---
title: A kid from Texas: "Y'all fixin' to say I hate dogs 'cause I like cat… — Fighting fair: no straw men, no moving… · tree and pragmatics
description: A kid from Texas: "Y'all fixin' to say I hate dogs 'cause I like cats? I never said that." What is the fair way to answer her? Test 11 · ★★ of lesson 189 «Fighting fair: no straw men, no moving goalposts, no either-or» of the world course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragma
---

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# Test 11 · ★★ · Fighting fair: no straw men, no moving goalposts, no eithe…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A kid from Texas: "Y'all fixin' to say I hate dogs 'cause I like cats? I never said that." What is the fair way to answer her?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Y'all, kid, I, fair way · **What happens:** fixin, say, hate, like, not say, be · **To what, where:** I, dogs, cats, that, fixin · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 11 · ★★ of lesson 189 «Fighting fair: no straw men, no moving goalposts, no either-or» 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/189-fighting-fair-no-straw-men-no-moving-goalposts-no-either-or/#t11).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* A kid from Texas: "Y'all fixin' to say I hate dogs 'cause I like cats?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:189-fighting-fair-no-straw-men-no-moving-goalposts-no-either-or:t11:1
# text = A kid from Texas: "Y'all fixin' to say I hate dogs 'cause I like cats?
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	kid	kid	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
3	from	from	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	Texas	Texas	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	8	punct	_	_
6	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	Y'all	y'all	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	fixin	fixin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	'	'	PUNCT	''	_	8	punct	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	acl	_	_
12	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	_
13	hate	hate	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
14	dogs	dog	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	obj	_	_
15	'	's	PART	POS	_	14	case	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	cause	cause	SCONJ	IN	_	18	mark	_	_
17	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
18	like	like	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	advcl	_	_
19	cats	cat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	13	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fixin** *in a quote* |  | Y'all |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | to-infinitive | a kid from Texas and fixin *not said here* | I |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent i=Topic |
| 3 | **hate** *in a quote* | present | a kid from Texas and fixin | dogs |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer dog=Stimulus |
| 4 | **like** *in a quote* | present | I | cats |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot cat=Theme |

<!-- .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:* I never said that."

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:189-fighting-fair-no-straw-men-no-moving-goalposts-no-either-or:t11:2
# text = I never said that."
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	3	advmod	_	_
3	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **say** *speech: assert* | past | I | that |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent that=Topic |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 3:* What is the fair way to answer her?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:189-fighting-fair-no-straw-men-no-moving-goalposts-no-either-or:t11:3
# text = What is the fair way to answer her?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	0	root	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	fair	fair	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nsubj	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	answer	answer	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	acl	_	_
8	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present | the fair way |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **answer** *speech: assert* | to-infinitive | the fair way *not said here* |  | fixin |  |  |  | vn reciprocate-112-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent she=Eventuality |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Change the subject to horses

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:189-fighting-fair-no-straw-men-no-moving-goalposts-no-either-or:t11:o1:1
# text = Change the subject to horses
1	Change	change	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	subject	subject	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	horses	horse	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **change** | imperative | you *not said here* | the subject |  |  |  | to horses | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Patient |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Say cats and dogs are the same

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:189-fighting-fair-no-straw-men-no-moving-goalposts-no-either-or:t11:o2:1
# text = Say cats and dogs are the same
1	Say	say	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	cats	cat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	dogs	dog	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	conj	_	_
5	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	cop	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	same	same	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	ccomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | present | cats and dogs |  |  |  |  | same *property* | tree rules |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Say she hates dogs anyway, because she likes cats

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:189-fighting-fair-no-straw-men-no-moving-goalposts-no-either-or:t11:o3:1
# text = Say she hates dogs anyway, because she likes cats
1	Say	say	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	hates	hate	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	ccomp	_	_
4	dogs	dog	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
5	anyway	anyway	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
7	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
8	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
9	likes	like	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	parataxis	_	_
10	cats	cat	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **hate** | present | she | dogs |  |  |  | anyway *property* | vn admire-31.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer dog=Stimulus |
| 3 | **like** | present | she | cats |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot cat=Theme |

### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ask "Do you mean...?" and answer what she said

```conllu
# sent_id = question:world:189-fighting-fair-no-straw-men-no-moving-goalposts-no-either-or:t11:o4:1
# text = Ask "Do you mean...?" and answer what she said
1	Ask	ask	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	"	"	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	Do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	...	...	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	"	"	PUNCT	''	_	1	punct	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	answer	answer	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	1	conj	_	_
11	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	13	obj	_	_
12	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
13	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	ccomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ask** *speech: ask* | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **mean** *in a quote* | present · do-support | you |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **answer** *speech: assert* | infinitive | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | she |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

<!-- 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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