--- title: Home alone, the door and the phone — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Home alone, the door and the phone», a lesson of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: When a child is old enough to stay home alone for a short time, the family agrees on clear rules first: who may come in, what you may --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/) / [Everyday](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/) / Home alone, the door and the phone # Home alone, the door and the phone Lesson 35 of the everyday course of Mova's primary school: 24 sentences, each with its syntax tree and pragmatics. The lessons are written for Mova, and their agreed trees are part of Mova corpus 0.4 (CC BY-SA 4.0). How Mova does on its tests: [the lesson at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/everyday/35-home-alone/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/0/) — When a child is old enough to stay home alone for a short time, the family agrees on clear rules first: who may come in, what you may use, and how to reach a parent. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/1/) — The front door stays locked. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/2/) — You do not open it to anyone you were not told to expect, even if they seem friendly, say they are delivering something or say they know your parents. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/3/) — You never tell a caller or a stranger at the door that you are alone. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/4/) — A safe answer is "My mum can't come to the phone right now. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/5/) — Can I take a message?" - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/6/) — For example, a man knocks and says he has come to read the gas meter. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/7/) — You do not open the door; you can say through the closed door that he must come back later, and then phone your parent. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/9/) — If someone tries to get in, or you smell gas or see smoke, you do not wait: you call the emergency number, and for gas or smoke you leave the house first. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/10/) — A boy home alone in Ohio opened the door to a man who said he was from the gas company; it was a thief who walked in and took things while the boy was frightened. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/11/) — A girl in Sydney posted online that her parents were out all evening; strangers saw it, and her family had to change the locks after someone tried their door. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/12/) — Before staying home alone, a child should agree on rules with their parents. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/13/) — The door should stay locked while you are home alone. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/14/) — You should not open the door to anyone you were not told to expect. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/15/) — You should never tell a stranger, on the phone, at the door or online, that you are home alone. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/16/) — You should know your parents' phone numbers and your own address by heart. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/17/) — You should not post online where you are or that you are home alone. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/18/) — If someone tries to break in, you call the emergency number at once. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/19/) — If you smell gas, you leave the house without switching anything on or off, because a tiny spark from a switch could set the gas alight, and call for help from outside. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/20/) — The gas used in homes is given a smell like rotten eggs, so that a leak is easy to notice. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/21/) — Your house key should be kept out of sight and should not have your name or address on it. - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/22/) — If something feels wrong, it is always right to call your parent or a trusted neighbour. - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/23/) — Telling strangers that you are home alone, at the door, on the phone or online, can put you in danger. - [24](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/35-home-alone/24/) — A real worker or delivery person will come back later or leave a note. - ← previous: [Fire at home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/34-fire-at-home/) - next →: [Calling emergency services well](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/36-calling-emergency-services/) - ↑ back to [Everyday](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/)