---
title: «If you only get one life, why do people waste it?» asks Ella. Which… — Life is precious: wonder and gratitude · tree and pragmatics
description: «If you only get one life, why do people waste it?» asks Ella. Which is the wisest answer? Test 11 · ★ of lesson 54 «Life is precious: wonder and gratitude» 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 choi
---

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# Test 11 · ★ · Life is precious: wonder and gratitude

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«If you only get one life, why do people waste it?» asks Ella. Which is the wisest answer?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, people, Ella · **What happens:** get, waste, ask, be · **To what, where:** one life, life, wisest answer · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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This is test 11 · ★ of lesson 54 «Life is precious: wonder and gratitude» 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/54-life-is-precious-wonder-and-gratitude/#t11).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* «If you only get one life, why do people waste it?» asks Ella.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:54-life-is-precious-wonder-and-gratitude:t11:1
# text = «If you only get one life, why do people waste it?» asks Ella.
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	If	if	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
3	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
4	only	only	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	get	get	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	advcl	_	_
6	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	7	nummod	_	_
7	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
9	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	12	advmod	_	_
10	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
11	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nsubj	_	_
12	waste	waste	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	ccomp	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	12	punct	_	_
16	asks	ask	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
17	Ella	Ella	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	16	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	16	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** *a condition, not said to happen, in a quote* | present | you | one life |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer life=Stimulus |
| 2 | **waste** *in a quote* | present · do-support | people | life |  |  |  |  | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Patient |
| 3 | **ask** *speech: ask* | present | Ella |  |  |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=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:* Which is the wisest answer?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:54-life-is-precious-wonder-and-gratitude:t11:2
# text = Which is the wisest answer?
1	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	wisest	wise	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	5	amod	_	_
5	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

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

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nobody ever wastes any time

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:54-life-is-precious-wonder-and-gratitude:t11:o1:1
# text = Nobody ever wastes any time
1	Nobody	nobody	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	3	nsubj	_	_
2	ever	ever	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	3	advmod	_	_
3	wastes	waste	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	5	det	_	_
5	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **waste** | present | Nobody |  |  |  | ever; time |  | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
People get spare lives, so they can waste one

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:54-life-is-precious-wonder-and-gratitude:t11:o2:1
# text = People get spare lives, so they can waste one
1	People	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	get	get	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	spare	spare	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	lives	life	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
6	so	so	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
7	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
9	waste	waste	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	parataxis	_	_
10	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	9	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **get** | present | People | spare lives |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer life=Stimulus |
| 2 | **waste** | can | People | one |  |  |  |  | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent one=Patient |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Everyone wastes time sometimes, but we can choose to spend our days well

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:54-life-is-precious-wonder-and-gratitude:t11:o3:1
# text = Everyone wastes time sometimes, but we can choose to spend our days well
1	Everyone	everyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wastes	waste	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	sometimes	sometimes	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	2	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
6	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
7	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
9	choose	choose	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	parataxis	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	spend	spend	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	_
12	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	days	day	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obj	_	_
14	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	11	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **waste** | present | Everyone |  |  |  | time | sometimes *property* | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **choose** | can | we |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **spend** | to-infinitive | we *not said here* |  |  |  | day | well *property* | vn consume-66-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Life is so short that nothing matters

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:54-life-is-precious-wonder-and-gratitude:t11:o4:1
# text = Life is so short that nothing matters
1	Life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	so	so	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	7	nsubj	_	_
7	matters	matter	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Life |  |  |  |  | short *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **matter** | present | nothing |  |  |  |  |  | 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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