--- title: Your American cousin says "y'all, there's a deer in the yard!" ("Y'a… — Words that changed their meaning · tree and pragmatics description: Your American cousin says "y'all, there's a deer in the yard!" ("Y'all" means you all.) In Old English, what could "deer" have been? Test 4 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 --- [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/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/) / [Words that changed their meaning](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/) / t4 # Test 4 · Words that changed their meaning Your American cousin says "y'all, there's a deer in the yard!" ("Y'all" means you all.) In Old English, what could "deer" have been? **Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** American cousin, deer, Y'all · **What happens:** say, be, mean, have · **To what, where:** y'all, you · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is test 4 of lesson 38 «Words that changed their meaning» 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/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/#t4). ## The question {#question} *Sentence 1:* Your American cousin says "y'all, there's a deer in the yard!" ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:38-words-that-changed-their-meaning:t4:1 # text = Your American cousin says "y'all, there's a deer in the yard!" 1 Your your PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 3 nmod:poss _ _ 2 American American ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 3 amod _ _ 3 cousin cousin NOUN NN Number=Sing 4 nsubj _ _ 4 says say VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 5 " " PUNCT `` _ 6 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 6 y'all y'all NOUN NN Number=Sing 4 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 7 , , PUNCT , _ 9 punct _ _ 8 there there PRON EX PronType=Dem 9 expl _ SpaceAfter=No 9 's be VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 6 acl:relcl _ _ 10 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 11 det _ _ 11 deer deer NOUN NN Number=Sing 9 nsubj _ _ 12 in in ADP IN _ 14 case _ _ 13 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 14 det _ _ 14 yard yard NOUN NN Number=Sing 9 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 15 ! ! PUNCT . _ 6 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 16 " " PUNCT '' _ 6 punct _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **say** *speech: express* | present | Your American cousin | y'all | | | | | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent y'all=Topic | | 2 | **be** *in a quote* | present | a deer | y'all *not said here* | | there | | in the yard | vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Pivot y'all=Theme in yard=Attribute | 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. *Sentence 2:* ("Y'all" means you all.) ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:38-words-that-changed-their-meaning:t4:2 # text = ("Y'all" means you all.) 1 ( ( PUNCT -LRB- _ 5 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 2 " " PUNCT `` _ 3 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 3 Y'all Y'all PROPN NNP Number=Sing 5 nsubj _ SpaceAfter=No 4 " " PUNCT '' _ 3 punct _ _ 5 means mean VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 6 you you PRON PRP Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs 5 obj _ _ 7 all all DET DT PronType=Tot 6 nmod:unmarked _ SpaceAfter=No 8 . . PUNCT . _ 5 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 9 ) ) PUNCT -RRB- _ 5 punct _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **mean** | present | Y'all | you | | | | | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent you=Topic | *Sentence 3:* In Old English, what could "deer" have been? ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:38-words-that-changed-their-meaning:t4:3 # text = In Old English, what could "deer" have been? 1 In in ADP IN _ 3 case _ _ 2 Old old ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 3 amod _ _ 3 English English PROPN NNP Number=Sing 8 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 4 , , PUNCT , _ 3 punct _ _ 5 what what PRON WP PronType=Int 8 nsubj _ _ 6 could could AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 8 aux _ _ 7 " " PUNCT `` _ 8 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 8 deer deer NOUN NN Number=Sing 0 root _ SpaceAfter=No 9 " " PUNCT '' _ 8 punct _ _ 10 have have VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 8 parataxis _ _ 11 been be AUX VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part 10 xcomp _ SpaceAfter=No 12 ? ? PUNCT . _ 8 punct _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **have** | present | | | | | | | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent | ## The options {#options} ### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1} Only a deer with antlers ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:38-words-that-changed-their-meaning:t4:o1:1 # text = Only a deer with antlers 1 Only only ADV RB _ 3 advmod _ _ 2 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 3 det _ _ 3 deer deer NOUN NN Number=Sing 0 root _ _ 4 with with ADP IN _ 5 case _ _ 5 antlers antler NOUN NNS Number=Plur 3 nmod _ _ ``` The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence. ### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2} Any wild animal at all ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:38-words-that-changed-their-meaning:t4:o2:1 # text = Any wild animal at all 1 Any any DET DT PronType=Ind 3 det _ _ 2 wild wild ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 3 amod _ _ 3 animal animal NOUN NN Number=Sing 0 root _ _ 4 at at ADP IN _ 5 case _ _ 5 all all DET DT PronType=Tot 3 nmod _ _ ``` The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence. ### Option 3 {#o3} Only a pet dog ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:38-words-that-changed-their-meaning:t4:o3:1 # text = Only a pet dog 1 Only only ADV RB _ 4 advmod _ _ 2 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 4 det _ _ 3 pet pet NOUN NN Number=Sing 4 compound _ _ 4 dog dog NOUN NN Number=Sing 0 root _ _ ``` The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence. ### Option 4 {#o4} Only a bird ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:38-words-that-changed-their-meaning:t4:o4:1 # text = Only a bird 1 Only only ADV RB _ 3 advmod _ _ 2 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 3 det _ _ 3 bird bird 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 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/t3/) - next →: [Words that changed their meaning, test 5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/t5/) - ↑ back to [Words that changed their meaning](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/)