---
title: Identify the principal deficiency of the response "I just know" when… — "How do you know?" · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the principal deficiency of the response "I just know" when offered in support of an assertion. Exam question 1 of lesson 186 «"How do you know?"» of the world course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choice was wron
---

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# Exam question 1 · "How do you know?"

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the principal deficiency of the response "I just know" when offered in support of an assertion.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, I · **What happens:** identify, know, offer, support · **To what, where:** principal deficiency, support, assertion

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This is exam question 1 of lesson 186 «"How do you know?"» of the world 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/world/186-how-do-you-know/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:186-how-do-you-know:e1:1
# text = Identify the principal deficiency of the response "I just know" when offered in support of an assertion.
1	Identify	identify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	deficiency	deficiency	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	response	response	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
10	just	just	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	know	know	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	_
13	when	when	SCONJ	WRB	_	14	mark	_	_
14	offered	offer	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	11	ccomp	_	_
15	in	in	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	support	support	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	_
17	of	of	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	assertion	assertion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **identify** | imperative | you *not said here* | the principal deficiency of the response |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent deficiency=Theme |
| 2 | **know** *in a quote* | present | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 3 | **offer** | participle |  |  |  | support of a assertion |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **support** |  |  | a assertion |  |  |  |  | nom support «act transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .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 -->
It proves the assertion to be false

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:186-how-do-you-know:e1:o1:1
# text = It proves the assertion to be false
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	proves	prove	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	assertion	assertion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
6	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	cop	_	_
7	false	false	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **prove** | present | It | the assertion |  |  |  |  | vn deduce-97.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent assertion=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | false *property* | tree rules |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It provides no reason or source for the assertion

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:186-how-do-you-know:e1:o2:1
# text = It provides no reason or source for the assertion
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	provides	provide	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	4	det	_	_
4	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	source	source	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	assertion	assertion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **provide** | present | It | no reason or source |  |  |  | for the assertion | vn ensure-99 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Precondition reason=Theme for assertion=Beneficiary |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is an instance of the fence-post error

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:186-how-do-you-know:e1:o3:1
# text = It is an instance of the fence-post error
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	instance	instance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
7	fence	fence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	post	post	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	compound	_	_
10	error	error	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | It | a instance |  |  |  | of the post error | tree rules |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It provides an excessive quantity of evidence for the assertion

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:186-how-do-you-know:e1:o4:1
# text = It provides an excessive quantity of evidence for the assertion
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	provides	provide	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	excessive	excessive	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	quantity	quantity	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	evidence	evidence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	assertion	assertion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **provide** | present | It | a excessive quantity of evidence for the assertion |  |  |  |  | vn ensure-99 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition quantity=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.

<!-- /div -->

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- ← previous: ["How do you know?", test 12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/world/186-how-do-you-know/t12/)
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