---
title: Arjun: "A crystal in my watch wiggles? Dad's taking the mick." ("Tak… — Pendulums, Greenwich and railway time,… · tree and pragmatics
description: Arjun: "A crystal in my watch wiggles? Dad's taking the mick." ("Taking the mick" means joking.) Is Dad joking? Test 7 · ★ of lesson 123 «Pendulums, Greenwich and railway time, atomic clocks and phones» of the world course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the ques
---

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# Test 7 · ★ · Pendulums, Greenwich and railway time, atomic clocks and p…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Arjun: "A crystal in my watch wiggles? Dad's taking the mick." ("Taking the mick" means joking.) Is Dad joking?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** my, Dad, Taking · **What happens:** wiggle, take, mean, joke · **To what, where:** mick · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 7 · ★ of lesson 123 «Pendulums, Greenwich and railway time, atomic clocks and phones» 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/123-pendulums-greenwich-atomic-clocks/#t7).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Arjun: "A crystal in my watch wiggles?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:123-pendulums-greenwich-atomic-clocks:t7:1
# text = Arjun: "A crystal in my watch wiggles?
1	Arjun	Arjun	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	5	punct	_	_
3	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	crystal	crystal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	appos	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
8	watch	watch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	wiggles	wiggle	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wiggle** *in a quote* |  | my |  |  |  |  |  | nom wiggle «act transitive»: 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:* Dad's taking the mick."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:123-pendulums-greenwich-atomic-clocks:t7:2
# text = Dad's taking the mick."
1	Dad	dad	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	taking	take	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	mick	mick	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | present · progressive | Dad | the mick |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent mick=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 3:* ("Taking the mick" means joking.)

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:123-pendulums-greenwich-atomic-clocks:t7:3
# text = ("Taking the mick" means joking.)
1	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	Taking	take	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	csubj	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	mick	mick	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
7	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	joking	joke	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** *in a quote* | gerund |  | the mick |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent mick=Theme |
| 2 | **mean** | present | Taking |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **joke** *speech: other* *not said to happen* | gerund | Taking *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn chit\_chat-37.6 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 4:* Is Dad joking?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:123-pendulums-greenwich-atomic-clocks:t7:4
# text = Is Dad joking?
1	Is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
2	Dad	Dad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	joking	joke	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **joke** *speech: other* | present · progressive | Dad |  |  |  |  |  | vn chit\_chat-37.6 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No, a quartz crystal vibrates 32,768 times a second

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:123-pendulums-greenwich-atomic-clocks:t7:o1:1
# text = No, a quartz crystal vibrates 32,768 times a second
1	No	no	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Neg	6	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	quartz	quartz	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	crystal	crystal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	vibrates	vibrate	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	32,768	32,768	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	8	nummod	_	_
8	times	time	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl:unmarked	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	second	second	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:unmarked	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **vibrate** | present | a quartz crystal |  |  |  | time |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No, but it only wiggles very slowly, about once a minute

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:123-pendulums-greenwich-atomic-clocks:t7:o2:1
# text = No, but it only wiggles very slowly, about once a minute
1	No	no	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Neg	6	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
3	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
4	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
5	only	only	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	wiggles	wiggle	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	very	very	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	slowly	slowly	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	about	about	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	6	advmod	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	minute	minute	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl:unmarked	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wiggle** | present | it |  |  |  |  | once, slowly *property* | vn body\_internal\_motion-49.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yes, crystals are a kind of rock and can never move at all

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:123-pendulums-greenwich-atomic-clocks:t7:o3:1
# text = Yes, crystals are a kind of rock and can never move at all
1	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	6	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	crystals	crystal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
4	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	kind	kind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	rock	rock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
10	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
11	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	12	advmod	_	_
12	move	move	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	conj	_	_
13	at	at	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	12	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | crystals | a kind |  |  |  | of rock | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **move** | can | crystals *not said here* |  |  | all |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V PP.trajectory»: agent=Theme at all=Trajectory |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yes, watches only ever use springs and little wheels

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:123-pendulums-greenwich-atomic-clocks:t7:o4:1
# text = Yes, watches only ever use springs and little wheels
1	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	3	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	watches	watch	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	only	only	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
5	ever	ever	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	6	advmod	_	_
6	use	use	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
7	springs	spring	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	wheels	wheel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **watch** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **use** | present |  |  |  |  | ever; spring |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V»: 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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