--- title: Why is speaking softly helpful around a small bird? — Being gentle with small animals · tree and pragmatics description: Why is speaking softly helpful around a small bird? Test 8 of lesson 288 «Being gentle with small animals» 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. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/288-being-gentle-with-small-animals/t8/) [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/) / [Being gentle with small animals](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/288-being-gentle-with-small-animals/) / t8 # Test 8 · Being gentle with small animals Why is speaking softly helpful around a small bird? **Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **What happens:** speak · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is test 8 of lesson 288 «Being gentle with small animals» 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/288-being-gentle-with-small-animals/#t8). ## The question {#question} ```conllu # sent_id = question:everyday:288-being-gentle-with-small-animals:t8:1 # text = Why is speaking softly helpful around a small bird? 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 speaking speak VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 0 root _ _ 4 softly softly ADV RB _ 5 advmod _ _ 5 helpful helpful ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 3 xcomp _ _ 6 around around ADP IN _ 9 case _ _ 7 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 9 det _ _ 8 small small ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 9 amod _ _ 9 bird bird NOUN NN Number=Sing 5 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 10 ? ? PUNCT . _ 3 punct _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **speak** *speech: other* | present · progressive | | | | | | helpful *property* | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent | 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 · ✓ the right answer {#o1} Calm sounds tell the bird you are not a threat ```conllu # sent_id = question:everyday:288-being-gentle-with-small-animals:t8:o1:1 # text = Calm sounds tell the bird you are not a threat 1 Calm calm ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 2 amod _ _ 2 sounds sound NOUN NNS Number=Plur 3 nsubj _ _ 3 tell tell VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 4 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 5 det _ _ 5 bird bird NOUN NN Number=Sing 3 obj _ _ 6 you you PRON PRP Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs 10 nsubj _ _ 7 are be AUX VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 10 cop _ _ 8 not not PART RB Polarity=Neg 10 advmod _ _ 9 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 10 det _ _ 10 threat threat NOUN NN Number=Sing 3 ccomp _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | present | Calm sounds | | the bird | | | | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent bird=Recipient | | 2 | **not** **is a** | present | you | a threat | | | | | tree rules | ### Option 2 {#o2} Loud voices are only rude to people ```conllu # sent_id = question:everyday:288-being-gentle-with-small-animals:t8:o2:1 # text = Loud voices are only rude to people 1 Loud loud ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 2 amod _ _ 2 voices voice NOUN NNS Number=Plur 5 nsubj _ _ 3 are be AUX VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 5 cop _ _ 4 only only ADV RB _ 5 advmod _ _ 5 rude rude ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 0 root _ _ 6 to to ADP IN _ 7 case _ _ 7 people people NOUN NNS Number=Plur 5 obl _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **is** | present | Loud voices | | | | | to people; rude *property* | tree rules | ### Option 3 {#o3} Soft words make birds sing at once, and they love singing back ```conllu # sent_id = question:everyday:288-being-gentle-with-small-animals:t8:o3:1 # text = Soft words make birds sing at once, and they love singing back 1 Soft soft ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 2 amod _ _ 2 words word NOUN NNS Number=Plur 3 nsubj _ _ 3 make make VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 4 birds bird NOUN NNS Number=Plur 3 obj _ _ 5 sing sing VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 3 xcomp _ _ 6 at at ADP IN _ 7 case _ _ 7 once once ADV RB NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult 5 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 8 , , PUNCT , _ 11 punct _ _ 9 and and CCONJ CC _ 11 cc _ _ 10 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 11 nsubj _ _ 11 love love VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 3 conj _ _ 12 singing sing VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 11 xcomp _ _ 13 back back ADV RB _ 12 advmod _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **make** | present | Soft words | birds | | | | | tree rules | | 2 | **sing** *speech: express* | infinitive | birds *not said here* | | | | | | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme at once=Location | | 3 | **love** | present | words *= word* | | | | | | vn admire-31.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus | | 4 | **sing back** *speech: express* *not said to happen* | gerund | words *= word* *not said here* | | | | | | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme | ### Option 4 {#o4} Birds cannot hear loud voices ```conllu # sent_id = question:everyday:288-being-gentle-with-small-animals:t8:o4:1 # text = Birds cannot hear loud voices 1 Birds bird NOUN NNS Number=Plur 4 nsubj _ _ 2 can can AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 4 aux _ SpaceAfter=No 3 not not PART RB Polarity=Neg 4 advmod _ _ 4 hear hear VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 0 root _ _ 5 loud loud ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 6 amod _ _ 6 voices voice NOUN NNS Number=Plur 4 obj _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **not** **hear** | can | Birds | loud voices | | | | | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer voice=Stimulus | **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. - ← previous: [Being gentle with small animals, test 7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/288-being-gentle-with-small-animals/t7/) - next →: [Being gentle with small animals, test 9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/288-being-gentle-with-small-animals/t9/) - ↑ back to [Being gentle with small animals](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/288-being-gentle-with-small-animals/)