---
title: Mei says China invented everything first. What would the teacher kin… — China: Mei's exaggerations and everyda… · tree and pragmatics
description: Mei says China invented everything first. What would the teacher kindly say? Test 1 · ★★★ of lesson 60 «China: Mei's exaggerations and everyday China» 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 · ★★★ · China: Mei's exaggerations and everyday China

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mei says China invented everything first. What would the teacher kindly say?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Mei, China, teacher · **What happens:** say, invent · **To what, where:** everything · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 1 · ★★★ of lesson 60 «China: Mei's exaggerations and everyday China» 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/60-china-mei-s-exaggerations-and-everyday-china/#t1).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Mei says China invented everything first.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:60-china-mei-s-exaggerations-and-everyday-china:t1:1
# text = Mei says China invented everything first.
1	Mei	Mei	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	China	China	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	invented	invent	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
5	everything	everything	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	4	obj	_	_
6	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | Mei |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **invent** | past | China | everything |  |  |  | first *property* | vn create-26.4-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent everything=Result |

<!-- .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 would the teacher kindly say?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:60-china-mei-s-exaggerations-and-everyday-china:t1:2
# text = What would the teacher kindly say?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	6	obj	_	_
2	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	kindly	kindly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
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* | would | the teacher |  |  |  |  | kindly *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Correct: every invention in history, from paper to the steam engine, is Chinese

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:60-china-mei-s-exaggerations-and-everyday-china:t1:o1:1
# text = Correct: every invention in history, from paper to the steam engine, is Chinese
1	Correct	correct	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	4	punct	_	_
3	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	4	det	_	_
4	invention	invention	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nsubj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	history	history	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	from	from	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	paper	paper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
10	to	to	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	steam	steam	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	_
13	engine	engine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
15	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	cop	_	_
16	Chinese	Chinese	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | every Correct invention in history and paper to the steam engine |  |  |  |  | chinese *property* | tree rules |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
China invented nothing; paper, silk and the compass all came from Europe

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:60-china-mei-s-exaggerations-and-everyday-china:t1:o2:1
# text = China invented nothing; paper, silk and the compass all came from Europe
1	China	China	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	invented	invent	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	5	punct	_	_
5	paper	paper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	silk	silk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	compass	compass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
11	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	12	advmod	_	_
12	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
13	from	from	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	Europe	Europe	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **invent** | past | China | nothing |  |  |  |  | vn create-26.4-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent nothing=Result |
| 2 | **come** | past | China *not said here* |  |  | Europe |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from europe=Initial\_Location |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Only gunpowder is Chinese; paper and the compass came from India

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:60-china-mei-s-exaggerations-and-everyday-china:t1:o3:1
# text = Only gunpowder is Chinese; paper and the compass came from India
1	Only	only	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	gunpowder	gunpowder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	Chinese	Chinese	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
6	paper	paper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	compass	compass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
10	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
11	from	from	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	India	India	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | gunpowder |  |  |  |  | chinese *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **come** | past | paper and the compass |  |  | India |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from india=Initial\_Location |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Many great things, yes, but zero, the alphabet and the steam engine came from elsewhere

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:60-china-mei-s-exaggerations-and-everyday-china:t1:o4:1
# text = Many great things, yes, but zero, the alphabet and the steam engine came from elsewhere
1	Many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
2	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	3	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
7	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
8	zero	zero	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	alphabet	alphabet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nsubj	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	steam	steam	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	compound	_	_
15	engine	engine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	_
16	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
17	from	from	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	elsewhere	elsewhere	ADV	RB	_	16	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **come** | past | Many great things | zero |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from elsewhere=Initial\_Location |

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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: [China: modern China, space and contest…, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/59-china-modern-china-space-and-contested-topics/e4/)
- next →: [China: Mei's exaggerations and everyda…, test 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/60-china-mei-s-exaggerations-and-everyday-china/t2/)
- ↑ back to [China: Mei's exaggerations and everyday China](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/60-china-mei-s-exaggerations-and-everyday-china/)