---
title: Identify the time denoted by the expression cinq heures moins le qua… — Telling the time · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the time denoted by the expression cinq heures moins le quart. Exam question 2 of lesson 12 «Telling the time» of the French course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choice was wrong.
---

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# Exam question 2 · Telling the time

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the time denoted by the expression cinq heures moins le quart.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you · **What happens:** identify, denote · **To what, where:** cinq heures, time

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 12 «Telling the time» of the French 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/french/12-telling-the-time/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:french:12-telling-the-time:e2:1
# text = Identify the time denoted by the expression cinq heures moins le quart.
1	Identify	identify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	denoted	denote	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	expression	expression	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	cinq	cinq	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	9	nummod	_	_
9	heures	heure	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
10	moins	moins	X	FW	Foreign=Yes	1	parataxis	_	_
11	le	le	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	quart	quart	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **identify** | imperative | you *not said here* | cinq heures |  |  | time |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent heure=Theme |
| 2 | **denote** | participle |  | the time *not said here* |  |  |  | by the expression | vn indicate-78 «NP V how S»: agent=Pivot |

<!-- .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 -->
Five minutes before four o'clock

```conllu
# sent_id = question:french:12-telling-the-time:e2:o1:1
# text = Five minutes before four o'clock
1	Five	five	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	minutes	minute	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
3	before	before	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	four	four	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	o'clock	o'clock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
```

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

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A quarter of an hour after five o'clock

```conllu
# sent_id = question:french:12-telling-the-time:e2:o2:1
# text = A quarter of an hour after five o'clock
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	quarter	quarter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	hour	hour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	after	after	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	five	five	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	o'clock	o'clock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
```

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

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Five hours less a quarter of a day

```conllu
# sent_id = question:french:12-telling-the-time:e2:o3:1
# text = Five hours less a quarter of a day
1	Five	five	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	hours	hour	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl:unmarked	_	_
3	less	less	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	5	advmod	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	quarter	quarter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
```

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

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A quarter of an hour before five o'clock

```conllu
# sent_id = question:french:12-telling-the-time:e2:o4:1
# text = A quarter of an hour before five o'clock
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	quarter	quarter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	hour	hour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	before	before	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	five	five	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	o'clock	o'clock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
```

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

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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: [Telling the time, exam 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/french/12-telling-the-time/e1/)
- next →: [Telling the time, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/french/12-telling-the-time/e3/)
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