---
title: A boy in Denver teases his friend for liking football, saying it is… — Pranks: harmless fun or real harm? · tree and pragmatics
description: A boy in Denver teases his friend for liking football, saying it is only for boys. Why is this unkind? Test 1 · ★★ of lesson 204 «Pranks: harmless fun or 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 ch
---

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# Test 1 · ★★ · Pranks: harmless fun or real harm?

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A boy in Denver teases his friend for liking football, saying it is only for boys. Why is this unkind?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 1 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** boy, football, this · **What happens:** tease, like, say, be · **To what, where:** friend, football · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 1 · ★★ of lesson 204 «Pranks: harmless fun or real harm?» 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/204-pranks/#t1).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A boy in Denver teases his friend for liking football, saying it is only for boys.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:204-pranks:t1:1
# text = A boy in Denver teases his friend for liking football, saying it is only for boys.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	Denver	Denver	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	teases	tease	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	friend	friend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	liking	like	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	advcl	_	_
10	football	football	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	saying	say	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	9	conj	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
14	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	17	cop	_	_
15	only	only	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
16	for	for	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	boys	boy	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tease** | present | a boy in Denver | boy's friend |  |  |  |  | vn bully-59.5 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent friend=Patient |
| 2 | **like** | gerund | a boy in Denver *not said here* | football |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot football=Theme |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | gerund | a boy in Denver *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is** | present | football |  |  |  |  | for boys | tree rules |

<!-- .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:* Why is this unkind?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:204-pranks:t1:2
# text = Why is this unkind?
1	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	4	advmod	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	this	this	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	4	nsubj	_	_
4	unkind	unkind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

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

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Everyone can like what they like, and teasing makes people hide it

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:204-pranks:t1:o1:1
# text = Everyone can like what they like, and teasing makes people hide it
1	Everyone	everyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	like	like	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	6	obj	_	_
5	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	like	like	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	teasing	teasing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	makes	make	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
11	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	_
12	hide	hide	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	xcomp	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **like** | can | Everyone |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 2 | **like** | present | they |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot what=Theme |
| 3 | **make** | present | teasing | people |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **hide** | infinitive | people *not said here* | teasing |  |  |  |  | vn concealment-16-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Patient |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Because football really is a game meant only for girls to play in teams

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:204-pranks:t1:o2:1
# text = Because football really is a game meant only for girls to play in teams
1	Because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
2	football	football	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
3	really	really	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	game	game	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
7	meant	mean	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	only	only	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	girls	girl	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	play	play	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	xcomp	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	teams	team	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present |  | a game |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **mean** | past | football | girls |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **play** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | football *not said here* |  |  | teams |  |  | vn performance-26.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is only unkind if the friend plays badly and loses the match

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:204-pranks:t1:o3:1
# text = It is only unkind if the friend plays badly and loses the match
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	only	only	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	unkind	unkind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	friend	friend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	plays	play	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
9	badly	badly	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	8	advmod	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	loses	lose	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	conj	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	match	match	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | It |  |  |  |  | unkind *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **play** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | the friend |  |  |  |  | badly *property* | vn performance-26.7-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **lose** | present | the friend *not said here* | the match |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent match=Eventuality |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is not unkind at all if it is said with a friendly smile

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:204-pranks:t1:o4:1
# text = It is not unkind at all if it is said with a friendly smile
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	unkind	unkind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	4	obl	_	_
7	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux:pass	_	_
10	said	say	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	advcl	_	_
11	with	with	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	friendly	friendly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	smile	smile	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is** | present | It |  |  | all |  | unkind *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* *a condition, not said to happen* | present · passive |  | it |  |  |  | with a friendly smile | vn pronounce-29.3.1 «NP V NP PP.manner»: subject=Theme with smile=Manner |

<!-- 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: [Jokes and teasing: when is it still fu…, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/203-jokes-and-teasing/e4/)
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