---
title: Identify the principal reason for which a word of unknown meaning ma… — Rude words at the table · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the principal reason for which a word of unknown meaning may nonetheless cause offence when uttered. Exam question 1 of lesson 354 «Rude words at the table» of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's ch
---

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# Exam question 1 · Rude words at the table

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the principal reason for which a word of unknown meaning may nonetheless cause offence when uttered.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, word, offence · **What happens:** identify, cause, utter, word · **To what, where:** principal reason, offence, unknown meaning

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 354 «Rude words at the table» of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. 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/354-rude-words-eye-rolls-and-i-hate-you/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:354-rude-words-eye-rolls-and-i-hate-you:e1:1
# text = Identify the principal reason for which a word of unknown meaning may nonetheless cause offence when uttered.
1	Identify	identify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	14	obl	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	unknown	unknown	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	meaning	meaning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
12	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
13	nonetheless	nonetheless	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
14	cause	cause	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	acl:relcl	_	_
15	offence	offence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	_
16	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	17	advmod	_	_
17	uttered	utter	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	14	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **identify** | imperative | you *not said here* | the principal reason |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent reason=Theme |
| 2 | **cause** | may | a word of unknown meaning | offence |  |  |  | for the principal reason; nonetheless *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **utter** *speech: other* | participle | offence *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **word** |  |  | unknown meaning |  |  |  |  | nom word «communication transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .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 -->
Words can cause offence only when the speaker knows precisely what they mean

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:354-rude-words-eye-rolls-and-i-hate-you:e1:o1:1
# text = Words can cause offence only when the speaker knows precisely what they mean
1	Words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	cause	cause	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	offence	offence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	only	only	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
6	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	9	mark	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	speaker	speaker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	knows	know	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
10	precisely	precisely	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	13	obj	_	_
12	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
13	mean	mean	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	ccomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cause** | can | Words | offence |  |  |  |  | vn engender-27.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition offence=Patient |
| 2 | **know** | present | the speaker |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 3 | **mean** | present | Words *= word* |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Its offensiveness depends on the listener and not on the speaker's knowledge

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:354-rude-words-eye-rolls-and-i-hate-you:e1:o2:1
# text = Its offensiveness depends on the listener and not on the speaker's knowledge
1	Its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	offensiveness	offensiveness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	depends	depend	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	on	on	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	listener	listener	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
8	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	13	advmod	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	speaker	speaker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	's	's	PART	POS	_	11	case	_	_
13	knowledge	knowledge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **depend** | present | Its offensiveness |  |  |  |  | on the listener and the speaker's knowledge | vn rely-70 «NP V PP.theme S\_ING»: agent=Agent on listener=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Offence is caused solely by volume

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:354-rude-words-eye-rolls-and-i-hate-you:e1:o3:1
# text = Offence is caused solely by volume
1	Offence	offence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	caused	cause	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	solely	solely	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	volume	volume	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cause** | present · passive | volume | Offence |  |  |  | solely *property* | vn engender-27.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition subject=Patient |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Words uttered at mealtimes cannot offend

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:354-rude-words-eye-rolls-and-i-hate-you:e1:o4:1
# text = Words uttered at mealtimes cannot offend
1	Words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
2	uttered	utter	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	1	acl	_	_
3	at	at	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	mealtimes	mealtime	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
5	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	7	advmod	_	_
7	offend	offend	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **utter** *speech: other* | participle |  | Words *not said here* |  | mealtimes |  |  | vn say-37.7-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **not** **offend** | can | Words |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |

<!-- 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 -->

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