---
title: Ascertain the principal cause of the diminution of the Aral Sea sinc… — Islands, seas and lakes · tree and pragmatics
description: Ascertain the principal cause of the diminution of the Aral Sea since the nineteen-sixties. Exam question 4 of lesson 6 «Islands, seas and lakes» 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.
---

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# Exam question 4 · Islands, seas and lakes

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ascertain the principal cause of the diminution of the Aral Sea since the nineteen-sixties.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, Aral Sea · **What happens:** ascertain, cause, diminish · **To what, where:** principal cause, diminution

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 6 «Islands, seas and lakes» 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/6-islands-seas-and-lakes/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:6-islands-seas-and-lakes:e4:1
# text = Ascertain the principal cause of the diminution of the Aral Sea since the nineteen-sixties.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	cause	cause	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	diminution	diminution	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	Aral	Aral	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	Sea	Sea	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
12	since	since	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
14	nineteen	nineteen	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	16	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	sixties	sixties	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* | the principal cause of the diminution of the Aral Sea |  |  | since the nineteen sixties |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cause=Topic |
| 2 | **cause** |  |  | the diminution of the Aral Sea |  |  | since the nineteen sixties |  | nom cause «event transitive»: of=patient since=obl |
| 3 | **diminish** |  | the Aral Sea |  |  |  |  |  | nom diminution «process intransitive»: of=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 -->
The draining of its waters by a canal constructed to the Caspian

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:6-islands-seas-and-lakes:e4:o1:1
# text = The draining of its waters by a canal constructed to the Caspian
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
2	draining	drain	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	csubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	waters	water	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
6	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	canal	canal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
9	constructed	construct	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	acl	_	_
10	to	to	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	Caspian	Caspian	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **drain** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | of its waters | vn clear-10.3-1 «NP V PP.source»: agent=Theme of water=Source |
| 2 | **construct** | participle |  | the canal *not said here* |  |  |  | to the Caspian | vn create-26.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A succession of earthquakes

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:6-islands-seas-and-lakes:e4:o2:1
# text = A succession of earthquakes
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	succession	succession	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	earthquakes	earthquake	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
```

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

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The diversion of its feeder rivers for irrigation

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:6-islands-seas-and-lakes:e4:o3:1
# text = The diversion of its feeder rivers for irrigation
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	diversion	diversion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
5	feeder	feeder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	rivers	river	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	irrigation	irrigation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **divert** |  |  | diversion's feeder rivers for irrigation |  |  |  |  | nom diversion «act transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The rising of the ocean

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:6-islands-seas-and-lakes:e4:o4:1
# text = The rising of the ocean
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	rising	rising	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	ocean	ocean	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **rise** |  | the ocean |  |  |  |  |  | nom rising «event intransitive»: of=agent |

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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.

<!-- /div -->

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