---
title: A girl in Perth wants to hold her hamster while standing on a chair.… — Guinea pigs, hamsters and fish · tree and pragmatics
description: A girl in Perth wants to hold her hamster while standing on a chair. Why is this a bad idea? Test 2 · ★ of lesson 63 «Guinea pigs, hamsters and fish» 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 2 · ★ · Guinea pigs, hamsters and fish

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A girl in Perth wants to hold her hamster while standing on a chair. Why is this a bad idea?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 4 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** girl, this · **What happens:** want, hold, stand, be · **To what, where:** hamster, chair, bad idea

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 2 · ★ of lesson 63 «Guinea pigs, hamsters and fish» 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/63-guinea-pigs-hamsters-and-fish/#t2).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A girl in Perth wants to hold her hamster while standing on a chair.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:63-guinea-pigs-hamsters-and-fish:t2:1
# text = A girl in Perth wants to hold her hamster while standing on a chair.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	girl	girl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	in	in	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	Perth	Perth	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	wants	want	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	hold	hold	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	_
8	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	hamster	hamster	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	while	while	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
11	standing	stand	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	7	advcl	_	_
12	on	on	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	chair	chair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **want** | present | a girl in Perth |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 2 | **hold** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | a girl in Perth *not said here* | girl's hamster |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hamster=Theme |
| 3 | **stand** | gerund | a girl in Perth *not said here* |  |  | a chair |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent on chair=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:* Why is this a bad idea?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:63-guinea-pigs-hamsters-and-fish:t2:2
# text = Why is this a bad idea?
1	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
3	this	this	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	6	nsubj	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

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

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The hamster will want to climb the chair legs and run off

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:63-guinea-pigs-hamsters-and-fish:t2:o1:1
# text = The hamster will want to climb the chair legs and run off
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	hamster	hamster	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	want	want	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	climb	climb	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	chair	chair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	legs	leg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	run	run	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
12	off	off	ADP	RP	_	11	compound:prt	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **want** | future | the hamster |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 2 | **climb** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the hamster *not said here* | the chair legs |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Initial\_Location leg=Theme |
| 3 | **run off** | infinitive | the hamster *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Standing makes the hamster sleepy

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:63-guinea-pigs-hamsters-and-fish:t2:o2:1
# text = Standing makes the hamster sleepy
1	Standing	stand	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	nsubj	_	_
2	makes	make	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	hamster	hamster	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	sleepy	sleepy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stand** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **make** | present |  | the hamster |  |  |  | sleepy *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset hamster=Product |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Hamsters get dizzy when held up high

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:63-guinea-pigs-hamsters-and-fish:t2:o3:1
# text = Hamsters get dizzy when held up high
1	Hamsters	hamster	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	get	get	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	dizzy	dizzy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
4	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	5	advmod	_	_
5	held	hold	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	xcomp	_	_
6	up	up	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	_
7	high	high	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	5	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** | present | Hamsters |  |  |  |  | dizzy *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 2 | **hold up** | participle | Hamsters *not said here* |  |  |  |  | high *property* | vn support-15.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A fall even from a short height can kill a hamster

```conllu
# sent_id = question:everyday:63-guinea-pigs-hamsters-and-fish:t2:o4:1
# text = A fall even from a short height can kill a hamster
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	fall	fall	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
3	even	even	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
4	from	from	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	height	height	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
8	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
9	kill	kill	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	hamster	hamster	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **kill** | can | a fall from a short height | a hamster |  |  |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hamster=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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