---
title: Your teacher writes «Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, Derision»… — Alice's word games: puns, parodies and… · tree and pragmatics
description: Your teacher writes «Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, Derision» on the board and asks what they are. What do you say? Test 2 · ★★★ of lesson 41 «Alice's word games: puns, parodies and nonsense» of the language course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the questi
---

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# Test 2 · ★★★ · Alice's word games: puns, parodies and nonsense

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Your teacher writes «Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, Derision» on the board and asks what they are. What do you say?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** teacher, Ambition, you · **What happens:** write, ask, be, say · **To what, where:** Ambition, board · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 2 · ★★★ of lesson 41 «Alice's word games: puns, parodies and nonsense» 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/41-alice-s-word-games-puns-parodies-and-nonsense/#t2).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Your teacher writes «Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, Derision» on the board and asks what they are.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:41-alice-s-word-games-puns-parodies-and-nonsense:t2:1
# text = Your teacher writes «Ambition, Distraction, Uglification, Derision» on the board and asks what they are.
1	Your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	writes	write	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	Ambition	ambition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	Distraction	distraction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
9	Uglification	uglification	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
11	Derision	derision	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
13	on	on	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	board	board	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	asks	ask	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
18	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	17	ccomp	_	_
19	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
20	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	18	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **write** | present | Your teacher | Ambition and Distraction and Uglification and Derision |  | the board |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent ambition=Theme on board=Destination |
| 2 | **ask** *speech: ask* | present | Your teacher *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is a** | present | Ambition |  |  |  |  |  | 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 do you say?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:41-alice-s-word-games-puns-parodies-and-nonsense:t2:2
# text = What do you say?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	obj	_	_
2	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present · do-support | you |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Four old words for being proud, bored, ugly and rude, written on old classroom walls

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:41-alice-s-word-games-puns-parodies-and-nonsense:t2:o1:1
# text = Four old words for being proud, bored, ugly and rude, written on old classroom walls
1	Four	four	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	3	nummod	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	cop	_	_
6	proud	proud	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
8	bored	bored	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	ugly	ugly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	rude	rude	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
14	written	write	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
15	on	on	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
16	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
17	classroom	classroom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	compound	_	_
18	walls	wall	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | proud *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **be** |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **be** |  |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **write** | participle |  | Four old words *not said here* |  | old classroom walls |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent on wall=Destination |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The four sums in sound-alike form: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division

<!-- fold The tree, 11 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:41-alice-s-word-games-puns-parodies-and-nonsense:t2:o2:1
# text = The four sums in sound-alike form: addition, subtraction, multiplication, division
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	four	four	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	3	nummod	_	_
3	sums	sum	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
5	sound	sound	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	alike	alike	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	form	form	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	10	punct	_	_
10	addition	addition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
12	subtraction	subtraction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
14	multiplication	multiplication	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
16	division	division	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The names of the four houses at the Mock Turtle's school

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:41-alice-s-word-games-puns-parodies-and-nonsense:t2:o3:1
# text = The names of the four houses at the Mock Turtle's school
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	names	name	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	four	four	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	6	nummod	_	_
6	houses	house	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
7	at	at	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	Mock	Mock	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	Turtle	Turtle	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	's	's	PART	POS	_	10	case	_	_
12	school	school	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **name** |  |  | the four houses at the Mock Turtle's school |  |  |  |  | nom name «communication transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Four bad habits that the Mock Turtle wanted children to avoid

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:41-alice-s-word-games-puns-parodies-and-nonsense:t2:o4:1
# text = Four bad habits that the Mock Turtle wanted children to avoid
1	Four	four	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	3	nummod	_	_
2	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	habits	habit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
4	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	Mock	Mock	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	Turtle	Turtle	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	wanted	want	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	children	child	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	avoid	avoid	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **want** | past | Four bad habits | children |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **avoid** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | children *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn avoid-52 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent |

<!-- 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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- ← previous: [Alice's word games: puns, parodies and…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/41-alice-s-word-games-puns-parodies-and-nonsense/t1/)
- next →: [Alice's word games: puns, parodies and…, test 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/41-alice-s-word-games-puns-parodies-and-nonsense/t3/)
- ↑ back to [Alice's word games: puns, parodies and nonsense](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/41-alice-s-word-games-puns-parodies-and-nonsense/)