--- title: Big kids, little kids and the truth at home — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Big kids, little kids and the truth at home», a lesson of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Amelia in Bristol told her baby brother that the moon follows only him. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/) [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/) / Big kids, little kids and the truth at… # Big kids, little kids and the truth at home Lesson 433 of the everyday course of Mova's primary school: 38 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/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/0/) — Amelia in Bristol told her baby brother that the moon follows only him. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/1/) — He believed it for a year and waved at it every night. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/2/) — When he found out, he was a bit sad — then told the same thing to his little cousin, and it became a family joke. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/3/) — Kind make-believe with little ones is mostly fine, as long as it is never used to scare them or to get something out of them. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/4/) — Some big-kid tricks cross that line. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/5/) — Sam told his little sister that a swallowed watermelon seed grows a watermelon in your belly. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/6/) — She refused all fruit for a week and cried at night; Mum found out why and Sam had to explain the truth and felt mean. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/7/) — Kofi in London told his little brother «Mum said you have to give me your chocolate». - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/11/) — Little kids can trick big ones too. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/12/) — Ivy kept saying she'd «tell Mum» things her big brother hadn't done unless he gave her his sweets, and mostly he gave in. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/14/) — Threats to tell a lie stop when you tell a grown-up first. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/15/) — Jacob's big sister told him the ice-cream van «only plays music when it's run out» — their own mum had told her that when she was little, to save money. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/16/) — Jacob believed it until he saw kids queuing with cones. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/17/) — His sister laughed and bought him a cone to say sorry. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/18/) — Covering for a sibling drags you into their trouble. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/19/) — Charlie, nine, said his big sister was «in the shower» when she had sneaked out to a friend's; Dad heard no water and found her room empty, both got in trouble, and she didn't even say thanks. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/20/) — Two sisters in Dublin agreed to say they'd both done their chores. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/21/) — Mam asked them apart: «I did the dishes,» said one. - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/22/) — «I did the dishes,» said the other. - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/23/) — That was the end of the craic — Irish for fun — and they did every job in the house. - [25](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/25/) — Some untruths are told out of love. - [26](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/26/) — Finn's family in Wales told his little sister their dog had «gone to live on a farm». - [27](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/27/) — Years later she found out it had died, and she was upset — not about the dog then, but about being told a story. - [28](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/28/) — They looked at old photos together. - [29](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/29/) — Most people, when they grow up, prefer the truth told gently. - [30](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/30/) — And when big brother Mo said «I'll never tell on you, and you never tell on me», then smashed a window, Leo quietly told Mum. - [31](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/31/) — Mo was furious, then calm, and later said Leo did the right thing. - [32](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/32/) — Gentle make-believe with little children, like the moon following them, is usually harmless if it never scares them. - [33](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/33/) — A «joke» that frightens a small child, especially at night, is no longer a joke. - [34](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/34/) — Swallowing a watermelon seed does not grow a watermelon inside you; the seed simply passes through. - [35](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/35/) — When someone says «Mum said», you can always check by asking Mum. - [36](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/36/) — Unclear promises cause rows; «give» means to keep, «lend» means to give back. - [38](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/38/) — A threat to tell a lie about you loses its power when you tell a grown-up first. - [39](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/39/) — Two people telling the same lie often get caught when they are asked separately, because their details don't match. - [40](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/40/) — Kind lies, like «the dog went to a farm», may protect for a while, but most people later prefer the truth told gently. - [41](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/41/) — If what you see does not match what you are told, it is fine to ask. - [42](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/42/) — A promise to cover any lie is not a fair promise; you don't owe anyone silence about something serious. - [43](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/433-big-kids-little-kids-and-the-truth-at-home/43/) — «Bruv» (London) means brother or mate; «craic» (Ireland) means fun or good times; «Mam» is Irish and northern English for Mum. - ← previous: [«It was HIM!»: siblings blaming each other](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/432-it-was-him-siblings-blaming-each-other/) - next →: [The friend with a PS6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/434-the-friend-with-a-ps6/) - ↑ back to [Everyday](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/)