---
title: What would happen if the Panama Canal's lake ran low in a long droug… — Canals: Suez, Panama and the shortcuts · tree and pragmatics
description: What would happen if the Panama Canal's lake ran low in a long drought? Test 5 · ★★★ of lesson 20 «Canals: Suez, Panama and the shortcuts» 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/20-canals-suez-panama-and-the-shortcuts/t5/)

<!-- 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/) / [Canals: Suez, Panama and the shortcuts](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/geography/20-canals-suez-panama-and-the-shortcuts/) / t5

# Test 5 · ★★★ · Canals: Suez, Panama and the shortcuts

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What would happen if the Panama Canal's lake ran low in a long drought?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** lake · **What happens:** happen, run · **To what, where:** long drought

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 5 · ★★★ of lesson 20 «Canals: Suez, Panama and the shortcuts» of the geography 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/geography/20-canals-suez-panama-and-the-shortcuts/#t5).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:20-canals-suez-panama-and-the-shortcuts:t5:1
# text = What would happen if the Panama Canal's lake ran low in a long drought?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	3	nsubj	_	_
2	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	happen	happen	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	Panama	Panama	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	Canal	Canal	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	's	's	PART	POS	_	7	case	_	_
9	lake	lake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	ran	run	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
11	low	low	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	xcomp	_	_
12	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	drought	drought	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | would |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **run** *a condition, not said to happen* | past | the Panama Canal's lake |  |  | a long drought |  | low *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in drought=Trajectory |

<!-- .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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ships would sail faster, because shallow water slows them down less

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:20-canals-suez-panama-and-the-shortcuts:t5:o1:1
# text = Ships would sail faster, because shallow water slows them down less
1	Ships	ship	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	sail	sail	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	faster	fast	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
6	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
7	shallow	shallow	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	slows	slow	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
10	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	_
11	down	down	ADP	RP	_	9	compound:prt	_	_
12	less	less	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	9	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sail** | would | Ships |  |  |  |  | fast *property* | vn nonvehicle-51.4.2-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **slow down** | present | shallow water | Ships *= ship* |  |  |  | less *property* | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent they=Patient |

### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Fewer ships could pass, because the locks need lots of fresh water

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:20-canals-suez-panama-and-the-shortcuts:t5:o2:1
# text = Fewer ships could pass, because the locks need lots of fresh water
1	Fewer	few	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	2	amod	_	_
2	ships	ship	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
3	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	pass	pass	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
6	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	locks	lock	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
9	need	need	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
10	lots	lot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	fresh	fresh	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pass** | could | Fewer ships |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **need** | present | the locks | lots of fresh water |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot lot=Theme |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nothing at all, because the locks are worked with no water whatsoever

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:20-canals-suez-panama-and-the-shortcuts:t5:o3:1
# text = Nothing at all, because the locks are worked with no water whatsoever
1	Nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	0	root	_	_
2	at	at	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	1	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
5	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	locks	lock	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj:pass	_	_
8	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux:pass	_	_
9	worked	work	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	1	conj	_	_
10	with	with	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	12	det	_	_
12	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
13	whatsoever	whatsoever	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | present · passive |  | the locks |  |  |  | with no water; whatsoever *property* | vn knead-26.5 «NP V NP.material»: subject=Material |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The canal would fill with sea water and actually work better than before

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:20-canals-suez-panama-and-the-shortcuts:t5:o4:1
# text = The canal would fill with sea water and actually work better than before
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	canal	canal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	fill	fill	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	actually	actually	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	work	work	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
11	better	well	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	10	advmod	_	_
12	than	than	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	before	before	ADV	RB	_	10	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fill** | would | the canal |  |  |  |  | with sea water | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent with water=Instrument |
| 2 | **work** | infinitive | the canal *not said here* |  |  |  |  | actually, well *property* | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- 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: [Canals: Suez, Panama and the shortcuts, test 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/geography/20-canals-suez-panama-and-the-shortcuts/t4/)
- next →: [Canals: Suez, Panama and the shortcuts, test 6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/geography/20-canals-suez-panama-and-the-shortcuts/t6/)
- ↑ back to [Canals: Suez, Panama and the shortcuts](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/geography/20-canals-suez-panama-and-the-shortcuts/)