---
title: Max says, "Stealing is wrong, but it's ok for me to take my brother'… — How to argue: reasons and evidence · tree and pragmatics
description: Max says, "Stealing is wrong, but it's ok for me to take my brother's sweets." What is the problem? Test 7 · ★★ of lesson 39 «How to argue: reasons and evidence» of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's
---

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# Test 7 · ★★ · How to argue: reasons and evidence

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Max says, "Stealing is wrong, but it's ok for me to take my brother's sweets." What is the problem?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Max, Stealing, it, problem · **What happens:** say, be, take · **To what, where:** sweets · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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This is test 7 · ★★ of lesson 39 «How to argue: reasons and evidence» of the religion ethics 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/religion-ethics/39-how-to-argue-reasons-and-evidence/#t7).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Max says, "Stealing is wrong, but it's ok for me to take my brother's sweets."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:39-how-to-argue-reasons-and-evidence:t7:1
# text = Max says, "Stealing is wrong, but it's ok for me to take my brother's sweets."
1	Max	Max	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
4	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	Stealing	stealing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
9	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
12	ok	ok	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	ccomp	_	_
13	for	for	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	12	obl	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	take	take	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	csubj	_	_
17	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	18	nmod:poss	_	_
18	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	's	's	PART	POS	_	18	case	_	_
20	sweets	sweet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | Max |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** *in a quote* | present | Stealing |  |  |  |  | wrong *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** *in a quote* | present | it |  |  |  |  | for Max; ok *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **take** *in a quote* | to-infinitive |  | my brother's sweets |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sweet=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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* What is the problem?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:39-how-to-argue-reasons-and-evidence:t7:2
# text = What is the problem?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	0	root	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	problem	problem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

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

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He has given too many reasons for his view

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:39-how-to-argue-reasons-and-evidence:t7:o1:1
# text = He has given too many reasons for his view
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	given	give	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	too	too	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	reasons	reason	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	view	view	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | present · perfect · passive |  | He |  |  |  | for his view | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP NP PP.asset»: subject=Recipient reason=Theme for view=Asset |
| 2 | **view** |  | his *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom view «cognition transitive»: poss=agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nothing, because family sweets are special

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:39-how-to-argue-reasons-and-evidence:t7:o2:1
# text = Nothing, because family sweets are special
1	Nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
3	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
4	family	family	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	sweets	sweet	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
6	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	special	special	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	amod	_	_
```

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

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He has asked too many clarifying questions

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:39-how-to-argue-reasons-and-evidence:t7:o3:1
# text = He has asked too many clarifying questions
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	asked	ask	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	too	too	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
6	clarifying	clarify	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	amod	_	_
7	questions	question	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ask** *speech: ask* | present · perfect | He | many clarifying questions |  |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent question=Recipient |
| 2 | **clarify** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He treats similar cases differently

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:39-how-to-argue-reasons-and-evidence:t7:o4:1
# text = He treats similar cases differently
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	treats	treat	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	similar	similar	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	cases	case	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	differently	differently	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **treat** | present | He | similar cases |  |  |  | differently *property* | vn equip-13.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent case=Recipient |

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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: [How to argue: reasons and evidence, test 6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/39-how-to-argue-reasons-and-evidence/t6/)
- next →: [How to argue: reasons and evidence, test 8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/39-how-to-argue-reasons-and-evidence/t8/)
- ↑ back to [How to argue: reasons and evidence](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/39-how-to-argue-reasons-and-evidence/)