---
title: Ascertain the purpose of placing an unconscious but breathing person… — Emergencies: ambulance, 999 and A&E · tree and pragmatics
description: Ascertain the purpose of placing an unconscious but breathing person in the recovery position. Exam question 3 of lesson 26 «Emergencies: ambulance, 999 and A&E» of the medicine course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choice
---

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# Exam question 3 · Emergencies: ambulance, 999 and A&E

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ascertain the purpose of placing an unconscious but breathing person in the recovery position.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** you, purpose · **What happens:** ascertain, place, breathe · **To what, where:** purpose, unconscious, person, recovery position

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 26 «Emergencies: ambulance, 999 and A&E» of the medicine 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/medicine/26-emergencies-ambulance-999-and-a-and-e/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:medicine:26-emergencies-ambulance-999-and-a-and-e:e3:1
# text = Ascertain the purpose of placing an unconscious but breathing person in the recovery position.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	purpose	purpose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
5	placing	place	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	acl	_	_
6	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	unconscious	unconscious	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	obj	_	_
8	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	breathing	breathe	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	conj	_	_
10	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	recovery	recovery	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	compound	_	_
14	position	position	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* | the purpose |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent purpose=Topic |
| 2 | **place** | gerund | the purpose *not said here* | a unconscious |  |  |  |  | vn put-9.1-2 «NP V PP.destination NP»: agent=Agent unconscious=Theme |
| 3 | **breathe** | gerund | the purpose *not said here* | person |  | the recovery position |  |  | vn breathe-40.1.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent person=Theme |

<!-- .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 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The maintenance of an open airway

```conllu
# sent_id = question:medicine:26-emergencies-ambulance-999-and-a-and-e:e3:o1:1
# text = The maintenance of an open airway
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	maintenance	maintenance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	open	open	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	airway	airway	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **maintain** |  |  | a open airway |  |  |  |  | nom maintenance «act transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The arrest of haemorrhage

```conllu
# sent_id = question:medicine:26-emergencies-ambulance-999-and-a-and-e:e3:o2:1
# text = The arrest of haemorrhage
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	arrest	arrest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	haemorrhage	haemorrhage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **arrest** |  |  | haemorrhage |  |  |  |  | nom arrest «act transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The setting of fractures

```conllu
# sent_id = question:medicine:26-emergencies-ambulance-999-and-a-and-e:e3:o3:1
# text = The setting of fractures
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	setting	setting	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	fractures	fracture	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
```

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

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The prompt restoration of consciousness

```conllu
# sent_id = question:medicine:26-emergencies-ambulance-999-and-a-and-e:e3:o4:1
# text = The prompt restoration of consciousness
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	prompt	prompt	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	restoration	restoration	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	consciousness	consciousness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
```

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

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**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.

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- ← previous: [Emergencies: ambulance, 999 and A&E, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/medicine/26-emergencies-ambulance-999-and-a-and-e/e2/)
- next →: [Emergencies: ambulance, 999 and A&E, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/medicine/26-emergencies-ambulance-999-and-a-and-e/e4/)
- ↑ back to [Emergencies: ambulance, 999 and A&E](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/medicine/26-emergencies-ambulance-999-and-a-and-e/)