---
title: A boy says he did not cheat because he only looked at the answers «a… — Thinking cleverly about people · tree and pragmatics
description: A boy says he did not cheat because he only looked at the answers «a little». What is the flaw in his thinking? Test 9 · ★★★ of lesson 60 «Thinking cleverly about people» of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova
---

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# Test 9 · ★★★ · Thinking cleverly about people

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A boy says he did not cheat because he only looked at the answers «a little». What is the flaw in his thinking?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** boy, flaw · **What happens:** say, not cheat, look, be, think · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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This is test 9 · ★★★ of lesson 60 «Thinking cleverly about people» 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/60-reasoning-about-people/#t9).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A boy says he did not cheat because he only looked at the answers «a little».

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:60-reasoning-about-people:t9:1
# text = A boy says he did not cheat because he only looked at the answers «a little».
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
5	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
6	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	7	advmod	_	_
7	cheat	cheat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
8	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
9	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
10	only	only	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	looked	look	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	advcl	_	_
12	at	at	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	answers	answer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obl	_	_
15	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | a boy |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **not** **cheat** | past · do-support | boy |  |  |  |  |  | vn cheat-10.6.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **look** | past | boy |  |  |  |  | at the answers | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent at answer=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:* What is the flaw in his thinking?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:60-reasoning-about-people:t9:2
# text = What is the flaw in his thinking?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	0	root	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	flaw	flaw	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nsubj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	thinking	thinking	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the flaw in boy's thinking |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **think** |  | boy |  |  |  |  |  | nom thinking «cognition transitive»: poss=agent |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is fine if nobody else noticed

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:60-reasoning-about-people:t9:o1:1
# text = It is fine if nobody else noticed
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	expl	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	fine	fine	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
5	nobody	nobody	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	7	nsubj	_	_
6	else	else	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
7	noticed	notice	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | fine *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **notice** *a condition, not said to happen* | past | nobody |  |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Cheating only counts if you copy every single answer

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:60-reasoning-about-people:t9:o2:1
# text = Cheating only counts if you copy every single answer
1	Cheating	cheating	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	only	only	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	counts	count	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
5	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	copy	copy	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
7	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	9	det	_	_
8	single	single	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **count** | present | Cheating |  |  |  |  |  | vn matter-91 «NP V»: agent=Stimulus |
| 2 | **copy** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | you | every single answer |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent answer=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Any looking makes the result unfair to the others

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:60-reasoning-about-people:t9:o3:1
# text = Any looking makes the result unfair to the others
1	Any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	2	nsubj	_	_
2	looking	look	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	csubj	_	_
3	makes	make	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	result	result	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	unfair	unfair	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	xcomp	_	_
7	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	others	other	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **look** | gerund | Any |  |  |  |  |  | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |
| 2 | **make** | present | looking | the result |  |  |  | unfair *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset result=Product |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Looking a little is allowed in every test

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:60-reasoning-about-people:t9:o4:1
# text = Looking a little is allowed in every test
1	Looking	look	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	csubj:pass	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	obj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	allowed	allow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	8	det	_	_
8	test	test	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **look** | gerund |  | a little |  |  |  |  | vn seem-109-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme little=Attribute |
| 2 | **allow** | present · passive | Looking |  |  | every test |  |  | vn allow-64.1-1 «NP V S\_ING» |

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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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