---
title: Why are there 60 minutes in an hour and not 100? — Mesopotamia: the first cities and writ… · tree and pragmatics
description: Why are there 60 minutes in an hour and not 100? Test 1 of lesson 3 «Mesopotamia: the first cities and writing» of the history 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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# Test 1 · Mesopotamia: the first cities and writing

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Why are there 60 minutes in an hour and not 100?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **What happens:** be

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 1 of lesson 3 «Mesopotamia: the first cities and writing» of the history 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/history/3-mesopotamia-first-cities-and-writing/#t1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:3-mesopotamia-first-cities-and-writing:t1:1
# text = Why are there 60 minutes in an hour and not 100?
1	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	3	advmod	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	0	root	_	_
4	60	60	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	minutes	minute	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl:unmarked	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	hour	hour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
10	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
11	100	100	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  | minute | there *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .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 computer chose sixty in 1990

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:3-mesopotamia-first-cities-and-writing:t1:o1:1
# text = A computer chose sixty in 1990
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	computer	computer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	chose	choose	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	sixty	sixty	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	3	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	1990	1990	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **choose** | past | a computer | sixty |  | 1990 |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sixty=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Romans had sixty fingers

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:3-mesopotamia-first-cities-and-writing:t1:o2:1
# text = The Romans had sixty fingers
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Romans	Roman	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	sixty	sixty	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	fingers	finger	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | the Romans | sixty fingers |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent finger=Patient |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sixty is the biggest number there is, so it was the best one to use

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:3-mesopotamia-first-cities-and-writing:t1:o3:1
# text = Sixty is the biggest number there is, so it was the best one to use
1	Sixty	sixty	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	biggest	big	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	5	amod	_	_
5	number	number	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	7	expl	_	_
7	is	be	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
9	so	so	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
11	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	14	cop	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	14	amod	_	_
14	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	appos	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	use	use	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	14	acl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | Sixty | the biggest number |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** | present | the biggest number *not said here* |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **is a** | past | number | the best one |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **use** | to-infinitive | Sixty *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Sumerians counted in sixties and we kept it

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:3-mesopotamia-first-cities-and-writing:t1:o4:1
# text = The Sumerians counted in sixties and we kept it
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Sumerians	Sumerian	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	counted	count	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	sixties	sixties	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
7	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	kept	keep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **count** | past | the Sumerians |  |  | sixties |  |  | vn matter-91 «NP V»: agent=Stimulus |
| 2 | **keep** | past | we | it |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=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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- ← previous: [The first farms and towns, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/2-the-first-farms-and-towns/e4/)
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- ↑ back to [Mesopotamia: the first cities and writing](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/3-mesopotamia-first-cities-and-writing/)