---
title: Identify the request most likely to secure the attention of a parent… — Cold parents: always on the phone · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the request most likely to secure the attention of a parent preoccupied with a telephone. Exam question 2 of lesson 495 «Cold parents: always on the phone» of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's cho
---

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# Exam question 2 · Cold parents: always on the phone

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the request most likely to secure the attention of a parent preoccupied with a telephone.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, parent · **What happens:** identify, secure, preoccupy, attend · **To what, where:** request, attention, parent

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 495 «Cold parents: always on the phone» 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/495-cold-parents-always-on-the-phone/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:495-cold-parents-always-on-the-phone:e2:1
# text = Identify the request most likely to secure the attention of a parent preoccupied with a telephone.
1	Identify	identify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	request	request	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	5	advmod	_	_
5	likely	likely	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	secure	secure	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	advcl	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	attention	attention	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	parent	parent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	_
13	preoccupied	preoccupy	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	12	acl	_	_
14	with	with	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	telephone	telephone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	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 request |  |  |  | likely *property* | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent request=Theme |
| 2 | **secure** | to-infinitive | you *not said here* | the attention of a parent |  |  |  |  | vn ensure-99 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition attention=Theme |
| 3 | **preoccupy** | participle |  | a parent *not said here* |  |  |  | with a telephone | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |
| 4 | **attend** |  | a parent |  |  |  |  |  | nom attention «cognition intransitive»: of=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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A threat to dispose of the telephone in water

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:495-cold-parents-always-on-the-phone:e2:o1:1
# text = A threat to dispose of the telephone in water
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	threat	threat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	dispose	dispose	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	acl	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	telephone	telephone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **dispose** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | of the telephone in water | vn addict-96 «NP V NP PP.Theme»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A silent withdrawal from the parent's presence

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:495-cold-parents-always-on-the-phone:e2:o2:1
# text = A silent withdrawal from the parent's presence
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	silent	silent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	withdrawal	withdrawal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	parent	parent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	presence	presence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
```

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

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A repetition of the request every two minutes

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:495-cold-parents-always-on-the-phone:e2:o3:1
# text = A repetition of the request every two minutes
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	repetition	repetition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	request	request	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	8	det	_	_
7	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	minutes	minute	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **repeat** |  | the request |  |  |  |  |  | nom repetition «event intransitive»: of=agent |

### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A calm request to set it aside for one minute

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:495-cold-parents-always-on-the-phone:e2:o4:1
# text = A calm request to set it aside for one minute
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	calm	calm	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	request	request	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	set	set	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	acl	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	_
7	aside	aside	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	10	nummod	_	_
10	minute	minute	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **set** | to-infinitive |  | request |  |  | minute | aside *property* | vn other\_cos-45.4-1 «NP V NP ADJ»: agent=Patient it=Result |

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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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