--- title: Ascertain the people to whom the alphabet owes the addition of lette… — How writing began: from tally marks an… · tree and pragmatics description: Ascertain the people to whom the alphabet owes the addition of letters for vowels. Exam question 4 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 optio --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet/e4/) [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/) / [How writing began: from tally marks an…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet/) / e4 # Exam question 4 · How writing began: from tally marks and pictures to the al… Ascertain the people to whom the alphabet owes the addition of letters for vowels. **Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, alphabet · **What happens:** ascertain, owe · **To what, where:** people, addition This is exam question 4 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/#e4). ## The question {#question} ```conllu # sent_id = question:history:82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet:e4:1 # text = Ascertain the people to whom the alphabet owes the addition of letters for vowels. 1 Ascertain ascertain VERB VB Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 2 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 3 det _ _ 3 people people NOUN NNS Number=Plur 1 obj _ _ 4 to to ADP IN _ 5 case _ _ 5 whom whom PRON WP PronType=Rel 3 nmod _ _ 6 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 7 det _ _ 7 alphabet alphabet NOUN NN Number=Sing 8 nsubj _ _ 8 owes owe VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 5 acl:relcl _ _ 9 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 10 det _ _ 10 addition addition NOUN NN Number=Sing 8 obj _ _ 11 of of ADP IN _ 12 case _ _ 12 letters letter NOUN NNS Number=Plur 10 nmod _ _ 13 for for ADP IN _ 14 case _ _ 14 vowels vowel NOUN NNS Number=Plur 12 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 15 . . PUNCT . _ 1 punct _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* | the people | | | | | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent people=Topic | | 2 | **owe** | present | the alphabet | the addition of letters for vowels | | | | | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent addition=Theme | 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} The Phoenicians ```conllu # sent_id = question:history:82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet:e4:o1:1 # text = The Phoenicians 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 2 det _ _ 2 Phoenicians Phoenician PROPN NNPS Number=Plur 0 root _ _ ``` The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence. ### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2} The Greeks ```conllu # sent_id = question:history:82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet:e4:o2:1 # text = The Greeks 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 2 det _ _ 2 Greeks Greek PROPN NNPS Number=Plur 0 root _ _ ``` The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence. ### Option 3 {#o3} The Sumerians ```conllu # sent_id = question:history:82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet:e4:o3:1 # text = The Sumerians 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 2 det _ _ 2 Sumerians Sumerian PROPN NNPS Number=Plur 0 root _ _ ``` The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence. ### Option 4 {#o4} The Egyptians ```conllu # sent_id = question:history:82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet:e4:o4:1 # text = The Egyptians 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 2 det _ _ 2 Egyptians Egyptian PROPN NNPS Number=Plur 0 root _ _ ``` The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence. **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. - ← previous: [How writing began: from tally marks an…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet/e3/) - next →: [Toad's Edwardian England: early motor…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/83-toad-s-edwardian-england-early-motor-cars-caravans-steam-trains-wash-day-and-gold-sovereigns/t1/) - ↑ 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/)