--- title: Comfortable families: enough, but not everything — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Comfortable families: enough, but not everything», a lesson of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: In Reading, Elsie's mum is a nurse and her dad is a teacher. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/) [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/) / Comfortable families: enough, but not… # Comfortable families: enough, but not everything Lesson 490 of the everyday course of Mova's primary school: 40 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/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/0/) — In Reading, Elsie's mum is a nurse and her dad is a teacher. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/1/) — They're comfortable: enough for the bills, food, the odd treat, but they still count. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/2/) — Elsie wants a £200 gaming headset. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/4/) — You save half, we'll match it.» So Elsie saves £100, her parents add £100, and when the headset finally arrives it feels twice as good. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/5/) — Comfortable means enough, but not everything. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/6/) — Most families sit somewhere in the middle, and there's always someone with more and someone with less. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/7/) — In Denver, Ned asks why they haven't got a pool like his friend Maddox. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/8/) — Mom says, «We have what we need and some fun stuff. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/9/) — Maddox's family has more. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/11/) — In Manchester, Ahmed gets £3 pocket money a week and his friend gets £20. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/12/) — «That's well tight» («well tight» means really stingy). - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/13/) — He sulks, then works out what £3 a week can save. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/14/) — Some kids get no pocket money at all. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/15/) — Even comfortable families have to choose when prices go up. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/17/) — She's gutted (very disappointed), then they go camping and it's heaps fun («heaps» is Aussie for very). - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/18/) — In Edinburgh, Torquil loses his £40 scooter at the park and Mum won't replace it. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/19/) — He's raging (Scots for furious), then starts doing chores to earn a new one. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/20/) — Looking after your stuff is part of what money teaches. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/21/) — In Cardiff, Gran gives Lily-Rose £50 for her birthday and Mum says half goes in savings. - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/22/) — «It's MY money!» They agree she'll save £20 and spend £30. - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/23/) — In Kent, Ollie-James asks, «Are we rich?» Dad says, «We're lucky. - [24](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/24/) — Rich is a big word.» Rich and poor aren't two boxes; families are spread out all along the line, and having enough plus a bit extra is a kind of luck. - [25](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/25/) — Remembering it keeps you kind. - [26](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/26/) — Being comfortable means thinking about other people's feelings. - [27](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/27/) — In Oxford, Barnaby finds out his friend from the estate gets free school meals and says loudly, «That's lucky, free food!» His friend goes red: free meals mean money is hard at home. - [28](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/28/) — Barnaby meant no harm, and the fix is a quick sorry. - [29](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/29/) — In Norwich, Frida's mum hands her friend Lacey a bag of Frida's old clothes in front of everyone, and Lacey goes quiet. - [31](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/31/) — The kindest help is quiet and offered, and the other person can always say no. - [32](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/32/) — A comfortable family has enough for bills, food and some treats, but not everything, and still has to make choices. - [33](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/33/) — Most families are somewhere in the middle; there is always someone with more and someone with less. - [34](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/34/) — Saving for something and having a parent match it teaches the value of money, and the thing feels better when you finally get it. - [35](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/35/) — Pocket money is very different from family to family; it isn't a measure of love, and some children get none at all. - [36](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/36/) — Families who own a house usually pay the bank back a bit every month; when that payment goes up, there's less for extras like holidays. - [37](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/37/) — Holidays don't have to be far away to be good; camping or a day out can be just as much fun. - [38](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/38/) — Saving some money and spending some is a good habit. - [39](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/39/) — Rich and poor aren't two boxes; families are spread out between them, and having enough is a kind of luck. - [40](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/40/) — Free school meals mean money is hard at home, so calling them «lucky» can hurt; if you get it wrong, say sorry. - [41](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/41/) — The kindest help is given quietly, not in front of others, and the other person can say no. - [42](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/42/) — Giving more because you have more is good; giving quietly avoids making others feel small. - [43](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/490-comfortable-families-enough-but-not-everything/43/) — Losing something has a cost; earning a replacement by chores or saving teaches you to look after things. - ← previous: [Hiding it from friends: being skint at school](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/489-hiding-it-from-friends-being-skint-at-school/) - next →: [Rich families: the big house, the nanny and never seeing Dad](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/491-rich-families-the-big-house-the-nanny-and-never-seeing-dad/) - ↑ back to [Everyday](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/)