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	halfway	halfway	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	win	win	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **change** | can | Nobody | them *= they* |  |  |  | halfway *property* | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=Patient |
| 2 | **win** | to-infinitive | Nobody *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

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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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