---
title: Your sister says, "I'll tell Miss in a note without my name that Lil… — Whistle-blowing: when to tell · tree and pragmatics
description: Your sister says, "I'll tell Miss in a note without my name that Lily stole, even though I'm not sure." What is the problem? Test 7 · ★★ of lesson 45 «Whistle-blowing: when to tell» of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of
---

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# Test 7 · ★★ · Whistle-blowing: when to tell

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Your sister says, "I'll tell Miss in a note without my name that Lily stole, even though I'm not sure." What is the problem?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** sister, Lily, my, problem · **What happens:** say, tell, steal, not be, name, be · **To what, where:** Miss, note, name · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 7 · ★★ of lesson 45 «Whistle-blowing: when to tell» 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/45-whistle-blowing-when-to-tell/#t7).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Your sister says, "I'll tell Miss in a note without my name that Lily stole, even though I'm not sure."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:45-whistle-blowing-when-to-tell:t7:1
# text = Your sister says, "I'll tell Miss in a note without my name that Lily stole, even though I'm not sure."
1	Your	your	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	sister	sister	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
5	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	'll	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	tell	tell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
9	Miss	Miss	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	iobj	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	note	note	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
13	without	without	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
15	name	name	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
16	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	18	mark	_	_
17	Lily	Lily	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	18	nsubj	_	_
18	stole	steal	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	25	punct	_	_
20	even	even	ADV	RB	_	25	advmod	_	_
21	though	though	SCONJ	IN	_	25	mark	_	_
22	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	25	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	'm	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	25	cop	_	_
24	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	25	advmod	_	_
25	sure	sure	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | Your sister |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | future | Your sister *= sister* |  | Miss | a note |  | without my name | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent miss=Recipient |
| 3 | **steal** *in a quote* | past | Lily | my name *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location name=Theme |
| 4 | **not** **is** *in a quote* | present | Your sister *= sister* |  |  |  |  | sure *property* | tree rules |
| 5 | **name** *in a quote* |  | my |  |  |  |  |  | nom name «communication transitive»: poss=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:* What is the problem?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:45-whistle-blowing-when-to-tell: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 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Anonymous reports should be honest; accusing someone without being sure could hurt them unfairly

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:45-whistle-blowing-when-to-tell:t7:o1:1
# text = Anonymous reports should be honest; accusing someone without being sure could hurt them unfairly
1	Anonymous	anonymous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	reports	report	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
3	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	cop	_	_
5	honest	honest	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
7	accusing	accuse	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	13	csubj	_	_
8	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	7	obj	_	_
9	without	without	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
10	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	11	cop	_	_
11	sure	sure	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	advcl	_	_
12	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
13	hurt	hurt	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	parataxis	_	_
14	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	obj	_	_
15	unfairly	unfairly	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | should | Anonymous reports |  |  |  |  | honest *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **accuse** | gerund |  | someone |  |  |  |  | vn suspect-81 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Agent someone=Theme |
| 3 | **is** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | sure *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **hurt** | could | accusing | reports *= report* |  |  |  | unfairly *property* | vn hurt-40.8.3-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer they=Patient |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
There is no problem, anonymous notes can say anything

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:45-whistle-blowing-when-to-tell:t7:o2:1
# text = There is no problem, anonymous notes can say anything
1	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	2	expl	_	_
2	is	be	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	4	det	_	_
4	problem	problem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
6	anonymous	anonymous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	notes	note	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
8	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
9	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	parataxis	_	_
10	anything	anything	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	9	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **be** | present | no problem |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | can | anonymous notes | anything |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent anything=Topic |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Notes are never allowed, so she should shout it in class

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:45-whistle-blowing-when-to-tell:t7:o3:1
# text = Notes are never allowed, so she should shout it in class
1	Notes	note	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
3	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	allowed	allow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
6	so	so	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
7	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
9	shout	shout	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	class	class	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **allow** | present · passive |  | Notes |  |  |  |  | vn allow-64.1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Beneficiary |
| 2 | **shout** *speech: express* | should | she | it |  | class |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Topic |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The only problem is that Miss might find out who wrote it

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:45-whistle-blowing-when-to-tell:t7:o4:1
# text = The only problem is that Miss might find out who wrote it
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	only	only	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	problem	problem	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj:outer	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
5	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
6	Miss	Miss	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
7	might	might	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	find	find	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
9	out	out	ADP	RP	_	8	compound:prt	_	_
10	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
11	wrote	write	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	ccomp	_	_
12	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | might · present | the only problem |  |  |  |  | find *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **write** | past |  | problem |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |

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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.

<!-- /div -->

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- ← previous: [Whistle-blowing: when to tell, test 6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/45-whistle-blowing-when-to-tell/t6/)
- next →: [Whistle-blowing: when to tell, test 8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/45-whistle-blowing-when-to-tell/t8/)
- ↑ back to [Whistle-blowing: when to tell](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/45-whistle-blowing-when-to-tell/)