--- title: Identify the term designating the alteration of a word's meaning ove… — Words that changed their meaning · tree and pragmatics description: Identify the term designating the alteration of a word's meaning over the course of time. Exam question 1 of lesson 38 «Words that changed their meaning» 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 wro --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/e1/) [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/) / [Words that changed their meaning](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/) / e1 # Exam question 1 · Words that changed their meaning Identify the term designating the alteration of a word's meaning over the course of time. **Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, term, word · **What happens:** identify, designate, alter, mean · **To what, where:** term, alteration, course, meaning This is exam question 1 of lesson 38 «Words that changed their meaning» of the language course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. 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/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/#e1). ## The question {#question} ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:38-words-that-changed-their-meaning:e1:1 # text = Identify the term designating the alteration of a word's meaning over the course of time. 1 Identify identify VERB VB Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 2 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 3 det _ _ 3 term term NOUN NN Number=Sing 1 obj _ _ 4 designating designate VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 3 acl _ _ 5 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 6 det _ _ 6 alteration alteration NOUN NN Number=Sing 4 obj _ _ 7 of of ADP IN _ 11 case _ _ 8 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 9 det _ _ 9 word word NOUN NN Number=Sing 11 nmod:poss _ SpaceAfter=No 10 's 's PART POS _ 9 case _ _ 11 meaning meaning NOUN NN Number=Sing 6 nmod _ _ 12 over over ADP IN _ 14 case _ _ 13 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 14 det _ _ 14 course course NOUN NN Number=Sing 4 obl _ _ 15 of of ADP IN _ 16 case _ _ 16 time time NOUN NN Number=Sing 14 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 17 . . PUNCT . _ 1 punct _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **identify** | imperative | you *not said here* | the term | | | | | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent term=Theme | | 2 | **designate** | gerund | the term *not said here* | the alteration of a word's meaning | | the course of time | | | vn appoint-29.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent alteration=Theme | | 3 | **alter** | | | a word's meaning | | | | | nom alteration «event transitive»: of=patient | | 4 | **mean** | | a word | | | | | | nom meaning «communication transitive»: poss=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} Clipping ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:38-words-that-changed-their-meaning:e1:o1:1 # text = Clipping 1 Clipping clipping NOUN NN Number=Sing 0 root _ _ ``` The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence. ### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2} Semantic change ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:38-words-that-changed-their-meaning:e1:o2:1 # text = Semantic change 1 Semantic semantic ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 2 amod _ _ 2 change change NOUN NN Number=Sing 0 root _ _ ``` The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence. ### Option 3 {#o3} Inflection ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:38-words-that-changed-their-meaning:e1:o3:1 # text = Inflection 1 Inflection inflection NOUN NN Number=Sing 0 root _ _ ``` The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence. ### Option 4 {#o4} Back-formation ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:38-words-that-changed-their-meaning:e1:o4:1 # text = Back-formation 1 Back back NOUN NN Number=Sing 3 compound _ SpaceAfter=No 2 - - PUNCT HYPH _ 1 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 3 formation formation NOUN NN Number=Sing 0 root _ _ ``` The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence. **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: [Words that changed their meaning, test 10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/t10/) - next →: [Words that changed their meaning, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/e2/) - ↑ back to [Words that changed their meaning](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/)