---
title: my mate says the new kid's useless at sport cos he's never picked fi… — Younger children, losing and practising · tree and pragmatics
description: my mate says the new kid's useless at sport cos he's never picked first. pass it on? Test 18 · ★ of lesson 251 «Younger children, losing and practising» 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 wron
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/251-younger-children-losing-and-practising/t18/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [questions](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/) / [Everyday](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/) / [Younger children, losing and practising](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/251-younger-children-losing-and-practising/) / t18

# Test 18 · ★ · Younger children, losing and practising

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
my mate says the new kid's useless at sport cos he's never picked first. pass it on?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** mate · **What happens:** say, not pick, pass on · **To what, where:** mate, sport · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 18 · ★ of lesson 251 «Younger children, losing and practising» 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/251-younger-children-losing-and-practising/#t18).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:251-younger-children-losing-and-practising:t18:1
# text = my mate says the new kid's useless at sport cos he's never picked first. pass it on?
1	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	mate	mate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	kid	kid	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	useless	useless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	ccomp	_	_
9	at	at	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	sport	sport	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
11	cos	cos	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
12	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj:pass	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	aux	_	_
14	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	15	advmod	_	_
15	picked	pick	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	advcl	_	_
16	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	15	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
18	pass	pass	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
19	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	obj	_	_
20	on	on	ADP	RP	_	18	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | my mate |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **not** **pick** | present · passive |  | mate |  |  |  | first *property* | vn chew-39.2 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |
| 3 | **pass on** | infinitive |  | sport |  |  |  |  | vn send-11.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=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 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yes, if he's not listening

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:251-younger-children-losing-and-practising:t18:o1:1
# text = Yes, if he's not listening
1	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	7	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
6	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	7	advmod	_	_
7	listening	listen	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **listen** | present · progressive | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No, it's unkind; skills grow with practice

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:251-younger-children-losing-and-practising:t18:o2:1
# text = No, it's unkind; skills grow with practice
1	No	no	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Neg	5	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	unkind	unkind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	8	punct	_	_
7	skills	skill	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
8	grow	grow	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	_
9	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	practice	practice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | it |  |  |  |  | unkind *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **grow** | present | skills |  |  |  |  | with practice | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yes, so he stops trying

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:251-younger-children-losing-and-practising:t18:o3:1
# text = Yes, so he stops trying
1	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	5	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
3	so	so	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	stops	stop	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	trying	try	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stop** | present | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Affector clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **try** | gerund | he *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yes, it's just honest

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:251-younger-children-losing-and-practising:t18:o4:1
# text = Yes, it's just honest
1	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	6	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	just	just	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	honest	honest	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
```

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

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [Younger children, losing and practising, test 17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/251-younger-children-losing-and-practising/t17/)
- next →: [Younger children, losing and practising, exam 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/251-younger-children-losing-and-practising/e1/)
- ↑ back to [Younger children, losing and practising](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/251-younger-children-losing-and-practising/)