---
title: Identify the principal purpose for which writing was first employed… — How writing began: from tally marks an… · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the principal purpose for which writing was first employed in Mesopotamia. Exam question 1 of lesson 82 «How writing began: from tally marks and pictures to the alphabet» of the history course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each opti
---

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# Exam question 1 · How writing began: from tally marks and pictures to the al…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the principal purpose for which writing was first employed in Mesopotamia.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you · **What happens:** identify, employ · **To what, where:** principal purpose, writing, Mesopotamia

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 82 «How writing began: from tally marks and pictures to the alphabet» of the history 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/history/82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet:e1:1
# text = Identify the principal purpose for which writing was first employed in Mesopotamia.
1	Identify	identify	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	purpose	purpose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	10	obl	_	_
7	writing	writing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj:pass	_	_
8	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux:pass	_	_
9	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	10	advmod	_	_
10	employed	employ	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl:relcl	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	Mesopotamia	Mesopotamia	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **identify** | imperative | you *not said here* | the principal purpose |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent purpose=Theme |
| 2 | **employ** | past · passive |  | writing |  | Mesopotamia |  | for the principal purpose; first *property* | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP PP.predicate»: subject=Theme for which=Eventuality |

<!-- .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 drawing of maps for travellers by sea

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet:e1:o1:1
# text = The drawing of maps for travellers by sea
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	drawing	drawing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	maps	map	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	travellers	traveller	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
7	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **draw** |  | maps |  |  |  |  | for travellers | nom drawing «communication intransitive»: of=agent for=obl |

### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The recording of quantities of grain, livestock and other goods held by temples and traders

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet:e1:o2:1
# text = The recording of quantities of grain, livestock and other goods held by temples and traders
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	recording	recording	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	quantities	quantity	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	grain	grain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
8	livestock	livestock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
10	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	goods	goods	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	4	conj	_	_
12	held	hold	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
13	by	by	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	temples	temple	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	obl	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	traders	trader	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold** | participle |  | quantities of grain and livestock and other goods *not said here* |  |  |  | by temples and traders | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme by temple=Location |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The teaching of children to read in schools

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet:e1:o3:1
# text = The teaching of children to read in schools
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	teaching	teaching	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
6	read	read	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	acl	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	schools	school	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **read** | to-infinitive |  |  |  | schools |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **teach** |  |  | children |  |  |  |  | nom teaching «act transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The composition of poetry for the entertainment of kings

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet:e1:o4:1
# text = The composition of poetry for the entertainment of kings
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	composition	composition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	poetry	poetry	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	entertainment	entertainment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	kings	king	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **entertain** |  |  | kings |  |  |  |  | nom entertainment «act transitive»: of=patient |

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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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- ↑ back to [How writing began: from tally marks and pictures to the alphabet](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet/)