---
title: Your Gen Alpha cousin says "Chinese has no past tense so they can't… — Mandarin compared with English · tree and pragmatics
description: Your Gen Alpha cousin says "Chinese has no past tense so they can't talk about yesterday, that's crazy, no cap." ("No cap" means honestly.) What's true? Test 3 · ★ of lesson 34 «Mandarin compared with English» of the language course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics o
---

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# Test 3 · ★ · Mandarin compared with English

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Your Gen Alpha cousin says "Chinese has no past tense so they can't talk about yesterday, that's crazy, no cap." ("No cap" means honestly.) What's true?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Gen cousin, Chinese, they, that, cap · **What happens:** say, have, not talk, be, mean · **To what, where:** past tense · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 3 · ★ of lesson 34 «Mandarin compared with English» 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/34-mandarin-compared-with-english/#t3).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Your Gen Alpha cousin says "Chinese has no past tense so they can't talk about yesterday, that's crazy, no cap."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:34-mandarin-compared-with-english:t3:1
# text = Your Gen Alpha cousin says "Chinese has no past tense so they can't talk about yesterday, that's crazy, no cap."
1	Your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
2	Gen	Gen	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
3	Alpha	Alpha	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	flat	_	_
4	cousin	cousin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	Chinese	Chinese	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	nsubj	_	_
8	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	ccomp	_	_
9	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	11	det	_	_
10	past	past	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	tense	tense	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
12	so	so	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	_
13	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
14	ca	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	16	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	16	advmod	_	_
16	talk	talk	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	advcl	_	_
17	about	about	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	yesterday	yesterday	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
20	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	22	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	22	cop	_	_
22	crazy	crazy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	25	punct	_	_
24	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	25	det	_	_
25	cap	cap	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	22	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	22	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | Your Gen cousin |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **have** *in a quote* | present | Chinese | no past tense |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tense=Patient |
| 3 | **not** **talk** *in a quote* | can | they |  |  |  | yesterday |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is** *in a quote* | present | that |  |  |  |  | crazy *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .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:* ("No cap" means honestly.)

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:34-mandarin-compared-with-english:t3:2
# text = ("No cap" means honestly.)
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	No	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	4	det	_	_
4	cap	cap	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	4	punct	_	_
6	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	honestly	honestly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | no cap |  |  |  |  | honestly *property* | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 3:* What's true?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:34-mandarin-compared-with-english:t3:3
# text = What's true?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

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

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They only talk about tomorrow

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:34-mandarin-compared-with-english:t3:o1:1
# text = They only talk about tomorrow
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	only	only	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	talk	talk	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	about	about	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	tomorrow	tomorrow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **talk** | present | They |  |  |  | tomorrow |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They show time with words like "yesterday" and particles like "了"

<!-- fold The tree, 11 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:34-mandarin-compared-with-english:t3:o2:1
# text = They show time with words like "yesterday" and particles like "了"
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	show	show	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
6	like	like	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	yesterday	yesterday	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	8	punct	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	particles	particle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	conj	_	_
12	like	like	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	了	了	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | present | They |  |  |  | time | with words like yesterday and particles like 了 | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He's right, Mandarin speakers can't talk about anything that happened in the past

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:34-mandarin-compared-with-english:t3:o3:1
# text = He's right, Mandarin speakers can't talk about anything that happened in the past
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
5	Mandarin	mandarin	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	speakers	speaker	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
7	ca	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	talk	talk	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
10	about	about	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	anything	anything	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	9	obl	_	_
12	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	13	nsubj	_	_
13	happened	happen	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	acl:relcl	_	_
14	in	in	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	past	past	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | He |  |  |  |  | right *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **talk** | can | Mandarin speakers |  |  |  |  | about anything | vn talk-37.5 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent about anything=Topic |
| 3 | **happen** | past |  |  |  | the past |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme in past=Location |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They use "-ed" like English

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:34-mandarin-compared-with-english:t3:o4:1
# text = They use "-ed" like English
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	use	use	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	ed	ed	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	_
7	like	like	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	English	English	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **use** | present | They | ed |  |  |  | like English | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ed=Patient |

<!-- div src -->

**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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