---
title: Your mate goes "puns are only for brainy kids, I don't get 'em, bruv… — Puns and jokes that need a pun · tree and pragmatics
description: Your mate goes "puns are only for brainy kids, I don't get 'em, bruv." What's the best tip? Test 1 · ★★★ of lesson 28 «Puns and jokes that need a pun» of the language course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choice was wrong.
---

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# Test 1 · ★★★ · Puns and jokes that need a pun

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Your mate goes "puns are only for brainy kids, I don't get 'em, bruv." What's the best tip?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** mate, puns, I, best tip · **What happens:** go, be, not get · **To what, where:** 'em · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 1 · ★★★ of lesson 28 «Puns and jokes that need a pun» 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/28-puns-and-jokes-that-need-a-pun/#t1).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Your mate goes "puns are only for brainy kids, I don't get 'em, bruv."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:28-puns-and-jokes-that-need-a-pun:t1:1
# text = Your mate goes "puns are only for brainy kids, I don't get 'em, bruv."
1	Your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	mate	mate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	goes	go	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	puns	pun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
6	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
7	only	only	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	brainy	brainy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	kids	kid	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
12	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
13	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	15	advmod	_	_
15	get	get	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	parataxis	_	_
16	'em	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
18	bruv	bruv	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	vocative	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **go** | present | Your mate |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7 «NP V S-Quote»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **is** *in a quote* | present | puns |  |  |  |  | for brainy kids | tree rules |
| 3 | **not** **get** *in a quote* | present · do-support | I | 'em *= they* |  |  |  | bruv *vocative* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer they=Stimulus |

<!-- .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:* What's the best tip?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:28-puns-and-jokes-that-need-a-pun:t1:2
# text = What's the best tip?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	5	amod	_	_
5	tip	tip	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

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

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Only read jokes in dictionaries, because that's where puns are explained

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:28-puns-and-jokes-that-need-a-pun:t1:o1:1
# text = Only read jokes in dictionaries, because that's where puns are explained
1	Only	only	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	read	read	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	jokes	joke	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	dictionaries	dictionary	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
7	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
8	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	10	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	13	advmod	_	_
11	puns	pun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	nsubj	_	_
12	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux:pass	_	_
13	explained	explain	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **read** | imperative | you *not said here* | jokes |  | dictionaries |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent joke=Topic |
| 2 | **is** | present | that |  |  |  |  | where *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **explain** *speech: assert* | present · passive |  | puns |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Topic |

### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Look for the word with two meanings or a sound-alike word

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:28-puns-and-jokes-that-need-a-pun:t1:o2:1
# text = Look for the word with two meanings or a sound-alike word
1	Look	look	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	for	for	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	7	nummod	_	_
7	meanings	meaning	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obl	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
10	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	alike	alike	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **look** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  | for the word; with two meanings or a alike word | vn rummage-35.5 «NP V PP.location PP.theme»: agent=Agent for word=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Laugh even if you don't get it

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:28-puns-and-jokes-that-need-a-pun:t1:o3:1
# text = Laugh even if you don't get it
1	Laugh	laugh	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	even	even	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
3	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
4	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
5	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	7	advmod	_	_
7	get	get	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	advcl	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **laugh** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **not** **get** *a condition, not said to happen* | present · do-support | you | it |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer it=Stimulus |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Puns can't be learned

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:28-puns-and-jokes-that-need-a-pun:t1:o4:1
# text = Puns can't be learned
1	Puns	pun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	ca	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	learned	learn	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **learn** | can · passive |  | Puns |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «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.

<!-- /div -->

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