---
title: A boy in Ohio says his cat lands on its feet, so it is fine to let i… — Cats and dogs up close · tree and pragmatics
description: A boy in Ohio says his cat lands on its feet, so it is fine to let it sit on an open fifth-floor balcony. Which is right? Test 1 · ★ of lesson 61 «Cats and dogs up close» 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 1 · ★ · Cats and dogs up close

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A boy in Ohio says his cat lands on its feet, so it is fine to let it sit on an open fifth-floor balcony. Which is right?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 3 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** boy, cat · **What happens:** say, land, be, let, sit · **To what, where:** feet, cat, open floor balcony · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 1 · ★ of lesson 61 «Cats and dogs up close» 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/61-cats-and-dogs-up-close/#t1).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A boy in Ohio says his cat lands on its feet, so it is fine to let it sit on an open fifth-floor balcony.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:61-cats-and-dogs-up-close:t1:1
# text = A boy in Ohio says his cat lands on its feet, so it is fine to let it sit on an open fifth-floor balcony.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	Ohio	Ohio	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	lands	land	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	ccomp	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	feet	foot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
13	so	so	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	_
14	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	expl	_	_
15	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
16	fine	fine	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	ccomp	_	_
17	to	to	PART	TO	_	18	mark	_	_
18	let	let	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	csubj	_	_
19	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	obj	_	_
20	sit	sit	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	18	xcomp	_	_
21	on	on	ADP	IN	_	27	case	_	_
22	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	27	det	_	_
23	open	open	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	27	amod	_	_
24	fifth	fifth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	24	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	floor	floor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	27	compound	_	_
27	balcony	balcony	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | a boy in Ohio |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **land** | present | boy's cat |  |  | cat's feet |  |  | vn pocket-9.10-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent on foot=Destination |
| 3 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | fine *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **let** | to-infinitive |  | cat |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **sit** | infinitive | cat *not said here* |  |  | a open floor balcony |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent on balcony=Location |

<!-- .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:* Which is right?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:61-cats-and-dogs-up-close:t1:2
# text = Which is right?
1	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | right *property* | tree rules |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No, but only because of the wind

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:61-cats-and-dogs-up-close:t1:o1:1
# text = No, but only because of the wind
1	No	no	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Neg	8	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
4	only	only	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
5	because	because	ADP	IN	ExtPos=ADP	8	case	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	fixed	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	wind	wind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
```

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

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yes, as long as the cat is young

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:61-cats-and-dogs-up-close:t1:o2:1
# text = Yes, as long as the cat is young
1	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	4	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	as	as	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	long	long	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
8	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the cat |  |  |  |  | young *property* | tree rules |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No, cats can be badly hurt falling from balconies

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:61-cats-and-dogs-up-close:t1:o3:1
# text = No, cats can be badly hurt falling from balconies
1	No	no	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Neg	7	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	cats	cat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	aux:pass	_	_
6	badly	badly	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	7	advmod	_	_
7	hurt	hurt	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
8	falling	fall	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	xcomp	_	_
9	from	from	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	balconies	balcony	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hurt** | can · passive |  | cats |  |  |  | badly *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **fall** | gerund |  |  |  | balconies |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from balcony=Initial\_Location |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yes, cats are never hurt by falls, they always land safely

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:61-cats-and-dogs-up-close:t1:o4:1
# text = Yes, cats are never hurt by falls, they always land safely
1	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	6	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	cats	cat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux:pass	_	_
5	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	hurt	hurt	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
7	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	falls	fall	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
11	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	12	advmod	_	_
12	land	land	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	advcl	_	_
13	safely	safely	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **hurt** | present · passive | falls | cats |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer subject=Patient |
| 2 | **land** | present | cats *= cat* |  |  |  |  | always, safely *property* | vn pocket-9.10-1 «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.

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- ← previous: [Thinking cleverly about people, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/everyday/60-reasoning-about-people/e4/)
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