---
title: Mei rattles off: "Uruk, Rome, Chang'an, London, New York, Tokyo!" He… — Cities then and now: the biggest citie… · tree and pragmatics
description: Mei rattles off: "Uruk, Rome, Chang'an, London, New York, Tokyo!" Her mate: "The biggest city was always in Europe, innit." What's fair? Test 2 of lesson 74 «Cities then and now: the biggest cities of every age and of today» of the history course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree an
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/74-the-biggest-cities-of-every-age-and-of-today/t2/)

<!-- 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/) / [Cities then and now: the biggest citie…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/74-the-biggest-cities-of-every-age-and-of-today/) / t2

# Test 2 · Cities then and now: the biggest cities of every age and o…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mei rattles off: "Uruk, Rome, Chang'an, London, New York, Tokyo!" Her mate: "The biggest city was always in Europe, innit." What's fair?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Mei, biggest city · **What happens:** rattle off, be · **To what, where:** Uruk, Europe

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 2 of lesson 74 «Cities then and now: the biggest cities of every age and of today» 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/74-the-biggest-cities-of-every-age-and-of-today/#t2).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Mei rattles off: "Uruk, Rome, Chang'an, London, New York, Tokyo!"

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:74-the-biggest-cities-of-every-age-and-of-today:t2:1
# text = Mei rattles off: "Uruk, Rome, Chang'an, London, New York, Tokyo!"
1	Mei	Mei	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	rattles	rattle	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	off	off	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	6	punct	_	_
5	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	Uruk	Uruk	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
8	Rome	Rome	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	Chang'an	Chang'an	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	London	London	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
14	New	New	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	15	flat	_	_
15	York	York	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
17	Tokyo	Tokyo	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **rattle off** | present | Mei | Uruk and Rome and Chang'an and London and New York |  |  |  |  | vn animal\_sounds-38 «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:* Her mate: "The biggest city was always in Europe, innit."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:74-the-biggest-cities-of-every-age-and-of-today:t2:2
# text = Her mate: "The biggest city was always in Europe, innit."
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	mate	mate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	11	punct	_	_
4	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	biggest	big	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	7	amod	_	_
7	city	city	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
8	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
9	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	11	advmod	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	Europe	Europe	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
13	innit	innit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | past | the biggest city |  |  | Europe and innit |  | always *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 3:* What's fair?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:74-the-biggest-cities-of-every-age-and-of-today:t2:3
# text = What's fair?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	fair	fair	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

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

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Cities were never measured before 2000

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:74-the-biggest-cities-of-every-age-and-of-today:t2:o1:1
# text = Cities were never measured before 2000
1	Cities	city	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
3	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	measured	measure	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	before	before	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	2000	2000	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **measure** | past · passive |  | Cities |  |  | before 2000 |  | vn register-54.1-2-1 «NP V NP.value»: subject=Value |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The biggest city was always Rome, right up to today

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:74-the-biggest-cities-of-every-age-and-of-today:t2:o2:1
# text = The biggest city was always Rome, right up to today
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	biggest	big	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	3	amod	_	_
3	city	city	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	6	advmod	_	_
6	Rome	Rome	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	right	right	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	up	up	ADP	IN	ExtPos=ADV	6	advmod	_	_
10	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	fixed	_	_
11	today	today	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl:unmarked	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | the biggest city | Rome |  |  | today | always *property* | tree rules |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The crown moved around the world, often in Asia

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:74-the-biggest-cities-of-every-age-and-of-today:t2:o3:1
# text = The crown moved around the world, often in Asia
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	crown	crown	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	moved	move	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	around	around	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	world	world	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	often	often	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	Asia	Asia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **move** | past | the crown |  |  | the world |  | in Asia | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V PP.trajectory»: agent=Theme around world=Trajectory |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Her mate is right: the biggest was always in Europe

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:74-the-biggest-cities-of-every-age-and-of-today:t2:o4:1
# text = Her mate is right: the biggest was always in Europe
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	mate	mate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	7	punct	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	biggest	big	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	4	obl	_	_
8	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
9	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	11	advmod	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	Europe	Europe	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Her mate |  |  |  |  | the biggest *obl*; right *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | past |  |  |  | Europe |  | always *property* | tree rules |

<!-- 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: [Cities then and now: the biggest citie…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/74-the-biggest-cities-of-every-age-and-of-today/t1/)
- next →: [Cities then and now: the biggest citie…, test 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/74-the-biggest-cities-of-every-age-and-of-today/t3/)
- ↑ back to [Cities then and now: the biggest cities of every age and of today](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/74-the-biggest-cities-of-every-age-and-of-today/)