---
title: "It's too hard, there's no right answer, so I'll just do nothing." W… — Lifeboat choices · tree and pragmatics
description: "It's too hard, there's no right answer, so I'll just do nothing." What is wrong with this? Test 8 · ★★ of lesson 48 «Lifeboat choices» 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 choice was right.
---

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# Test 8 · ★★ · Lifeboat choices

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"It's too hard, there's no right answer, so I'll just do nothing." What is wrong with this?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** right answer, I · **What happens:** be, do · **To what, where:** nothing

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This is test 8 · ★★ of lesson 48 «Lifeboat choices» 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/48-lifeboat-choices/#t8).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* "It's too hard, there's no right answer, so I'll just do nothing."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:48-lifeboat-choices:t8:1
# text = "It's too hard, there's no right answer, so I'll just do nothing."
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	expl	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	too	too	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	8	expl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	's	be	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
9	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	11	det	_	_
10	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
13	so	so	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
14	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	'll	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	17	aux	_	_
16	just	just	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
17	do	do	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
18	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	17	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** *in a quote* | present |  |  |  |  |  | hard *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** *in a quote* | present | no right answer |  |  | there |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **do** *in a quote* | future | I | nothing |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent nothing=Eventuality |

<!-- .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 wrong with this?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:48-lifeboat-choices:t8:2
# text = What is wrong with this?
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	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	this	this	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

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

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Even with no perfect answer we can choose the least bad one

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:48-lifeboat-choices:t8:o1:1
# text = Even with no perfect answer we can choose the least bad one
1	Even	even	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
2	with	with	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	5	det	_	_
4	perfect	perfect	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
6	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
7	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	choose	choose	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
10	least	least	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	12	amod	_	_
11	bad	bad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **choose** | can | we | the least bad one |  |  |  | with no perfect answer | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent one=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nothing; doing nothing is always the safest choice in the end

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:48-lifeboat-choices:t8:o2:1
# text = Nothing; doing nothing is always the safest choice in the end
1	Nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	9	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	3	punct	_	_
3	doing	do	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	1	conj	_	_
4	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	3	obj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
6	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	9	advmod	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	safest	safe	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	9	amod	_	_
9	choice	choice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	end	end	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | gerund | Nothing *not said here* | nothing |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent nothing=Eventuality |
| 2 | **is a** | present | Nothing | the safest choice |  |  | in the end | always *property* | tree rules |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is wrong only because the teacher will be cross

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:48-lifeboat-choices:t8:o3:1
# text = It is wrong only because the teacher will be cross
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	wrong	wrong	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	only	only	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
5	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
8	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
9	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	cop	_	_
10	cross	cross	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | It |  |  |  |  | wrong *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | future | the teacher |  |  |  |  | cross *property* | tree rules |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is right, because hard questions don't count

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:48-lifeboat-choices:t8:o4:1
# text = It is right, because hard questions don't count
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
5	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
6	hard	hard	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	questions	question	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
8	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	10	advmod	_	_
10	count	count	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	parataxis	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | It |  |  |  |  | right *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **count** | present · do-support | hard questions |  |  |  |  |  | vn matter-91 «NP V»: agent=Stimulus |

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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: [Lifeboat choices, test 7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/48-lifeboat-choices/t7/)
- next →: [Lifeboat choices, test 9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/48-lifeboat-choices/t9/)
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