--- title: When not to keep a friend's secret — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «When not to keep a friend's secret», a lesson of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Aisha's teacher drew two boxes on the board: SURPRISES and SECRETS. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/) [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/) / When not to keep a friend's secret # When not to keep a friend's secret Lesson 437 of the everyday course of Mova's primary school: 42 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/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/0/) — Aisha's teacher drew two boxes on the board: SURPRISES and SECRETS. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/1/) — A surprise is kept for a short time and makes people happy when it is told — a birthday present, a party. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/2/) — A secret that makes you feel worried, scared or sick inside is a secret to tell. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/3/) — Kai's friend told him he liked a girl in class — «don't tell anyone!» — and Kai kept that one forever. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/4/) — That is a good secret: private, and nobody is hurt. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/5/) — Aisha's class made posters, and one boy told his teacher about something that had worried him for months. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/6/) — Lily's friend told her she was being hit at home and made her promise not to tell. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/7/) — Lily kept the promise for a week and felt sick every day. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/8/) — Then she told her teacher. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/9/) — Her friend was angry at first, but got help, and months later thanked her. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/10/) — Breaking a promise like that is not betrayal; it is help. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/11/) — Maya's friend, upset after a row, said she would run away that night and asked Maya to say nothing. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/12/) — Maya told her mum, who rang the friend's mum. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/13/) — The friend was cross for a day, then the family talked and sorted things out. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/14/) — Some secrets come wrapped in threats. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/16/) — A grown-up who asks a child to hide things from parents is a danger sign. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/17/) — Jack told his mum; she called his mate's parents and the police, and the man was found and stopped. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/19/) — Then he offered Sam one. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/20/) — Sam said no and told his uncle. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/21/) — Threats are a sign the secret is not okay, and the threats stopped. - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/22/) — Others come wrapped in friendship. - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/23/) — «I'll be your friend forever if you don't tell — but if you do, I'll never speak to you again,» said Noah's friend, who was bullying a younger kid. - [24](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/24/) — Noah told a teacher anyway. - [25](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/25/) — The friend didn't speak to him for a month, then came back and said sorry. - [26](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/26/) — Finn's friend smashed a school window on purpose and said «If you tell, they'll think you did it too.» Finn told his dad, who went with him to school, and the head believed him because he came forward. - [27](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/27/) — People who come forward early are usually believed. - [28](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/28/) — Ruby's friend in Glasgow had been hurting herself on purpose and begged, «Promise me, Rubes.» Ruby was terrified. - [29](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/29/) — She told the school nurse, and her friend got help from people who knew how. - [30](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/30/) — Telling was the most loving thing she could do. - [31](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/31/) — And Emma, whose friend kept taking money from her mum's purse, said: «I won't tell this time, but if it happens again, I'm telling.» The friend stopped. - [32](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/32/) — You can give a friend one chance to stop a small wrong — but if it keeps happening, tell. - [33](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/33/) — A surprise is kept for a short time and makes people happy when told; a secret that makes you worried, scared or sick should be told. - [34](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/34/) — Good secrets, like surprises, crushes and private feelings, should be kept. - [35](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/35/) — Secrets about someone being hurt, in danger, or hurting themselves must be told to a trusted grown-up. - [36](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/36/) — Telling a grown-up about a friend in danger is help, not betrayal, even if the friend is angry at first. - [37](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/37/) — A grown-up who asks a child to keep secrets from parents, especially online, is a danger sign: always tell. - [38](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/38/) — A threat like «tell and you're dead» is a sign the secret is not okay. - [39](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/39/) — «I'll never be your friend again if you tell» is pressure, and a friendship that depends on hiding bullying is not worth much. - [40](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/40/) — People who come forward early are usually believed; hiding is what makes you look guilty. - [41](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/41/) — For a small wrong, you can give a friend one chance to stop; if it keeps happening, tell. - [42](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/42/) — Trusted grown-ups include parents, teachers, school nurses and other family adults. - [44](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/437-when-not-to-keep-a-friends-secret/44/) — To «grass» or «grass up» (UK) means to tell on someone. - ← previous: [Covering for a friend](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/436-covering-for-a-friend/) - next →: [Funny pranks](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/438-funny-pranks/) - ↑ back to [Everyday](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/)