---
title: Ben's teacher calls the old Roman calendar "a right dog's dinner" (a… — How our calendar was made: Romans, Jul… · tree and pragmatics
description: Ben's teacher calls the old Roman calendar "a right dog's dinner" (a big mess). Why didn't it fit the seasons? Test 12 · ★ of lesson 116 «How our calendar was made: Romans, Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory» of the world course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the qu
---

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# Test 12 · ★ · How our calendar was made: Romans, Julius Caesar and Pope…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ben's teacher calls the old Roman calendar "a right dog's dinner" (a big mess). Why didn't it fit the seasons?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** teacher, dinner · **What happens:** call, not fit · **To what, where:** old Roman calendar · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 12 · ★ of lesson 116 «How our calendar was made: Romans, Julius Caesar and Pope Gregory» of the world 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/world/116-how-our-calendar-was-made/#t12).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Ben's teacher calls the old Roman calendar "a right dog's dinner" (a big mess).

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:116-how-our-calendar-was-made:t12:1
# text = Ben's teacher calls the old Roman calendar "a right dog's dinner" (a big mess).
1	Ben	Ben	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	's	PART	POS	_	1	case	_	_
3	teacher	teacher	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	calls	call	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
6	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
7	Roman	roman	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	calendar	calendar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
9	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	right	right	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	's	's	PART	POS	_	12	case	_	_
14	dinner	dinner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	14	punct	_	_
16	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
18	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	mess	mess	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | present | Ben's teacher | the old Roman calendar and a right dog's dinner |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent calendar=Recipient |

<!-- .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:* Why didn't it fit the seasons?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:116-how-our-calendar-was-made:t12:2
# text = Why didn't it fit the seasons?
1	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	5	advmod	_	_
2	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
4	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	fit	fit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	seasons	season	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **fit** | past · do-support | dinner |  |  |  | season |  | vn adjust-26.9 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Romans had no words for summer and winter

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:116-how-our-calendar-was-made:t12:o1:1
# text = The Romans had no words for summer and winter
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Romans	Roman	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	5	det	_	_
5	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	summer	summer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	winter	winter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | the Romans | no words |  |  |  | for summer and winter | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent word=Patient |

### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Priests added days when they felt like it, sometimes for politics

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:116-how-our-calendar-was-made:t12:o2:1
# text = Priests added days when they felt like it, sometimes for politics
1	Priests	priest	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nsubj	_	_
2	added	add	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	days	day	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
5	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	felt	feel	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
7	like	like	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	sometimes	sometimes	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	12	advmod	_	_
11	for	for	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	politics	politics	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **add** *speech: assert* | past | Priests |  |  |  | day | for politics | vn mix-22.1-2 «NP V ADVP-Middle»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **feel** | past | Priests *= priest* |  |  |  |  | like it | vn conjecture-29.5-2 «NP V S»: agent=Agent like it=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It had a leap day every 4 years with no exceptions

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:116-how-our-calendar-was-made:t12:o3:1
# text = It had a leap day every 4 years with no exceptions
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	leap	leap	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	8	det	_	_
7	4	4	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl:unmarked	_	_
9	with	with	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	11	det	_	_
11	exceptions	exception	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | It |  |  |  | day; year | with no exceptions | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It followed the Sun far too closely

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:116-how-our-calendar-was-made:t12:o4:1
# text = It followed the Sun far too closely
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	followed	follow	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	Sun	Sun	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	far	far	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	2	advmod	_	_
6	too	too	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	closely	closely	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | past | It | the Sun |  |  |  | closely, far *property* | vn chase-51.6 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sun=Theme |

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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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