--- title: Ponytail tugging: crushes shown clumsily — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Ponytail tugging: crushes shown clumsily», a lesson of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Every morning in the line for assembly, Tom tugged Lily's ponytail. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/) [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/) / Ponytail tugging: crushes shown clumsily # Ponytail tugging: crushes shown clumsily Lesson 387 of the everyday course of Mova's primary school: 25 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/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/0/) — Every morning in the line for assembly, Tom tugged Lily's ponytail. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/1/) — To Tom it felt like a game; to Lily it hurt a bit and annoyed her a lot. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/3/) — Lily's hair got a knot, she cried, and Tom felt awful all afternoon. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/4/) — Lily complained at home, and her mum said: «Oh, it just means he likes you.» Lily felt nobody was listening. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/6/) — At the same time Tom's gran asked him why he kept pulling the girl's hair. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/7/) — Tom stared at his shoes and admitted he didn't know how to talk to her. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/8/) — «Then say something nice,» said Gran, «like "I like your drawing".» - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/9/) — Tom's first sorry went badly: he said «I didn't mean it» and laughed, and Lily could tell it wasn't real. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/10/) — The next day he tried again: «I'm sorry for pulling your hair. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/12/) — Meanwhile Ollie hid Lily's pencil case three days running, until Lily said: «Just say hello instead, it's easier.» Ollie went as red as a tomato. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/13/) — Later he tried skateboard tricks to impress her, fell off and scraped his knee, and Lily asked if he was OK. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/14/) — It was the first real talk they ever had. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/15/) — Maddie had her own version: two boys from different streets kept throwing her hat into a tree, until she told them, «If you like me, just say so.» - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/16/) — Mrs Okafor saw what was going on and gave a whole lesson called «How to show you like someone». - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/17/) — Everybody giggled, but the class made a list: say hello, share a snack, ask about their day, notice their drawing, never pull hair. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/18/) — A crush shown by hurting or annoying someone is still hurting, and it is the worst way to make someone like you. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/19/) — Some children who like someone show it clumsily, by teasing, tugging or hiding their things. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/20/) — Pulling hair hurts, even when the person doing it thinks it is a game. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/21/) — «It means he likes you» is never a reason to put up with being hurt. - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/22/) — Teasing someone about a crush can push them into doing unkind things to hide it. - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/23/) — Telling a teacher when someone keeps hurting you is right, not telling tales. - [24](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/24/) — A real apology names what you did, is said without laughing, and is kept. - [25](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/25/) — Kind words, like a compliment or a hello, work far better than tugs and tricks. - [26](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/26/) — Showing off to impress someone often ends with a fall or an embarrassment. - [27](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/387-ponytail-tugging-crushes-shown-clumsily/27/) — Annoying someone makes them want to stay away, not get closer. - ← previous: [Lily, the calm «princess»](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/386-lily-the-calm-princess/) - next →: [How to say stop](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/388-how-to-say-stop/) - ↑ back to [Everyday](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/)