--- title: Divorce and two homes — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Divorce and two homes», a lesson of the everyday course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: When parents divorce or separate, they stop being a couple, but they never stop being parents. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/) [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/) / Divorce and two homes # Divorce and two homes Lesson 516 of the everyday course of Mova's primary school: 46 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/516-divorce-and-two-homes/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/0/) — When parents divorce or separate, they stop being a couple, but they never stop being parents. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/1/) — Ruby-Lou has two homes: Mum's flat on school days and Dad's house at weekends. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/2/) — It's Monday, it's PE, and her kit is in a heap on Dad's bedroom floor. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/3/) — «Again?!» says Mrs Bell. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/4/) — Ruby-Lou goes red. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/5/) — That night Dad helps her write a checklist (PE kit, reading book, inhaler, charger) and buys a bright yellow travel bag that goes wherever she goes. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/6/) — She still forgets things sometimes, but much less. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/7/) — The night before Dad moved out, Ashley had a row with him about her bedtime. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/8/) — For weeks she thought, «It's because of me.» In the end she said it out loud, and Mum sat on her bed: «Grown-ups split up for grown-up reasons, petal. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/9/) — Never because of a bedtime. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/10/) — Not you, never you.» Dad said exactly the same on the phone. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/12/) — Two homes often mean two sets of rules. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/13/) — At Dad's, Ruaridh gets pizza and stays up till ten. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/14/) — At Mum's it's veg and lights out at half eight. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/15/) — «Dad's house is way better, it's bussin',» he says, and Mum's face drops. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/17/) — «That means good, does it? - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/18/) — Well, Dad's is a holiday, love. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/19/) — Mum's is the everyday.» Hester has two rooms: Da's has fairy lights, Mam's is plain. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/20/) — She feels bad for liking Da's more, until she tells Mam. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/21/) — Mam laughs, and they buy fairy lights for her room too. - [22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/22/) — Some things are just hard. - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/23/) — Jamie-Leigh goes to Dad's in Edinburgh every other weekend: an hour on the train each way. - [24](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/24/) — «Aw, it's a pure trek,» she groans; in Scotland «pure» can mean really. - [25](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/25/) — She tells them, and now on some Sundays Dad comes to her instead. - [26](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/26/) — At every handover Tanner's mum and dad snipe at each other (little sharp, mean remarks), and Tanner stares at the floor. - [27](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/27/) — One day he says, «Can yous not do that in front of me?» («yous» = you lot). - [28](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/28/) — Some weeks they manage. - [29](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/29/) — Some weeks they don't. - [30](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/30/) — Not everything gets fixed. - [31](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/31/) — Leo-James's mum has a boyfriend, Craig, who says, «Shoes off, sunshine, my rules.» Leo-James shouts, «You're not my dad!» Mum tells Leo he's right, and that he can say it without shouting; Craig backs off and stops giving orders. - [33](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/33/) — A kind lady from the court comes to ask what he thinks: children are listened to, but they don't have to choose; the grown-ups decide. - [34](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/34/) — And sometimes the end is gentle: Avery's mum and dad sit side by side at her school play. - [35](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/35/) — «They're mates now,» Avery tells everyone. - [36](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/36/) — Frida gets Christmas at Mum's and Boxing Day at Dad's. - [37](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/37/) — «Double presents!» says her pal. - [38](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/38/) — «Double car journeys, more like,» says Frida, grinning anyway. - [39](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/39/) — Divorce or separation means parents stop being a couple; they are still both the child's parents. - [40](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/40/) — Divorce is never the child's fault; parents split up for grown-up reasons. - [41](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/41/) — Many children live in two homes, for example school days with one parent and weekends with the other. - [42](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/42/) — A checklist and a travel bag help children stop leaving things at the other home. - [43](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/43/) — Two homes can have different rules; comparing them out loud can hurt a parent. - [45](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/45/) — Long journeys between homes are tiring; children can say so, and plans can sometimes change. - [46](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/46/) — Parents arguing at handovers puts a child in the middle; a child may ask them to stop, though it doesn't always work. - [47](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/47/) — A parent's new partner is not a replacement parent, and it takes time to get used to them. - [48](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/48/) — When parents can't agree, a family court may decide where children live; children are listened to but do not have to choose. - [49](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/516-divorce-and-two-homes/49/) — Some separated parents become friends, and some never get on. - ← previous: [Mum on her own, Dad on his own](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/515-mum-on-her-own-dad-on-his-own/) - next →: [The parent who left, and a new partner](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/517-the-parent-who-left-and-a-new-partner/) - ↑ back to [Everyday](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/everyday/)