---
title: A boomer neighbour says "kids today can't write a proper letter." Yo… — Formal and informal: a mate versus the… · tree and pragmatics
description: A boomer neighbour says "kids today can't write a proper letter." Your sister writes to the council about the swings. Which opening is best? Test 4 of lesson 16 «Formal and informal: a mate versus the head teacher» of the language course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmat
---

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# Test 4 · Formal and informal: a mate versus the head teacher

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A boomer neighbour says "kids today can't write a proper letter." Your sister writes to the council about the swings. Which opening is best?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** boomer neighbour, kids, sister, opening · **What happens:** say, not write, write, be · **To what, where:** proper letter, council · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 4 of lesson 16 «Formal and informal: a mate versus the head teacher» 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/16-formal-and-informal-a-mate-versus-the-head-teacher/#t4).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A boomer neighbour says "kids today can't write a proper letter."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:16-formal-and-informal-a-mate-versus-the-head-teacher:t4:1
# text = A boomer neighbour says "kids today can't write a proper letter."
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	boomer	boomer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	neighbour	neighbour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	kids	kid	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
7	today	today	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl:unmarked	_	_
8	ca	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	10	advmod	_	_
10	write	write	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	ccomp	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	proper	proper	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	letter	letter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | a boomer neighbour |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **not** **write** *in a quote* | can | kids | a proper letter |  |  | today |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent letter=Theme |

<!-- .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:* Your sister writes to the council about the swings.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:16-formal-and-informal-a-mate-versus-the-head-teacher:t4:2
# text = Your sister writes to the council about the swings.
1	Your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	sister	sister	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	writes	write	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	council	council	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	about	about	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	swings	swing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write** | present | Your sister |  | the council about the swings |  |  |  | vn lecture-37.11-1 «NP V PP.recipient PP.topic»: agent=Agent to council=Recipient |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 3:* Which opening is best?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:16-formal-and-informal-a-mate-versus-the-head-teacher:t4:3
# text = Which opening is best?
1	Which	which	DET	WDT	PronType=Int	2	det	_	_
2	opening	opening	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | which opening |  |  |  |  | good *property* | tree rules |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Oi, sort them swings out, they're well dead, yeah?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:16-formal-and-informal-a-mate-versus-the-head-teacher:t4:o1:1
# text = Oi, sort them swings out, they're well dead, yeah?
1	Oi	oi	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	sort	sort	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	swings	swing	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
6	out	out	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
8	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	're	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
10	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	11	advmod	_	_
11	dead	dead	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
13	yeah	yeah	INTJ	UH	_	3	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sort** | present | Oi |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **swing out** | present | Oi |  |  |  |  |  | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1-1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |
| 3 | **is** | present | Oi |  |  |  |  | dead, well *property* | tree rules |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Hello council, the swings, you know what I mean, ok?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:16-formal-and-informal-a-mate-versus-the-head-teacher:t4:o2:1
# text = Hello council, the swings, you know what I mean, ok?
1	Hello	hello	INTJ	UH	_	8	discourse	_	_
2	council	council	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	swings	swing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	know	know	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	11	obj	_	_
10	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	mean	mean	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
13	ok	ok	INTJ	UH	_	8	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **know** | present | you |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 2 | **mean** | present | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To whom it may concern, ur swings r broke, fix them

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:16-formal-and-informal-a-mate-versus-the-head-teacher:t4:o3:1
# text = To whom it may concern, ur swings r broke, fix them
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
2	whom	whom	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	5	nsubj	_	_
3	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
4	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	concern	concern	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	ur	your	PRON	PRP$	Abbr=Yes|Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	swings	swing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	appos	_	_
9	r	r	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	broke	break	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
12	fix	fix	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
13	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **concern** | may |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **break** | past | ur's swings *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **fix** | imperative | you *not said here* | swings *= swing* |  |  |  |  | vn shake-22.3-2 «NP V NP together»: agent=Agent they=Patient |
| 4 | **swing** |  | ur |  |  |  |  |  | nom swing «state intransitive»: poss=agent |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I am writing about the broken swings in Oak Park.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:16-formal-and-informal-a-mate-versus-the-head-teacher:t4:o4:1
# text = I am writing about the broken swings in Oak Park.
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	am	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	writing	write	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	about	about	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	broken	break	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	amod	_	_
7	swings	swing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	Oak	Oak	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	Park	Park	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write** | present · progressive | I |  |  |  |  | about the broken swings in Oak Park | vn lecture-37.11-1 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent about swing=Topic |
| 2 | **break** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V»: agent=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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