---
title: Your mate says "racecar backwards is racecra, so it's not a palindro… — Grammar puzzles, part two · tree and pragmatics
description: Your mate says "racecar backwards is racecra, so it's not a palindrome." What did he do wrong? Test 10 · ★★★ of lesson 36 «Grammar puzzles, part two» 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.
---

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# Test 10 · ★★★ · Grammar puzzles, part two

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Your mate says "racecar backwards is racecra, so it's not a palindrome." What did he do wrong?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 2 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** mate, he · **What happens:** say, be, not be, do · **To what, where:** racecar racecra, palindrome · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 10 · ★★★ of lesson 36 «Grammar puzzles, part two» 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/36-grammar-puzzles-part-two/#t10).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Your mate says "racecar backwards is racecra, so it's not a palindrome."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:36-grammar-puzzles-part-two:t10:1
# text = Your mate says "racecar backwards is racecra, so it's not a palindrome."
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	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	racecar	racecar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
6	backwards	backwards	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
8	racecra	racecra	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
10	so	so	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
13	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	15	advmod	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	palindrome	palindrome	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | Your mate |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** *in a quote* | present |  | racecar racecra |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **not** **is a** *in a quote* | present | mate | a palindrome |  |  |  |  | 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:* What did he do wrong?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:36-grammar-puzzles-part-two:t10:2
# text = What did he do wrong?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	obj	_	_
2	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | past · do-support | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent what=Eventuality |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Palindromes only work with three letters

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:36-grammar-puzzles-part-two:t10:o1:1
# text = Palindromes only work with three letters
1	Palindromes	palindrome	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
2	only	only	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	work	work	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	letters	letter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | present | Palindromes |  |  |  |  | with three letters | vn cooperate-73.1-3 «NP V PP.co-agent PP.theme»: agent=Agent with letter=Co-Agent |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He made a mistake reversing it; it reads "racecar"

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:36-grammar-puzzles-part-two:t10:o2:1
# text = He made a mistake reversing it; it reads "racecar"
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	mistake	mistake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	reversing	reverse	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	reads	read	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	parataxis	_	_
10	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	racecar	racecar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past | He | a mistake |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent mistake=Product |
| 2 | **reverse** | gerund | He *not said here* | mistake |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent it=Patient |
| 3 | **read** | present | mistake | racecar |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent racecar=Topic |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He's right, it isn't a palindrome

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:36-grammar-puzzles-part-two:t10:o3:1
# text = He's right, it isn't a palindrome
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	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	palindrome	palindrome	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | He |  |  |  |  | right *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **is a** | present | it | a palindrome |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Racecar isn't a real word, so it can't count

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:36-grammar-puzzles-part-two:t10:o4:1
# text = Racecar isn't a real word, so it can't count
1	Racecar	racecar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
8	so	so	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
10	ca	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	12	advmod	_	_
12	count	count	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	parataxis	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is a** | present | Racecar | a real word |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **count** | can | Racecar |  |  |  |  |  | vn matter-91 «NP V»: agent=Stimulus |

<!-- 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [Grammar puzzles, part two, test 9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/36-grammar-puzzles-part-two/t9/)
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