---
title: Whereas it is asserted that the inevitability of death renders all e… — Living well because life is short · tree and pragmatics
description: Whereas it is asserted that the inevitability of death renders all endeavour pointless, ascertain the response most consistent with the matters taught. Exam question 4 of lesson 76 «Living well because life is short» of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree an
---

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# Exam question 4 · Living well because life is short

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Whereas it is asserted that the inevitability of death renders all endeavour pointless, ascertain the response most consistent with the matters taught.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, matters · **What happens:** assert, ascertain, teach · **To what, where:** it, response

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 76 «Living well because life is short» of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. 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/76-living-well-because-life-is-short/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:76-living-well-because-life-is-short:e4:1
# text = Whereas it is asserted that the inevitability of death renders all endeavour pointless, ascertain the response most consistent with the matters taught.
1	Whereas	whereas	SCONJ	IN	_	4	mark	_	_
2	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	asserted	assert	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	15	advcl	_	_
5	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	inevitability	inevitability	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	xcomp	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	death	death	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	renders	render	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nmod	_	_
11	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	12	det	_	_
12	endeavour	endeavour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
13	pointless	pointless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
15	ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	response	response	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obj	_	_
18	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	19	advmod	_	_
19	consistent	consistent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
20	with	with	SCONJ	IN	_	23	mark	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	matters	matter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	23	nsubj	_	_
23	taught	teach	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	19	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	15	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **assert** | present · passive |  | it |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V NP to be NP»: subject=Theme endeavour=Eventuality |
| 2 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* | the response |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent response=Topic |
| 3 | **teach** *speech: other* | past | the matters |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=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.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Only endeavours of permanent duration possess any worth

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:76-living-well-because-life-is-short:e4:o1:1
# text = Only endeavours of permanent duration possess any worth
1	Only	only	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	endeavours	endeavour	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	permanent	permanent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	duration	duration	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	possess	possess	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	8	det	_	_
8	worth	worth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **possess** | present | endeavours of permanent duration | any worth |  |  |  |  | vn own-100.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot worth=Theme |
| 2 | **endeavour** |  | permanent duration |  |  |  |  |  | nom endeavour «act intransitive»: of=agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
All endeavour is indeed pointless and ought to be abandoned

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:76-living-well-because-life-is-short:e4:o2:1
# text = All endeavour is indeed pointless and ought to be abandoned
1	All	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	2	det	_	_
2	endeavour	endeavour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	indeed	indeed	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	pointless	pointless	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
7	ought	ought	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
9	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	aux:pass	_	_
10	abandoned	abandon	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | all endeavour |  |  |  |  | indeed, pointless *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **abandon** | ought · passive | all endeavour *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn leave-51.2 «NP V NP.initial\_location» |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Worth is to be measured solely by accumulated possessions

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:76-living-well-because-life-is-short:e4:o3:1
# text = Worth is to be measured solely by accumulated possessions
1	Worth	worth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
4	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	measured	measure	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	solely	solely	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
7	by	by	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	accumulated	accumulate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	9	amod	_	_
9	possessions	possession	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **measure** | present · passive | accumulated possessions | Worth |  |  |  | solely *property* | vn register-54.1-2-1 «NP V NP.value»: agent=Theme subject=Value |
| 2 | **accumulate** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn herd-47.5.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Things of limited duration, such as love and kindness, retain their worth

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:76-living-well-because-life-is-short:e4:o4:1
# text = Things of limited duration, such as love and kindness, retain their worth
1	Things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	limited	limited	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	duration	duration	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
6	such	such	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos|ExtPos=ADP	8	case	_	_
7	as	as	ADP	IN	_	6	fixed	_	_
8	love	love	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	appos	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	kindness	kindness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
12	retain	retain	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
13	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	14	nmod:poss	_	_
14	worth	worth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **retain** | present | Things of limited duration | Things's worth |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

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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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