---
title: «been telling mum im at Tom's for weeks, never caught, so it's fine… — Excuses and the lies that grow · tree and pragmatics
description: «been telling mum im at Tom's for weeks, never caught, so it's fine innit». What is right? Test 1 · ★ of lesson 337 «Excuses and the lies that grow» 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 wrong.
---

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# Test 1 · ★ · Excuses and the lies that grow

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«been telling mum im at Tom's for weeks, never caught, so it's fine innit». What is right?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** it · **What happens:** tell, not catch, be · **To what, where:** im, Tom, fine innit · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 1 · ★ of lesson 337 «Excuses and the lies that grow» 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/337-excuses-and-the-lies-that-grow/#t1).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* «been telling mum im at Tom's for weeks, never caught, so it's fine innit».

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:337-excuses-and-the-lies-that-grow:t1:1
# text = «been telling mum im at Tom's for weeks, never caught, so it's fine innit».
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	been	be	AUX	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	3	aux	_	_
3	telling	tell	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	iobj	_	_
5	im	im	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	3	iobj	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	Tom	Tom	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	's	's	PART	POS	_	7	case	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	weeks	week	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
12	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	13	advmod	_	_
13	caught	catch	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
15	so	so	ADV	RB	_	19	advmod	_	_
16	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	19	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	19	cop	_	_
18	fine	fine	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	innit	innit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | participle · progressive |  |  | im | Tom | week |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **catch** *in a quote* | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is a** *in a quote* | present | it | fine innit |  |  |  |  | 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:* What is right?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:337-excuses-and-the-lies-that-grow:t1:2
# text = What is right?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

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

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Fine until he's ten

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:337-excuses-and-the-lies-that-grow:t1:o1:1
# text = Fine until he's ten
1	Fine	fine	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
2	until	until	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
3	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|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	ten	ten	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | he | Fine ten |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Fine if Tom agrees

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:337-excuses-and-the-lies-that-grow:t1:o2:1
# text = Fine if Tom agrees
1	Fine	fine	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
2	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	4	mark	_	_
3	Tom	Tom	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	agrees	agree	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **agree** *speech: agree* | present | Tom |  |  |  |  |  | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yes, if it worked for weeks it's fine, she's never been worried

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:337-excuses-and-the-lies-that-grow:t1:o3:1
# text = Yes, if it worked for weeks it's fine, she's never been worried
1	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	5	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
4	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	worked	work	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	weeks	week	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	expl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	fine	fine	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
12	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
14	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	16	advmod	_	_
15	been	be	AUX	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	16	cop	_	_
16	worried	worried	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | past | it |  |  |  | week |  | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | fine *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **not** **is** | present | she |  |  |  |  | worried *property* | tree rules |

### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Not getting caught doesn't make it fine, and she needs to know where he is

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:337-excuses-and-the-lies-that-grow:t1:o4:1
# text = Not getting caught doesn't make it fine, and she needs to know where he is
1	Not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	2	advmod	_	_
2	getting	get	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	csubj	_	_
3	caught	catch	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	xcomp	_	_
4	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	fine	fine	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
11	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
12	needs	need	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	know	know	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	xcomp	_	_
15	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	14	ccomp	_	_
16	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
17	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **get** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 2 | **catch** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **not** **make** | present · do-support | getting | it |  |  |  | fine *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset it=Product |
| 4 | **need** | present | she |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 5 | **know** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | she *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 6 | **is** | present | he |  |  |  |  | where *property* | tree rules |

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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.

<!-- /div -->

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- ← previous: [Little lies at home, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/336-little-lies-at-home/e4/)
- next →: [Excuses and the lies that grow, test 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/337-excuses-and-the-lies-that-grow/t2/)
- ↑ back to [Excuses and the lies that grow](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/337-excuses-and-the-lies-that-grow/)