---
title: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the… — A bit nippy and not ideal: British und… · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the utterance «Bit nippy out», delivered upon a snow-covered morning with a gale blowing? Exam question 1 of lesson 49 «A bit nippy and not ideal: British understatement» of the language course of Mova's primary school, with the depende
---

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# Exam question 1 · A bit nippy and not ideal: British understatement

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the utterance «Bit nippy out», delivered upon a snow-covered morning with a gale blowing?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** gale · **What happens:** follow, characteris, deliver, cover, blow · **To what, where:** utterance, covered morning

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 49 «A bit nippy and not ideal: British understatement» 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/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement:e1:1
# text = Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the utterance «Bit nippy out», delivered upon a snow-covered morning with a gale blowing?
1	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	following	follow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	amod	_	_
5	statements	statement	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
6	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	7	advmod	_	_
7	accurately	accurately	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	characterises	characteris	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	utterance	utterance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	Bit	bit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl:unmarked	_	_
13	nippy	nippy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	appos	_	_
14	out	out	ADP	RP	_	13	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
17	delivered	deliver	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	acl	_	_
18	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
19	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
20	snow	snow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	20	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	covered	cover	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	23	amod	_	_
23	morning	morning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obl	_	_
24	with	with	SCONJ	IN	_	27	mark	_	_
25	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	26	det	_	_
26	gale	gale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	27	nsubj	_	_
27	blowing	blow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	23	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **characteris** | present |  | the utterance |  |  |  | of the following statements; accurately *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **deliver** | participle |  | the utterance *not said here* |  |  | morning |  | vn birth-28.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **cover** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme |
| 5 | **blow** | gerund | a gale | a covered morning *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn split-23.2 «NP V NP apart»: agent=Agent morning=Patient |

<!-- .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.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Hyperbole, the actual cold being negligible

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement:e1:o1:1
# text = Hyperbole, the actual cold being negligible
1	Hyperbole	hyperbole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	actual	actual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	cold	cold	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	acl:relcl	_	_
6	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	7	cop	_	_
7	negligible	negligible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	_
```

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

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A precise report of a mild temperature

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement:e1:o2:1
# text = A precise report of a mild temperature
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	precise	precise	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	report	report	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	mild	mild	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	temperature	temperature	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **report** |  |  | a mild temperature |  |  |  |  | nom report «communication transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A complaint concerning the regrettable absence of snow

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement:e1:o3:1
# text = A complaint concerning the regrettable absence of snow
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	complaint	complaint	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	concerning	concern	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	acl	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	regrettable	regrettable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	absence	absence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	snow	snow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **concern** | gerund | a complaint *not said here* | the regrettable absence of snow |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus absence=Experiencer |
| 2 | **absent** |  |  | snow |  |  |  |  | nom absence «state transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Understatement, the actual cold being severe

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement:e1:o4:1
# text = Understatement, the actual cold being severe
1	Understatement	understatement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	actual	actual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	cold	cold	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	appos	_	_
6	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	7	cop	_	_
7	severe	severe	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	_
```

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

<!-- 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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- ↑ back to [A bit nippy and not ideal: British understatement](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/)