---
title: State the course of action most consistent with prudence where a chi… — Peeking at presents and secrets · tree and pragmatics
description: State the course of action most consistent with prudence where a child is troubled by something seen in a parent's correspondence. Exam question 4 of lesson 356 «Peeking at presents and secrets» of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question 
---

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# Exam question 4 · Peeking at presents and secrets

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
State the course of action most consistent with prudence where a child is troubled by something seen in a parent's correspondence.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** you, parent · **What happens:** state, trouble, see, correspond · **To what, where:** course, child, correspondence

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This is exam question 4 of lesson 356 «Peeking at presents and secrets» 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/356-peeking-at-presents-diaries-and-letters/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:356-peeking-at-presents-diaries-and-letters:e4:1
# text = State the course of action most consistent with prudence where a child is troubled by something seen in a parent's correspondence.
1	State	state	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	course	course	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	action	action	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
6	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	7	advmod	_	_
7	consistent	consistent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	prudence	prudence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
10	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	14	advmod	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	child	child	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj:pass	_	_
13	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	aux:pass	_	_
14	troubled	trouble	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	9	acl:relcl	_	_
15	by	by	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	something	something	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	14	obl	_	_
17	seen	see	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	16	acl	_	_
18	in	in	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
19	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	parent	parent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	's	's	PART	POS	_	20	case	_	_
22	correspondence	correspondence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **state** *speech: other* | imperative | you *not said here* | the course of action |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent course=Topic |
| 2 | **trouble** | present · passive |  | a child |  |  |  | by something | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Experiencer |
| 3 | **see** | participle |  |  |  | a parent's correspondence |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 4 | **correspond** |  | a parent |  |  |  |  |  | nom correspondence «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- .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 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The child acknowledges the intrusion and asks the parent directly

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:356-peeking-at-presents-diaries-and-letters:e4:o1:1
# text = The child acknowledges the intrusion and asks the parent directly
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	child	child	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	acknowledges	acknowledge	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	intrusion	intrusion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	asks	ask	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	parent	parent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	directly	directly	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **acknowledge** | present | the child | the intrusion |  |  |  |  | vn confess-37.10 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent intrusion=Topic |
| 2 | **ask** *speech: ask* | present | the child *not said here* |  | the parent |  |  | directly *property* | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent parent=Recipient |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The child conducts a further and more careful examination of the correspondence

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:356-peeking-at-presents-diaries-and-letters:e4:o2:1
# text = The child conducts a further and more careful examination of the correspondence
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	child	child	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	conducts	conduct	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	further	far	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	3	advmod	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
7	more	more	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	8	advmod	_	_
8	careful	careful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	examination	examination	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	correspondence	correspondence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **conduct** | present | the child |  |  |  |  | far *property* | vn accompany-51.7 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **examine** |  |  | the correspondence |  |  |  |  | nom examination «act transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The child confides the matter to classmates

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:356-peeking-at-presents-diaries-and-letters:e4:o3:1
# text = The child confides the matter to classmates
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	child	child	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	confides	confide	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	matter	matter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	classmates	classmate	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **confide** *speech: other* | present | the child | the matter | classmates |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent matter=Topic to classmate=Recipient |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The child conceals the matter indefinitely

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:356-peeking-at-presents-diaries-and-letters:e4:o4:1
# text = The child conceals the matter indefinitely
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	child	child	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	conceals	conceal	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	matter	matter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	indefinitely	indefinitely	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **conceal** | present | the child | the matter |  |  |  | indefinitely *property* | vn concealment-16 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent matter=Patient |

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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: [Peeking at presents and secrets, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/356-peeking-at-presents-diaries-and-letters/e3/)
- next →: [Snooping on phones, diaries and letters, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/357-snooping-on-phones-bags-calls-and-codes/t1/)
- ↑ back to [Peeking at presents and secrets](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/356-peeking-at-presents-diaries-and-letters/)