---
title: «Grassing on a mate is the worst thing ever,» says a boy in Glasgow… — Promises, memory and keeping each othe… · tree and pragmatics
description: «Grassing on a mate is the worst thing ever,» says a boy in Glasgow (grassing = telling on someone). In this case, what's true? Test 3 · ★★ of lesson 79 «Promises, memory and keeping each other safe» of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of t
---

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# Test 3 · ★★ · Promises, memory and keeping each other safe

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«Grassing on a mate is the worst thing ever,» says a boy in Glasgow (grassing = telling on someone). In this case, what's true?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 4 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** boy · **What happens:** grass, be, say, tell · **To what, where:** mate, worst thing, someone, case · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 3 · ★★ of lesson 79 «Promises, memory and keeping each other safe» 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/79-promises-memory-and-keeping-each-other-safe/#t3).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* «Grassing on a mate is the worst thing ever,» says a boy in Glasgow (grassing = telling on someone).

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:79-promises-memory-and-keeping-each-other-safe:t3:1
# text = «Grassing on a mate is the worst thing ever,» says a boy in Glasgow (grassing = telling on someone).
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Grassing	grass	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	13	ccomp	_	_
3	on	on	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	mate	mate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	worst	bad	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	9	amod	_	_
9	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
10	ever	ever	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	9	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	13	punct	_	_
13	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obj	_	_
16	in	in	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	Glasgow	Glasgow	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	15	nmod	_	_
18	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	grassing	grass	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	15	acl	_	_
20	=	=	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
21	telling	tell	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	19	conj	_	_
22	on	on	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
23	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	21	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grass** *in a quote* | gerund |  |  |  | a mate |  |  | vn butter-9.9 «NP V NP.destination»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** *in a quote* | present |  | the worst thing |  |  | ever |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | a boy |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 4 | **grass** | gerund | a boy *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn butter-9.9 «NP V NP.destination»: agent=Agent |
| 5 | **tell** *speech: assert* | gerund | a boy *not said here* |  |  | someone |  |  | 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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* In this case, what's true?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:79-promises-memory-and-keeping-each-other-safe:t3:2
# text = In this case, what's true?
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	3	det	_	_
3	case	case	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
7	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

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

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Only tell if the mate says you can

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:79-promises-memory-and-keeping-each-other-safe:t3:o1:1
# text = Only tell if the mate says you can
1	Only	only	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	tell	tell	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	mate	mate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
7	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* *a condition, not said to happen* | present | the mate |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Tell other kids but not adults

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:79-promises-memory-and-keeping-each-other-safe:t3:o2:1
# text = Tell other kids but not adults
1	Tell	tell	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	other	other	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	kids	kid	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
4	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
5	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	adults	adult	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | imperative | you *not said here* |  | other kids but adults |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent kid=Recipient |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He's right; you must never, ever tell on a mate, whatever happens to him, ever

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:79-promises-memory-and-keeping-each-other-safe:t3:o3:1
# text = He's right; you must never, ever tell on a mate, whatever happens to him, ever
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	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	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
6	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
7	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	10	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
9	ever	ever	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	10	advmod	_	_
10	tell	tell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	conj	_	_
11	on	on	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	mate	mate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
15	whatever	whatever	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	16	nsubj	_	_
16	happens	happen	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	conj	_	_
17	to	to	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
20	ever	ever	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	10	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | He |  |  |  |  | right *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **tell** *speech: assert* | must | you |  |  | a mate | ever; ever |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **happen** | present | whatever |  | him *= he* |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Telling an adult when a friend is in danger is being a good friend

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:79-promises-memory-and-keeping-each-other-safe:t3:o4:1
# text = Telling an adult when a friend is in danger is being a good friend
1	Telling	tell	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	14	csubj	_	_
2	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	adult	adult	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	9	mark	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	friend	friend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
7	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	danger	danger	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	ccomp	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	14	cop	_	_
11	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	14	cop	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	friend	friend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | gerund |  |  | a adult |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent adult=Recipient |
| 2 | **is** | present | a friend |  |  | danger |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **is a** | present | Telling | a good friend |  |  |  |  | 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.

<!-- /div -->

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