---
title: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the… — The sea, waves and swimming pools · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the holding of another person under water in play? Exam question 2 of lesson 233 «The sea, waves and swimming pools» of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each op
---

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# Exam question 2 · The sea, waves and swimming pools

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the holding of another person under water in play?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 3 · right ✓ · **What happens:** follow, characteris, hold · **To what, where:** water

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 233 «The sea, waves and swimming pools» 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/233-sea-and-pools/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:233-sea-and-pools:e2:1
# text = Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the holding of another person under water in play?
1	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	following	follow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	amod	_	_
5	statements	statement	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
6	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	7	advmod	_	_
7	accurately	accurately	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	characterises	characteris	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	holding	hold	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	advcl	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	another	another	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	13	det	_	_
13	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
14	under	under	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
16	in	in	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	play	play	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **characteris** | present |  |  |  |  |  | of the following statements; accurately *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **hold** | gerund |  |  |  | water |  | of another person; in play | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme under water=Location |

<!-- .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 strengthens a person's swimming and his ability to hold his breath

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:233-sea-and-pools:e2:o1:1
# text = It strengthens a person's swimming and his ability to hold his breath
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	strengthens	strengthen	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	swimming	swimming	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	ability	ability	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	hold	hold	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	acl	_	_
12	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	breath	breath	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **strengthen** | present | It | a person's swimming and person's ability |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent swimming=Patient |
| 2 | **hold** | to-infinitive |  | person's breath |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent breath=Theme |
| 3 | **swim** |  | a person |  |  |  |  |  | nom swimming «act transitive»: poss=agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is acceptable in a shallow pool

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:233-sea-and-pools:e2:o2:1
# text = It is acceptable in a shallow pool
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	acceptable	acceptable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	shallow	shallow	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	pool	pool	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
```

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

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It may cause him to strike the side, swallow water and drown

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:233-sea-and-pools:e2:o3:1
# text = It may cause him to strike the side, swallow water and drown
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	cause	cause	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	strike	strike	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	side	side	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	swallow	swallow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
11	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	drown	drown	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cause** | may | It | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **strike** | to-infinitive | him *= he* *not said here* | the side |  |  |  |  | vn hit-18.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent side=Patient |
| 3 | **swallow** | infinitive |  | water |  |  |  |  | vn gobble-39.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent water=Patient |
| 4 | **drown** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn poison-42.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is entirely harmless provided it is done only briefly

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:233-sea-and-pools:e2:o4:1
# text = It is entirely harmless provided it is done only briefly
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	entirely	entirely	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	harmless	harmless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	provided	provide	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux:pass	_	_
8	done	do	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	conj	_	_
9	only	only	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	briefly	briefly	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | It |  |  |  |  | entirely, harmless *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **provide** | past |  | it |  |  |  |  | vn ensure-99 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition it=Theme |
| 3 | **do** | present · passive |  |  |  |  |  | briefly *property* | vn act-114-1 «NP V» |

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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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