---
title: Why is throwing a pencil across the classroom a bad idea? — Classroom rules and homework · tree and pragmatics
description: Why is throwing a pencil across the classroom a bad idea? Test 15 · ★ of lesson 254 «Classroom rules and homework» 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 15 · ★ · Classroom rules and homework

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Why is throwing a pencil across the classroom a bad idea?

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

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 15 · ★ of lesson 254 «Classroom rules and homework» 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/254-classroom-rules-and-homework/#t15).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:254-classroom-rules-and-homework:t15:1
# text = Why is throwing a pencil across the classroom a bad idea?
1	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	3	advmod	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	throwing	throw	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	pencil	pencil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	across	across	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	classroom	classroom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **throw** | present · progressive |  | a pencil |  | the classroom |  |  | vn throw-17.1-1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent pencil=Destination idea=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 -->
Pencils are school property and cost the school money

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:254-classroom-rules-and-homework:t15:o1:1
# text = Pencils are school property and cost the school money
1	Pencils	pencil	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	property	property	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	cost	cost	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Pencils | school property |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **cost** | infinitive | Pencils *not said here* | the school money |  |  |  |  | vn cost-54.2 «NP V NP.value»: agent=Theme money=Value |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It might break the pencil lead inside

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:254-classroom-rules-and-homework:t15:o2:1
# text = It might break the pencil lead inside
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	might	might	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	break	break	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	pencil	pencil	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	lead	lead	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	inside	inside	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **break** | might | It | the pencil lead |  |  |  | inside *property* | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer lead=Patient |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It wastes time

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:254-classroom-rules-and-homework:t15:o3:1
# text = It wastes time
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wastes	waste	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **waste** | present | It |  |  |  | time |  | vn destroy-44 «NP.instrument V NP»: agent=Instrument |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Its point can hit someone in the eye

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:254-classroom-rules-and-homework:t15:o4:1
# text = Its point can hit someone in the eye
1	Its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	point	point	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	hit	hit	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	4	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	eye	eye	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hit** | can | Its point | someone |  | the eye |  |  | vn throw-17.1-1 «NP V NP PP.destinations»: agent=Agent someone=Theme in eye=Destination |
| 2 | **point** |  | Its *= it* |  |  |  |  |  | nom point «cognition transitive»: poss=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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- ← previous: [Classroom rules and homework, test 14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/254-classroom-rules-and-homework/t14/)
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