---
title: Teacher: «Lily, why didn't you just pinch him back?» Best answer? — Self-defence or just stupid? · tree and pragmatics
description: Teacher: «Lily, why didn't you just pinch him back?» Best answer? Test 8 · ★★ of lesson 377 «Self-defence or just stupid?» 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.
---

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# Test 8 · ★★ · Self-defence or just stupid?

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Teacher: «Lily, why didn't you just pinch him back?» Best answer?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** you · **What happens:** not pinch back · **To what, where:** Lily

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 8 · ★★ of lesson 377 «Self-defence or just stupid?» 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/377-self-defence-or-just-stupid/#t8).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Teacher: «Lily, why didn't you just pinch him back?»

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:377-self-defence-or-just-stupid:t8:1
# text = Teacher: «Lily, why didn't you just pinch him back?»
1	Teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	4	punct	_	_
3	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	Lily	Lily	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	1	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
6	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	11	advmod	_	_
7	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
9	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
10	just	just	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	pinch	pinch	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
12	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	_
13	back	back	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **pinch back** *in a quote* | past · do-support | you | Lily |  |  |  |  | vn steal-10.5 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |

<!-- .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:* Best answer?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:377-self-defence-or-just-stupid:t8:2
# text = Best answer?
1	Best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	2	amod	_	_
2	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

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

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Saying it loudly stopped him without starting a fight

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:377-self-defence-or-just-stupid:t8:o1:1
# text = Saying it loudly stopped him without starting a fight
1	Saying	say	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	csubj	_	_
2	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	1	obj	_	_
3	loudly	loudly	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	stopped	stop	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obj	_	_
6	without	without	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
7	starting	start	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	advcl	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	fight	fight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | gerund |  | it |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent it=Topic |
| 2 | **stop** | past | Saying | him *= he* |  |  |  | loudly *property* | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Subeventuality he=Eventuality |
| 3 | **start** | gerund | Saying *not said here* | a fight |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fight=Eventuality |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I forgot I could

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:377-self-defence-or-just-stupid:t8:o2:1
# text = I forgot I could
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	forgot	forget	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	2	parataxis	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **forget** | past | I |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Pinching is only for babies, so I just ignored it all day

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:377-self-defence-or-just-stupid:t8:o3:1
# text = Pinching is only for babies, so I just ignored it all day
1	Pinching	pinching	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	only	only	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	babies	baby	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
7	so	so	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
8	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
9	just	just	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	ignored	ignore	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	obj	_	_
12	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	13	det	_	_
13	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl:unmarked	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Pinching |  |  |  |  | for babies | tree rules |
| 2 | **ignore** | past | I | Pinching |  |  | day |  | vn neglect-75.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I was too weak to pinch

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:377-self-defence-or-just-stupid:t8:o4:1
# text = I was too weak to pinch
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	too	too	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	weak	weak	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	pinch	pinch	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | I |  |  |  |  | weak *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **pinch** | to-infinitive | I *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn steal-10.5 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

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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: [Self-defence or just stupid?, test 7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/377-self-defence-or-just-stupid/t7/)
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