---
title: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the… — Neighbours who don't speak and the fri… · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the dispute between the two elderly neighbours, Mr Shaw and Mr Kowalski? Exam question 1 of lesson 483 «Neighbours who don't speak and the friendly shopkeeper» of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree an
---

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# Exam question 1 · Neighbours who don't speak and the friendly shopkeeper

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the dispute between the two elderly neighbours, Mr Shaw and Mr Kowalski?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **What happens:** follow, characteris · **To what, where:** dispute

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 483 «Neighbours who don't speak and the friendly shopkeeper» 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/483-neighbours-who-dont-speak-and-the-friendly-shopkeeper/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:483-neighbours-who-dont-speak-and-the-friendly-shopkeeper:e1:1
# text = Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the dispute between the two elderly neighbours, Mr Shaw and Mr Kowalski?
1	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	following	follow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	amod	_	_
5	statements	statement	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
6	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	7	advmod	_	_
7	accurately	accurately	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	characterises	characteris	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	dispute	dispute	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	between	between	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
13	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	15	nummod	_	_
14	elderly	elderly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	neighbours	neighbour	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
17	Mr	Mr	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	18	compound	_	_
18	Shaw	Shaw	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
19	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	Mr	Mr	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	18	conj	_	_
21	Kowalski	Kowalski	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	20	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **characteris** | present |  | the dispute |  |  |  | of the following statements; between the two elderly neighbours; Mr Shaw and Mr *obl*; accurately *property* | 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.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A legal action concerning the ownership of a dog

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:483-neighbours-who-dont-speak-and-the-friendly-shopkeeper:e1:o1:1
# text = A legal action concerning the ownership of a dog
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	legal	legal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	action	action	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	concerning	concern	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	acl	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	ownership	ownership	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **concern** | gerund | a legal action *not said here* | the ownership of a dog |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus ownership=Experiencer |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A dispute concerning a sum of money owed by one to the other

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:483-neighbours-who-dont-speak-and-the-friendly-shopkeeper:e1:o2:1
# text = A dispute concerning a sum of money owed by one to the other
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	dispute	dispute	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	concerning	concern	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	acl	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	sum	sum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	money	money	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
8	owed	owe	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	acl	_	_
9	by	by	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	obl	_	_
11	to	to	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **concern** | gerund | a dispute *not said here* | a sum of money |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus sum=Experiencer |
| 2 | **owe** | participle |  | money *not said here* |  |  |  | by one to the other | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **sum** |  |  | money |  |  |  |  | nom sum «possession transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A long silence of uncertain origin, concluded after a bereavement

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:483-neighbours-who-dont-speak-and-the-friendly-shopkeeper:e1:o3:1
# text = A long silence of uncertain origin, concluded after a bereavement
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	silence	silence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	uncertain	uncertain	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	origin	origin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
8	concluded	conclude	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
9	after	after	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	bereavement	bereavement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **conclude** | participle |  | a long silence of uncertain origin *not said here* |  |  | after a bereavement |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 2 | **silence** |  |  | uncertain origin |  |  |  |  | nom silence «state transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A quarrel which persisted until the death of both

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:483-neighbours-who-dont-speak-and-the-friendly-shopkeeper:e1:o4:1
# text = A quarrel which persisted until the death of both
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	quarrel	quarrel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
4	persisted	persist	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
5	until	until	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	death	death	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	both	both	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	7	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **persist** | past | a quarrel |  |  |  | until the death of both |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

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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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