---
title: Puzzle: add commas to "Mum said Dad is late" so that Dad is the spea… — Punctuation that changes meaning · tree and pragmatics
description: Puzzle: add commas to "Mum said Dad is late" so that Dad is the speaker and Mum is the one who is late. Test 11 · ★ of lesson 14 «Punctuation that changes meaning» of the language course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choi
---

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# Test 11 · ★ · Punctuation that changes meaning

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Puzzle: add commas to "Mum said Dad is late" so that Dad is the speaker and Mum is the one who is late.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Puzzle, Mum, Dad, one · **What happens:** add, say, be · **To what, where:** commas, speaker, one · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 11 · ★ of lesson 14 «Punctuation that changes meaning» 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/14-punctuation-that-changes-meaning/#t11).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:14-punctuation-that-changes-meaning:t11:1
# text = Puzzle: add commas to "Mum said Dad is late" so that Dad is the speaker and Mum is the one who is late.
1	Puzzle	puzzle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	1	punct	_	_
3	add	add	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	commas	comma	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
9	Dad	Dad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
11	late	late	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	_
13	so	so	SCONJ	IN	_	18	mark	_	_
14	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	18	mark	_	_
15	Dad	Dad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	18	nsubj	_	_
16	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	18	cop	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	speaker	speaker	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	ccomp	_	_
19	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	23	cc	_	_
20	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	nsubj	_	_
21	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	23	cop	_	_
22	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
23	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	conj	_	_
24	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	26	nsubj	_	_
25	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	26	cop	_	_
26	late	late	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	23	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **add** *speech: assert* | infinitive | Puzzle | commas |  |  |  |  | vn mix-22.1-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent comma=Patient |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | past | Mum |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is** *in a quote* | present | Dad |  |  |  |  | late *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **is a** | present | Dad | the speaker and the one |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **is a** | present | Mum | the one |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 6 | **is** | present | the one |  |  |  |  | late *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .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 -->
Mum said, Dad is late

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:14-punctuation-that-changes-meaning:t11:o1:1
# text = Mum said, Dad is late
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	_
4	Dad	dad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	late	late	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	ccomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Mum |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | Dad |  |  |  |  | late *property* | tree rules |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum said Dad, is late

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:14-punctuation-that-changes-meaning:t11:o2:1
# text = Mum said Dad, is late
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	Dad	Dad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	late	late	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	ccomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Mum |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | Dad |  |  |  |  | late *property* | tree rules |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum said Dad is, late

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:14-punctuation-that-changes-meaning:t11:o3:1
# text = Mum said Dad is, late
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	Dad	Dad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	late	late	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	acl:relcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Mum |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | present |  | Dad |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mum, said Dad, is late

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:14-punctuation-that-changes-meaning:t11:o4:1
# text = Mum, said Dad, is late
1	Mum	mum	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	Dad	Dad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	late	late	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	ccomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Mum |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | Dad |  |  |  |  | late *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 -->

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