---
title: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the… — Deserts · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the defining property of a desert? Exam question 1 of lesson 18 «Deserts» of the geography course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choice was wrong.
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/geography/18-deserts/e1/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [questions](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/) / [Geography](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/geography/) / [Deserts](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/geography/18-deserts/) / e1

# Exam question 1 · Deserts

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the defining property of a desert?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **What happens:** follow, characteris, define · **To what, where:** defining property

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 18 «Deserts» of the geography 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/geography/18-deserts/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:18-deserts:e1:1
# text = Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the defining property of a desert?
1	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	following	follow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	amod	_	_
5	statements	statement	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
6	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	7	advmod	_	_
7	accurately	accurately	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	characterises	characteris	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	defining	define	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	11	amod	_	_
11	property	property	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **characteris** | present |  | the defining property of a desert |  |  |  | of the following statements; accurately *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **define** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn reflexive\_appearance-48.1.2 «NP V NP»: agent=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 desert is a region of high temperature irrespective of precipitation

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:18-deserts:e1:o1:1
# text = A desert is a region of high temperature irrespective of precipitation
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	region	region	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	high	high	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	temperature	temperature	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
9	irrespective	irrespective	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	precipitation	precipitation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a desert | a region |  |  |  | of high temperature of precipitation | tree rules |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A desert is a region devoid of all living organisms

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:18-deserts:e1:o2:1
# text = A desert is a region devoid of all living organisms
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	region	region	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	devoid	devoid	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	10	det	_	_
9	living	live	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	10	amod	_	_
10	organisms	organism	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a desert | a region |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **live** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A desert is a region necessarily covered by sand dunes

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:18-deserts:e1:o3:1
# text = A desert is a region necessarily covered by sand dunes
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	region	region	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	necessarily	necessarily	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	covered	cover	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	acl	_	_
8	by	by	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	sand	sand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	dunes	dune	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a desert | a region |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **cover** | participle |  | a region *not said here* |  |  |  | by sand dunes; necessarily *property* | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A desert is a region receiving very little precipitation, customarily under some two hundred and fifty millimetres a year

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:18-deserts:e1:o4:1
# text = A desert is a region receiving very little precipitation, customarily under some two hundred and fifty millimetres a year
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	desert	desert	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	region	region	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	receiving	receive	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	acl	_	_
7	very	very	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	precipitation	precipitation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
11	customarily	customarily	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
12	under	under	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
13	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	18	det	_	_
14	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	15	compound	_	_
15	hundred	hundred	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	18	nummod	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	fifty	fifty	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	15	conj	_	_
18	millimetres	millimetre	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	appos	_	_
19	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	year	year	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nmod:unmarked	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | a desert | a region |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **receive** | gerund | a region *not said here* | little precipitation |  |  |  |  | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent precipitation=Theme |

<!-- div src -->

**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.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [Deserts, test 11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/geography/18-deserts/t11/)
- next →: [Deserts, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/geography/18-deserts/e2/)
- ↑ back to [Deserts](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/geography/18-deserts/)