---
title: ★ Your friend calls a boy in your class «not the brightest, bless hi… — Not unhappy and not half: litotes · tree and pragmatics
description: ★ Your friend calls a boy in your class «not the brightest, bless him» and says «it's fine, I said it nicely». What is true? Test 3 · ★★ of lesson 50 «Not unhappy and not half: litotes» of the language course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of ea
---

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# Test 3 · ★★ · Not unhappy and not half: litotes

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
★ Your friend calls a boy in your class «not the brightest, bless him» and says «it's fine, I said it nicely». What is true?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** ★ friend · **What happens:** call, bless, say, be · **To what, where:** boy, class, friend · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 3 · ★★ of lesson 50 «Not unhappy and not half: litotes» 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/50-not-unhappy-and-not-half-litotes/#t3).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* ★ Your friend calls a boy in your class «not the brightest, bless him» and says «it's fine, I said it nicely».

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:50-not-unhappy-and-not-half-litotes:t3:1
# text = ★ Your friend calls a boy in your class «not the brightest, bless him» and says «it's fine, I said it nicely».
1	★	★	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
2	Your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
3	friend	friend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	calls	call	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
10	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	13	advmod	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	brightest	bright	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	9	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
15	bless	bless	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
16	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	_
18	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
19	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
20	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	23	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	23	expl	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	23	cop	_	_
23	fine	fine	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	26	punct	_	_
25	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	26	nsubj	_	_
26	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	23	parataxis	_	_
27	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	26	obj	_	_
28	nicely	nicely	ADV	RB	_	26	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	23	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** *speech: assert* | present | Your ★ friend | a boy |  | your class |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **bless** *in a quote* | infinitive |  | boy |  |  |  |  | vn judgment-33.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | Your ★ friend *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **is** *in a quote* | present |  |  |  |  |  | fine *property* | tree rules |
| 5 | **say** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | past | Your ★ friend *= friend* | friend |  |  |  | nicely *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent it=Topic |

<!-- .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 is true?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:50-not-unhappy-and-not-half-litotes:t3:2
# text = What is true?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

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

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It's fine, because it means he's clever

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:50-not-unhappy-and-not-half-litotes:t3:o1:1
# text = It's fine, because it means he's clever
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	expl	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	fine	fine	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
5	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
8	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	clever	clever	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	ccomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | fine *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **mean** | present | it |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **is** | present | he |  |  |  |  | clever *property* | tree rules |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It means the boy needs a brighter lamp

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:50-not-unhappy-and-not-half-litotes:t3:o2:1
# text = It means the boy needs a brighter lamp
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	means	mean	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	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	needs	need	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	brighter	bright	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	8	amod	_	_
8	lamp	lamp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | It |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **need** | present | the boy | a brighter lamp |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot lamp=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It's fine, because «bless him» turns it into praise

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:50-not-unhappy-and-not-half-litotes:t3:o3:1
# text = It's fine, because «bless him» turns it into praise
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	expl	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	fine	fine	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	csubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
5	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	bless	bless	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
8	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	7	punct	_	_
10	turns	turn	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	obj	_	_
12	into	into	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	praise	praise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  | fine *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **bless** *in a quote* | infinitive |  | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | vn judgment-33.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |
| 3 | **turn** | present |  | it |  | praise |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V NP PP.trajectory»: agent=Agent it=Theme into praise=Trajectory |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Saying it softly doesn't stop it being a put-down

```conllu
# sent_id = question:language:50-not-unhappy-and-not-half-litotes:t3:o4:1
# text = Saying it softly doesn't stop it being a put-down
1	Saying	say	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	csubj	_	_
2	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	1	obj	_	_
3	softly	softly	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
4	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	stop	stop	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
8	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	12	cop	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
10	put	put	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	down	down	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	parataxis	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | gerund |  | it |  |  |  | softly *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent it=Topic |
| 2 | **not** **stop** | present · do-support | Saying |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 3 | **is a** | gerund | it | a put down |  |  |  |  | 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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