---
title: In a cartoon, a cowboy says "Don't have a cow!" and a real cow walks… — Slang and how it changes with every ge… · tree and pragmatics
description: In a cartoon, a cowboy says "Don't have a cow!" and a real cow walks off. Why is that a joke? Test 6 of lesson 17 «Slang and how it changes with every generation» of the language course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choic
---

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# Test 6 · Slang and how it changes with every generation

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In a cartoon, a cowboy says "Don't have a cow!" and a real cow walks off. Why is that a joke?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** cowboy, real cow · **What happens:** say, not have, walk off, be · **To what, where:** cartoon, cow, joke · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 6 of lesson 17 «Slang and how it changes with every generation» 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/17-slang-and-how-it-changes-with-every-generation/#t6).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* In a cartoon, a cowboy says "Don't have a cow!" and a real cow walks off.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:17-slang-and-how-it-changes-with-every-generation:t6:1
# text = In a cartoon, a cowboy says "Don't have a cow!" and a real cow walks off.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	cartoon	cartoon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	cowboy	cowboy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	Do	do	AUX	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
11	have	have	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	ccomp	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	cow	cow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
18	real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	cow	cow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nsubj	_	_
20	walks	walk	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	conj	_	_
21	off	off	ADP	RP	_	20	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: express* | present | a cowboy |  |  | a cartoon |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **not** **have** *in a quote* | infinitive · do-support |  | a cow |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cow=Patient |
| 3 | **walk off** | present | a real cow |  |  |  |  |  | vn resign-10.11-2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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:* Why is that a joke?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:17-slang-and-how-it-changes-with-every-generation:t6:2
# text = Why is that a joke?
1	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	5	advmod	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	joke	joke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

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

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It's not a joke, the phrase is about farming

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:17-slang-and-how-it-changes-with-every-generation:t6:o1:1
# text = It's not a joke, the phrase is about farming
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	joke	joke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	phrase	phrase	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
9	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
10	about	about	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	farming	farming	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is a** | present | It | a joke and farming |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | present | the phrase |  |  |  |  | about farming | tree rules |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cow understood English and felt hurt

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:17-slang-and-how-it-changes-with-every-generation:t6:o2:1
# text = The cow understood English and felt hurt
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cow	cow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	understood	understand	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	English	English	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	felt	feel	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
7	hurt	hurt	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **understand** | past | the cow | English |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer english=Stimulus |
| 2 | **feel** | past | the cow *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-2 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 3 | **hurt** | participle | the cow *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Cowboys really were banned from having cows

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:17-slang-and-how-it-changes-with-every-generation:t6:o3:1
# text = Cowboys really were banned from having cows
1	Cowboys	cowboy	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	really	really	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	banned	ban	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	having	have	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	amod	_	_
7	cows	cow	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ban** | past · passive |  | Cowboys |  |  |  | from having cows | vn forbid-64.4-1 «NP V NP PP.theme»: subject=Beneficiary from cow=Eventuality |
| 2 | **have** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The slang means calm down, not owning a cow

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:17-slang-and-how-it-changes-with-every-generation:t6:o4:1
# text = The slang means calm down, not owning a cow
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	slang	slang	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	calm	calm	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
5	down	down	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	8	advmod	_	_
8	owning	own	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	conj	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	cow	cow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | the slang |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **calm down** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn subjugate-42.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **not** **own** | gerund | the slang *not said here* | a cow |  |  |  |  | vn own-100.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot cow=Theme |

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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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