---
title: Mum, pale: «why is the keyboard sticky and dead??» What should the b… — Breaking things and hiding the pieces · tree and pragmatics
description: Mum, pale: «why is the keyboard sticky and dead??» What should the boy say? Test 3 · ★★★ of lesson 342 «Breaking things and hiding the pieces» 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 3 · ★★★ · Breaking things and hiding the pieces

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum, pale: «why is the keyboard sticky and dead??» What should the boy say?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 1 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** keyboard, boy · **What happens:** be, say · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 3 · ★★★ of lesson 342 «Breaking things and hiding the pieces» 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/342-breaking-things-and-hiding-the-pieces/#t3).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Mum, pale: «why is the keyboard sticky and dead??»

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:342-breaking-things-and-hiding-the-pieces:t3:1
# text = Mum, pale: «why is the keyboard sticky and dead??»
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
3	pale	pale	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
5	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	10	advmod	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	keyboard	keyboard	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	sticky	sticky	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	parataxis	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	dead	dead	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	??	??	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | present | the keyboard |  |  |  |  | sticky *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** *in a quote* |  | the keyboard *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | 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 should the boy say?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:342-breaking-things-and-hiding-the-pieces:t3:2
# text = What should the boy say?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	5	obj	_	_
2	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | should | the boy |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«I spilled juice yesterday and didn't tell you. Sorry»

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* «I spilled juice yesterday and didn't tell you.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:342-breaking-things-and-hiding-the-pieces:t3:o1:1
# text = «I spilled juice yesterday and didn't tell you.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	spilled	spill	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	juice	juice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	yesterday	yesterday	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl:unmarked	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
7	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	tell	tell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
10	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	9	iobj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spill** *in a quote* | past | I | juice |  |  | yesterday |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location juice=Theme |
| 2 | **not** **tell** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | past · do-support | I *not said here* |  | you |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent you=Recipient |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* Sorry»

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:342-breaking-things-and-hiding-the-pieces:t3:o1:2
# text = Sorry»
1	Sorry	sorry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«The cat walked on it»

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:342-breaking-things-and-hiding-the-pieces:t3:o2:1
# text = «The cat walked on it»
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	walked	walk	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **walk** *in a quote* | past | the cat |  |  | it |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on it=Trajectory |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«It's just old»

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:342-breaking-things-and-hiding-the-pieces:t3:o3:1
# text = «It's just old»
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	just	just	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
```

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

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«It was like that already when I came home from school, honest»

<!-- fold The tree, 12 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:342-breaking-things-and-hiding-the-pieces:t3:o4:1
# text = «It was like that already when I came home from school, honest»
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	like	like	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	9	obl	_	_
6	already	already	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
7	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	9	advmod	_	_
8	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	home	home	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
11	from	from	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
14	honest	honest	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | past | It |  |  |  |  | like that | tree rules |
| 2 | **come** *in a quote* | past | I |  |  | school |  | home *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from school=Initial\_Location |

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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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [Breaking things and hiding the pieces, test 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/342-breaking-things-and-hiding-the-pieces/t2/)
- next →: [Breaking things and hiding the pieces, test 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/342-breaking-things-and-hiding-the-pieces/t4/)
- ↑ back to [Breaking things and hiding the pieces](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/342-breaking-things-and-hiding-the-pieces/)