---
title: Ava cries: «Dad only said NOT BAD about my cake!» Then she sees him… — A bit nippy and not ideal: British und… · tree and pragmatics
description: Ava cries: «Dad only said NOT BAD about my cake!» Then she sees him eating his second slice. What should she think? Test 2 · ★ of lesson 49 «A bit nippy and not ideal: British understatement» of the language course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and
---

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# Test 2 · ★ · A bit nippy and not ideal: British understatement

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ava cries: «Dad only said NOT BAD about my cake!» Then she sees him eating his second slice. What should she think?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 1 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Ava, Dad · **What happens:** cry, say, see, eat, slice, think · **To what, where:** Dad, second slice · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 2 · ★ of lesson 49 «A bit nippy and not ideal: British understatement» 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/49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement/#t2).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Ava cries: «Dad only said NOT BAD about my cake!»

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement:t2:1
# text = Ava cries: «Dad only said NOT BAD about my cake!»
1	Ava	Ava	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	cries	cry	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	2	punct	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	Dad	dad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
6	only	only	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
8	NOT	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	BAD	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	xcomp	_	_
10	about	about	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	cake	cake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cry** *speech: express* | present | Ava |  |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | past | Dad |  |  |  |  | bad *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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:* Then she sees him eating his second slice.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement:t2:2
# text = Then she sees him eating his second slice.
1	Then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	3	advmod	_	_
2	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	sees	see	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	obj	_	_
5	eating	eat	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	xcomp	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
7	second	second	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	8	amod	_	_
8	slice	slice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **see** | present | Ava | Dad |  |  | then |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **eat** | gerund | Dad *not said here* | Dad's second slice |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent slice=Patient |
| 3 | **slice** |  | Dad |  |  |  |  |  | nom slice «possession transitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 3:* What should she think?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement:t2:3
# text = What should she think?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	obj	_	_
2	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	think	think	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 | **think** *speech: other* | should | Ava |  |  |  |  |  | vn wish-62 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot what=Theme |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Not bad at all» was big praise, and the second slice proves it

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement:t2:o1:1
# text = «Not bad at all» was big praise, and the second slice proves it
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	nsubj	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	praise	praise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	second	second	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	14	amod	_	_
14	slice	slice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nsubj	_	_
15	proves	prove	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	acl:relcl	_	_
16	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | bad | big praise |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **prove** | present | the second slice | praise |  |  |  |  | vn deduce-97.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He hates the cake but is eating a second slice just to be polite

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement:t2:o2:1
# text = He hates the cake but is eating a second slice just to be polite
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	hates	hate	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	cake	cake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	eating	eat	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	conj	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	second	second	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	10	amod	_	_
10	slice	slice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
11	just	just	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
12	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
13	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	14	cop	_	_
14	polite	polite	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hate** | present | He | the cake |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer cake=Stimulus |
| 2 | **eat** | present · progressive | He *not said here* | a second slice |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent slice=Patient |
| 3 | **is** | to-infinitive | He *not said here* |  |  |  |  | polite *property* | tree rules |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He is still hungry because the slices were small

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement:t2:o3:1
# text = He is still hungry because the slices were small
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	still	still	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	hungry	hungry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	slices	slice	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
8	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
9	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | He |  |  |  | still | hungry *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | past | the slices |  |  |  |  | small *property* | tree rules |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He thinks the cake is only just okay

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:49-a-bit-nippy-and-not-ideal-british-understatement:t2:o4:1
# text = He thinks the cake is only just okay
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	thinks	think	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	cake	cake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
6	only	only	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
7	just	just	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	okay	okay	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	ccomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **think** *speech: other* | present | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | the cake |  |  |  |  | okay *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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