---
title: The vicar answers, very formally: «I shall not pretend to understand… — Is it fair? Why bad things happen to g… · tree and pragmatics
description: The vicar answers, very formally: «I shall not pretend to understand why; I believe, nonetheless, that God is present in our suffering.» What is he saying? Test 3 · ★★★ of lesson 75 «Is it fair? Why bad things happen to good people» of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school, with the de
---

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# Test 3 · ★★★ · Is it fair? Why bad things happen to good people

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The vicar answers, very formally: «I shall not pretend to understand why; I believe, nonetheless, that God is present in our suffering.» What is he saying?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 4 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** vicar, God, our · **What happens:** answer, not pretend, understand, believe, be, suffer · **To what, where:** suffering · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 3 · ★★★ of lesson 75 «Is it fair? Why bad things happen to good people» 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/75-is-it-fair-why-bad-things-happen-to-good-people/#t3).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* The vicar answers, very formally: «I shall not pretend to understand why; I believe, nonetheless, that God is present in our suffering.»

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:75-is-it-fair-why-bad-things-happen-to-good-people:t3:1
# text = The vicar answers, very formally: «I shall not pretend to understand why; I believe, nonetheless, that God is present in our suffering.»
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	vicar	vicar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	answers	answer	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
5	very	very	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	formally	formally	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	12	punct	_	_
8	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
10	shall	shall	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
11	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	12	advmod	_	_
12	pretend	pretend	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	parataxis	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	understand	understand	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	xcomp	_	_
15	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	14	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
17	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
18	believe	believe	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
20	nonetheless	nonetheless	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	25	punct	_	_
22	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	25	mark	_	_
23	God	God	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	25	nsubj	_	_
24	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	25	cop	_	_
25	present	present	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	parataxis	_	_
26	in	in	ADP	IN	_	28	case	_	_
27	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	28	nmod:poss	_	_
28	suffering	suffering	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **answer** *speech: assert* | present | the vicar |  |  |  |  | formally *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **pretend** *in a quote* | shall | the vicar *= vicar* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **understand** *in a quote* | to-infinitive | the vicar *= vicar* *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 4 | **believe** *in a quote* | present | the vicar *= vicar* |  |  |  |  | nonetheless *property* | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer |
| 5 | **is** *in a quote* | present | God |  |  | our suffering |  | present *property* | tree rules |
| 6 | **suffer** *in a quote* |  | our |  |  |  |  |  | nom suffering «state intransitive»: 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 he saying?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:75-is-it-fair-why-bad-things-happen-to-good-people:t3:2
# text = What is he saying?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	obj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	saying	say	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present · progressive | God |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
God caused all the suffering on purpose, to test people

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:75-is-it-fair-why-bad-things-happen-to-good-people:t3:o1:1
# text = God caused all the suffering on purpose, to test people
1	God	God	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	caused	cause	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	5	det:predet	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	suffering	suffering	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	purpose	purpose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	test	test	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	parataxis	_	_
11	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cause** | past | God | all suffering |  | purpose |  |  | vn engender-27.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition suffering=Patient |
| 2 | **test** | to-infinitive |  | people |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent people=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
God is far away and absent whenever people are suffering

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:75-is-it-fair-why-bad-things-happen-to-good-people:t3:o2:1
# text = God is far away and absent whenever people are suffering
1	God	God	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	far	far	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	4	advmod	_	_
4	away	away	ADV	RB	_	0	root	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	absent	absent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	_
7	whenever	whenever	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	10	advmod	_	_
8	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
9	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	suffering	suffer	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | God |  |  |  |  | away, far *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  | God *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **suffer** | present · progressive | people |  |  |  |  | whenever *property* | vn marvel-31.3 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He knows exactly why it happened and will explain it later

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:75-is-it-fair-why-bad-things-happen-to-good-people:t3:o3:1
# text = He knows exactly why it happened and will explain it later
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	knows	know	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	exactly	exactly	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
5	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	happened	happen	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
9	explain	explain	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	conj	_	_
10	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	_
11	later	late	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	9	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **know** | present | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 2 | **happen** | past | it |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **explain** *speech: assert* | future | He *not said here* | it |  |  |  | late *property* | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Topic |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He doesn't know why, but believes God is with us

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:75-is-it-fair-why-bad-things-happen-to-good-people:t3:o4:1
# text = He doesn't know why, but believes God is with us
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	know	know	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	believes	believe	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
9	God	God	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
11	with	with	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	8	ccomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **know** | present · do-support | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **believe** | present | He *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer |
| 3 | **is** | present | God |  |  |  |  | with us | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**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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