--- title: What would happen if a child only ever copied words they heard, and… — How babies learn to talk · tree and pragmatics description: What would happen if a child only ever copied words they heard, and never worked out rules? Test 3 · ★ of lesson 31 «How babies learn to talk» 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 right. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/t3/) [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/) / [How babies learn to talk](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/) / t3 # Test 3 · ★ · How babies learn to talk What would happen if a child only ever copied words they heard, and never worked out rules? **Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 2 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** child · **What happens:** happen, copy, hear, not work out · **To what, where:** rules · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is test 3 · ★ of lesson 31 «How babies learn to talk» 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/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/#t3). ## The question {#question} ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:31-how-babies-learn-to-talk:t3:1 # text = What would happen if a child only ever copied words they heard, and never worked out rules? 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 _ 12 mark _ _ 5 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 6 det _ _ 6 child child NOUN NN Number=Sing 12 nsubj _ _ 7 only only ADV RB _ 10 advmod _ _ 8 ever ever ADV RB PronType=Ind 10 advmod _ _ 9 copied copy VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 10 amod _ _ 10 words word NOUN NNS Number=Plur 6 nmod _ _ 11 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 12 nsubj _ _ 12 heard hear VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 3 advcl _ SpaceAfter=No 13 , , PUNCT , _ 16 punct _ _ 14 and and CCONJ CC _ 16 cc _ _ 15 never never ADV RB PronType=Neg 16 advmod _ _ 16 worked work VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 12 ccomp _ _ 17 out out ADP RP _ 16 compound:prt _ _ 18 rules rule NOUN NNS Number=Plur 16 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 19 ? ? 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 | **copy** | participle | | | | | | | vn scribble-25.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent | | 3 | **hear** *a condition, not said to happen* | past | a child copied words | | | | | | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus | | 4 | **not** **work out** | past | | rules | | | | | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent rule=Topic | 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 {#o1} They would talk earlier ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:31-how-babies-learn-to-talk:t3:o1:1 # text = They would talk earlier 1 They they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 3 nsubj _ _ 2 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 3 aux _ _ 3 talk talk VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 0 root _ _ 4 earlier early ADV RBR Degree=Cmp 3 advmod _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **talk** | would | They | | | | | early *property* | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent | ### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o2} They could never say "wugs" about a new creature ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:31-how-babies-learn-to-talk:t3:o2:1 # text = They could never say "wugs" about a new creature 1 They they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 4 nsubj _ _ 2 could could AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 4 aux _ _ 3 never never ADV RB PronType=Neg 4 advmod _ _ 4 say say VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 0 root _ _ 5 " " PUNCT `` _ 6 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 6 wugs wug NOUN NNS Number=Plur 4 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 7 " " PUNCT '' _ 6 punct _ _ 8 about about ADP IN _ 11 case _ _ 9 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 11 det _ _ 10 new new ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 11 amod _ _ 11 creature creature NOUN NN Number=Sing 4 obl _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **not** **say** *speech: assert* | could | They | wugs | | | | about a new creature | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent wug=Topic | ### Option 3 {#o3} They would speak perfectly at once, without a single mistake ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:31-how-babies-learn-to-talk:t3:o3:1 # text = They would speak perfectly at once, without a single mistake 1 They they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 3 nsubj _ _ 2 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 3 aux _ _ 3 speak speak VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 0 root _ _ 4 perfectly perfectly ADV RB _ 3 advmod _ _ 5 at at ADP IN _ 6 case _ _ 6 once once ADV RB NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult 3 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 7 , , PUNCT , _ 11 punct _ _ 8 without without ADP IN _ 11 case _ _ 9 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 11 det _ _ 10 single single ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 11 amod _ _ 11 mistake mistake NOUN NN Number=Sing 3 parataxis _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **speak** *speech: other* | would | They | | | | | perfectly *property* | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent | ### Option 4 {#o4} They would only speak in rules ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:31-how-babies-learn-to-talk:t3:o4:1 # text = They would only speak in rules 1 They they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 4 nsubj _ _ 2 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 4 aux _ _ 3 only only ADV RB _ 4 advmod _ _ 4 speak speak VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 0 root _ _ 5 in in ADP IN _ 6 case _ _ 6 rules rule NOUN NNS Number=Plur 4 obl _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **speak** *speech: other* | would | They | | | rules | | | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent | **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: [How babies learn to talk, test 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/t2/) - next →: [How babies learn to talk, test 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/t4/) - ↑ back to [How babies learn to talk](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/31-how-babies-learn-to-talk/)