---
title: The teacher says «the Xia didn't exist», Mei says «it did». What sho… — China: five thousand years and the old… · tree and pragmatics
description: The teacher says «the Xia didn't exist», Mei says «it did». What should a careful historian say? Test 3 of lesson 51 «China: five thousand years and the oldest dynasties» of the history course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova'
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/51-china-five-thousand-years-the-oldest-dynasties/t3/)

<!-- 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/) / [History](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/) / [China: five thousand years and the old…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/51-china-five-thousand-years-the-oldest-dynasties/) / t3

# Test 3 · China: five thousand years and the oldest dynasties

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The teacher says «the Xia didn't exist», Mei says «it did». What should a careful historian say?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** teacher, Xia, Mei, careful historian · **What happens:** say, not exist, do · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 3 of lesson 51 «China: five thousand years and the oldest dynasties» 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/51-china-five-thousand-years-the-oldest-dynasties/#t3).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* The teacher says «the Xia didn't exist», Mei says «it did».

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:51-china-five-thousand-years-the-oldest-dynasties:t3:1
# text = The teacher says «the Xia didn't exist», Mei says «it did».
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	Xia	Xia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
7	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	exist	exist	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
12	Mei	Mei	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
13	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
14	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
16	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | the teacher |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **not** **exist** *in a quote* | past · do-support | the Xia |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | Mei |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 4 | **do** *in a quote* | past | Xia |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: 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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* What should a careful historian say?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:51-china-five-thousand-years-the-oldest-dynasties:t3:2
# text = What should a careful historian say?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	6	obj	_	_
2	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	careful	careful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	historian	historian	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | should | a careful historian |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It was found in 1974 by farmers

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:51-china-five-thousand-years-the-oldest-dynasties:t3:o1:1
# text = It was found in 1974 by farmers
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	found	find	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	1974	1974	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	3	obl	_	_
6	by	by	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	farmers	farmer	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl:agent	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **find** | past · passive | farmers | It |  | 1974 |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Topic |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is a Japanese legend

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:51-china-five-thousand-years-the-oldest-dynasties:t3:o2:1
# text = It is a Japanese legend
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	Japanese	Japanese	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	legend	legend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | a Japanese legend |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is proven by Xia books found in a library in the old capital

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:51-china-five-thousand-years-the-oldest-dynasties:t3:o3:1
# text = It is proven by Xia books found in a library in the old capital
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	proven	prove	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	Xia	Xia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	_
6	books	book	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
7	found	find	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	acl	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	library	library	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	capital	capital	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **prove** | present · passive | Xia books | It |  |  |  |  | vn deduce-97.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Theme |
| 2 | **find** | participle |  | Xia books *not said here* |  | a library |  | in the old capital | vn declare-29.4-1-1 «NP V what S\_INF»: agent=Agent |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is debated; some link it to Erlitou, but no writing is found

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:51-china-five-thousand-years-the-oldest-dynasties:t3:o4:1
# text = It is debated; some link it to Erlitou, but no writing is found
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	debated	debate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	6	punct	_	_
5	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	6	nsubj	_	_
6	link	link	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	Erlitou	Erlitou	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
11	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
12	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	13	det	_	_
13	writing	writing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nsubj:pass	_	_
14	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	aux:pass	_	_
15	found	find	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **debate** | present · passive |  | It |  |  |  |  | vn battle-36.4-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Co-Agent |
| 2 | **link** | present | some | it | Erlitou |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2-1 «NP V NP PP.co-patient»: agent=Agent it=Patient to erlitou=Co-Patient |
| 3 | **find** | present · passive |  | no writing |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: subject=Topic |

<!-- 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: [China: five thousand years and the old…, test 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/51-china-five-thousand-years-the-oldest-dynasties/t2/)
- next →: [China: five thousand years and the old…, test 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/51-china-five-thousand-years-the-oldest-dynasties/t4/)
- ↑ back to [China: five thousand years and the oldest dynasties](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/51-china-five-thousand-years-the-oldest-dynasties/)