--- title: What would happen if verbs never agreed with their subjects? — Verbs: doing words and being words · tree and pragmatics description: What would happen if verbs never agreed with their subjects? Test 4 of lesson 3 «Verbs: doing words and being words» 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. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/3-verbs-doing-words-and-being-words/t4/) [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/) / [Verbs: doing words and being words](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/3-verbs-doing-words-and-being-words/) / t4 # Test 4 · Verbs: doing words and being words What would happen if verbs never agreed with their subjects? **Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** verbs · **What happens:** happen, not agree This is test 4 of lesson 3 «Verbs: doing words and being words» 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/3-verbs-doing-words-and-being-words/#t4). ## The question {#question} ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:3-verbs-doing-words-and-being-words:t4:1 # text = What would happen if verbs never agreed with their subjects? 1 What what PRON WP PronType=Int 3 nsubj _ _ 2 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 3 aux _ _ 3 happen happen VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 0 root _ _ 4 if if SCONJ IN _ 7 mark _ _ 5 verbs verb NOUN NNS Number=Plur 7 nsubj _ _ 6 never never ADV RB PronType=Neg 7 advmod _ _ 7 agreed agree VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 3 advcl _ _ 8 with with ADP IN _ 10 case _ _ 9 their their PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 10 nmod:poss _ _ 10 subjects subject NOUN NNS Number=Plur 7 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 11 ? ? PUNCT . _ 3 punct _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **happen** | would | | | | | | | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 2 | **not** **agree** *speech: agree* *a condition, not said to happen* | past | verbs | | | | | with verbs's subjects | vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V PP.co-agent how S»: agent=Agent with subject=Co-Agent | 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} Nobody could say "I" ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:3-verbs-doing-words-and-being-words:t4:o1:1 # text = Nobody could say "I" 1 Nobody nobody PRON NN Number=Sing|PronType=Neg 3 nsubj _ _ 2 could could AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 3 aux _ _ 3 say say VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 0 root _ _ 4 " " PUNCT `` _ 5 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 5 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 3 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 6 " " PUNCT '' _ 5 punct _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | could | Nobody | I | | | | | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent i=Topic | ### Option 2 {#o2} Nothing at all, it would sound exactly the same and mean the same too ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:3-verbs-doing-words-and-being-words:t4:o2:1 # text = Nothing at all, it would sound exactly the same and mean the same too 1 Nothing nothing PRON NN Number=Sing|PronType=Neg 7 nsubj _ _ 2 at at ADP IN _ 3 case _ _ 3 all all DET DT PronType=Tot 1 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 4 , , PUNCT , _ 1 punct _ _ 5 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 7 nsubj _ _ 6 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 7 aux _ _ 7 sound sound VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 0 root _ _ 8 exactly exactly ADV RB _ 10 advmod _ _ 9 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 10 det _ _ 10 same same ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 7 xcomp _ _ 11 and and CCONJ CC _ 12 cc _ _ 12 mean mean VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 7 conj _ _ 13 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 14 det _ _ 14 same same ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 12 obj _ _ 15 too too ADV RB _ 12 advmod _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **sound** | would | Nothing | | | | | same *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus | | 2 | **mean** | present | Nothing *not said here* | the same | | | | | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent same=Topic | ### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3} Some sentences would be less clear about how many are doing it ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:3-verbs-doing-words-and-being-words:t4:o3:1 # text = Some sentences would be less clear about how many are doing it 1 Some some DET DT PronType=Ind 2 det _ _ 2 sentences sentence NOUN NNS Number=Plur 6 nsubj _ _ 3 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 6 aux _ _ 4 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 6 cop _ _ 5 less less ADJ JJR Degree=Cmp 6 amod _ _ 6 clear clear ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 0 root _ _ 7 about about SCONJ IN _ 11 mark _ _ 8 how how ADV WRB PronType=Int 9 advmod _ _ 9 many many ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 11 nsubj _ _ 10 are be AUX VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 11 aux _ _ 11 doing do VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 6 advcl _ _ 12 it it PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 11 obj _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **is** | would | some sentences | | | | | clear *property* | tree rules | | 2 | **do** | present · progressive | many | it | | | | | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Eventuality | ### Option 4 {#o4} All verbs would end in -ing ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:3-verbs-doing-words-and-being-words:t4:o4:1 # text = All verbs would end in -ing 1 All all DET DT PronType=Tot 2 det _ _ 2 verbs verb NOUN NNS Number=Plur 4 nsubj _ _ 3 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 4 aux _ _ 4 end end VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 0 root _ _ 5 in in ADP IN _ 7 case _ _ 6 - - PUNCT HYPH _ 5 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 7 ing ing NOUN NN Number=Sing 4 obl _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **end** | would | all verbs | | | ing | | | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality | **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. - ← previous: [Verbs: doing words and being words, test 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/3-verbs-doing-words-and-being-words/t3/) - next →: [Verbs: doing words and being words, test 5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/3-verbs-doing-words-and-being-words/t5/) - ↑ back to [Verbs: doing words and being words](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/3-verbs-doing-words-and-being-words/)