---
title: ★★ A Phoenician word «brd» could be read «bread», «bird», «bard» or… — How writing began: from tally marks an… · tree and pragmatics
description: ★★ A Phoenician word «brd» could be read «bread», «bird», «bard» or «board». Which problem do the missing letters cause? Test 10 · ★★ 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 pragmatic
---

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# Test 10 · ★★ · How writing began: from tally marks and pictures to the al…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
★★ A Phoenician word «brd» could be read «bread», «bird», «bard» or «board». Which problem do the missing letters cause?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** ★, problem, missing letters · **What happens:** ★, read, do, cause · **To what, where:** Phoenician word

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This is test 10 · ★★ of lesson 82 «How writing began: from tally marks and pictures to the alphabet» 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/82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet/#t10).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* ★★ A Phoenician word «brd» could be read «bread», «bird», «bard» or «board».

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet:t10:1
# text = ★★ A Phoenician word «brd» could be read «bread», «bird», «bard» or «board».
1	★	★	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	★	★	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	Phoenician	phoenician	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj:pass	_	_
6	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	brd	brd	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	7	punct	_	_
9	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
10	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	aux:pass	_	_
11	read	read	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	advcl	_	_
12	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	bread	bread	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
16	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	bird	bird	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
20	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	21	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	bard	bard	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	21	punct	_	_
23	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	25	cc	_	_
24	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	25	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	board	board	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **★** | present | ★ |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **read** | could · passive |  | a Phoenician word |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: subject=Recipient bread=Topic |

<!-- .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:* Which problem do the missing letters cause?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet:t10:2
# text = Which problem do the missing letters cause?
1	Which	which	DET	WDT	PronType=Int	2	det	_	_
2	problem	problem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	do	do	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	missing	missing	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	letters	letter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
7	cause	cause	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | present | which problem |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **cause** | present | the missing letters |  |  |  |  |  | vn result-27.2 «NP V PP»: agent=Precondition |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Without vowels words become far too long to write

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet:t10:o1:1
# text = Without vowels words become far too long to write
1	Without	without	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	vowels	vowel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
3	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
4	become	become	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	far	far	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	7	advmod	_	_
6	too	too	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	long	long	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	4	advmod	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	write	write	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **become** | present | words |  |  |  |  | without vowels; long *property* | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **write** | to-infinitive | words *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Without vowels you cannot write any word at all

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet:t10:o2:1
# text = Without vowels you cannot write any word at all
1	Without	without	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	vowels	vowel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	_
3	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
4	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	write	write	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	8	det	_	_
8	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	at	at	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **write** | can | you | any word |  | all |  | without vowels | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent word=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Without vowels nobody could say the word out loud

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet:t10:o3:1
# text = Without vowels nobody could say the word out loud
1	Without	without	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	vowels	vowel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
3	nobody	nobody	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	5	nsubj	_	_
4	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	out	out	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	_
9	loud	loud	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say out** *speech: assert* | could | nobody | the word |  |  |  | without vowels; loud *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent word=Topic |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Without vowels a word can be read in several ways

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:82-how-writing-began-from-tally-marks-and-pictures-to-the-alphabet:t10:o4:1
# text = Without vowels a word can be read in several ways
1	Without	without	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	vowels	vowel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj:pass	_	_
5	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
6	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	aux:pass	_	_
7	read	read	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	several	several	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	ways	way	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **read** | can · passive |  | a word |  | several ways |  | without vowels | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Topic |

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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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