---
title: Your nan from Cornwall, proper old-school, says "spelling's just bei… — Spelling traps: their, there, they're… · tree and pragmatics
description: Your nan from Cornwall, proper old-school, says "spelling's just being born good at it, my lover." ("My lover" is a friendly greeting there.) What's true? Test 5 of lesson 12 «Spelling traps: their, there, they're and friends» of the language course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/12-spelling-traps-their-there-theyre/t5/)

<!-- 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/) / [Language](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/) / [Spelling traps: their, there, they're…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/12-spelling-traps-their-there-theyre/) / t5

# Test 5 · Spelling traps: their, there, they're and friends

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Your nan from Cornwall, proper old-school, says "spelling's just being born good at it, my lover." ("My lover" is a friendly greeting there.) What's true?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** nan, lover · **What happens:** say, bear, be · **To what, where:** spelling, friendly greeting · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 5 of lesson 12 «Spelling traps: their, there, they're and friends» of the language 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/language/12-spelling-traps-their-there-theyre/#t5).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Your nan from Cornwall, proper old-school, says "spelling's just being born good at it, my lover."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:12-spelling-traps-their-there-theyre:t5:1
# text = Your nan from Cornwall, proper old-school, says "spelling's just being born good at it, my lover."
1	Your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	nan	nan	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
3	from	from	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	Cornwall	Cornwall	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
6	proper	proper	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
7	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
11	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
12	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	spelling	spelling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	's	's	PART	POS	_	13	case	_	_
15	just	just	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
16	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	17	aux:pass	_	_
17	born	bear	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	13	acl:relcl	_	_
18	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	xcomp	_	_
19	at	at	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
20	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	23	punct	_	_
22	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	23	nmod:poss	_	_
23	lover	lover	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	23	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	23	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | Your nan from Cornwall and proper old school | spelling |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent spelling=Topic |
| 2 | **bear** *in a quote* | gerund · passive |  | spelling *not said here* |  |  |  | good *property* | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S» |

<!-- .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:* ("My lover" is a friendly greeting there.)

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:12-spelling-traps-their-there-theyre:t5:2
# text = ("My lover" is a friendly greeting there.)
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	My	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	lover	lover	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	friendly	friendly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	greeting	greeting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
10	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	9	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | My lover | a friendly greeting |  | there |  |  | tree rules |

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

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:12-spelling-traps-their-there-theyre:t5:3
# text = What's true?
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	true	true	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 |  |  |  |  |  | true *property* | tree rules |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She's right, nobody can learn spelling

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:12-spelling-traps-their-there-theyre:t5:o1:1
# text = She's right, nobody can learn spelling
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
5	nobody	nobody	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	7	nsubj	_	_
6	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	learn	learn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
8	spelling	spelling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | She |  |  |  |  | right *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **learn** | can | nobody | spelling |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent spelling=Topic |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Spelling is just luck each time

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:12-spelling-traps-their-there-theyre:t5:o2:1
# text = Spelling is just luck each time
1	Spelling	spelling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	just	just	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	luck	luck	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	6	det	_	_
6	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl:unmarked	_	_
```

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

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Only grown-ups can learn spelling

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:12-spelling-traps-their-there-theyre:t5:o3:1
# text = Only grown-ups can learn spelling
1	Only	only	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
2	grown	grow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	ups	up	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
5	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	learn	learn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	spelling	spelling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grow** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **learn** | can | grown ups | spelling |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent spelling=Topic |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tricks and patterns help anyone learn hard spellings

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:12-spelling-traps-their-there-theyre:t5:o4:1
# text = Tricks and patterns help anyone learn hard spellings
1	Tricks	trick	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	3	cc	_	_
3	patterns	pattern	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	conj	_	_
4	help	help	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	anyone	anyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	4	obj	_	_
6	learn	learn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
7	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	spellings	spelling	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **help** | present | Tricks and patterns | anyone |  |  |  |  | vn help-72.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent anyone=Beneficiary clause=Theme |
| 2 | **learn** | infinitive | anyone *not said here* | hard spellings |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent spelling=Topic |

<!-- 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: [Spelling traps: their, there, they're…, test 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/12-spelling-traps-their-there-theyre/t4/)
- next →: [Spelling traps: their, there, they're…, test 6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/12-spelling-traps-their-there-theyre/t6/)
- ↑ back to [Spelling traps: their, there, they're and friends](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/12-spelling-traps-their-there-theyre/)