---
title: "Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye," says Lily,… — Vows, oaths and promises in faith · tree and pragmatics
description: "Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye," says Lily, and then forgets the book. What does this show? Test 4 of lesson 88 «Vows, oaths and promises in faith» of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each opti
---

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# Test 4 · Vows, oaths and promises in faith

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
"Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye," says Lily, and then forgets the book. What does this show?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, Lily, this · **What happens:** cross, hope, die, stick, say, forget · **To what, where:** heart, needle, eye, book · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 4 of lesson 88 «Vows, oaths and promises in faith» 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/88-vows-oaths-and-promises-in-faith/#t4).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* "Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye," says Lily, and then forgets the book.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:88-vows-oaths-and-promises-in-faith:t4:1
# text = "Cross my heart, hope to die, stick a needle in my eye," says Lily, and then forgets the book.
1	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	Cross	cross	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	advcl	_	_
3	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	heart	heart	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	hope	hope	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	die	die	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	stick	stick	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	needle	needle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
15	eye	eye	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	18	punct	_	_
18	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	parataxis	_	_
19	Lily	Lily	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	18	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	23	punct	_	_
21	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	23	cc	_	_
22	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	23	advmod	_	_
23	forgets	forget	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	18	conj	_	_
24	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	25	det	_	_
25	book	book	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cross** *in a quote* | infinitive | you *not said here* | my heart |  |  |  |  | vn crane-40.3.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent heart=Patient |
| 2 | **hope** *in a quote* | present | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn long-32.2 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 3 | **die** *not said to happen, in a quote* | to-infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |
| 4 | **stick** *in a quote* | imperative | you *not said here* | a needle |  | my eye |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | Lily |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 6 | **forget** | present | Lily *not said here* | the book |  |  | then |  | tree rules |

<!-- .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 does this show?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:88-vows-oaths-and-promises-in-faith:t4:2
# text = What does this show?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	obj	_	_
2	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	this	this	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	4	nsubj	_	_
4	show	show	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | present · do-support | this |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent what=Recipient |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The oath was too short to count, so she needed a longer and scarier one

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:88-vows-oaths-and-promises-in-faith:t4:o1:1
# text = The oath was too short to count, so she needed a longer and scarier one
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	oath	oath	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	too	too	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	count	count	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
9	so	so	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
10	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	needed	need	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
13	longer	long	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	16	amod	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	scarier	scarey	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	13	conj	_	_
16	one	one	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the oath |  |  |  |  | short *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **count** | to-infinitive | the oath *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn matter-91 «NP V»: agent=Stimulus |
| 3 | **need** | past | she | a longer one |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot one=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She should have crossed her heart twice

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:88-vows-oaths-and-promises-in-faith:t4:o2:1
# text = She should have crossed her heart twice
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	have	have	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	aux	_	_
4	crossed	cross	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	heart	heart	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	twice	twice	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	4	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cross** | should · perfect | She | her heart |  |  |  | twice *property* | vn crane-40.3.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent heart=Patient |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Dramatic oaths don't make you keep a promise; doing it does

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:88-vows-oaths-and-promises-in-faith:t4:o3:1
# text = Dramatic oaths don't make you keep a promise; doing it does
1	Dramatic	dramatic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	oaths	oath	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
3	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	_
7	keep	keep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	promise	promise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
11	doing	do	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	13	csubj	_	_
12	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	_
13	does	do	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **make** | present · do-support | Dramatic oaths | you |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **keep** | infinitive | you *not said here* | a promise |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent promise=Theme |
| 3 | **do** | gerund |  | promise |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Eventuality |
| 4 | **do** | present | doing |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Books are not worth promising about

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:88-vows-oaths-and-promises-in-faith:t4:o4:1
# text = Books are not worth promising about
1	Books	book	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	worth	worth	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	promising	promise	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	csubj	_	_
6	about	about	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is** | present | Books |  |  |  |  | worth *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **promise** *speech: promise* | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | about *property* | vn promise-37.13 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

<!-- 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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