--- title: "Because I said so" and other dead-end reasons — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «"Because I said so" and other dead-end reasons», a lesson of the world course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Ethan asks why he has to go to bed at eight. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/) [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/) / [World](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/) / "Because I said so" and other dead-end… # "Because I said so" and other dead-end reasons Lesson 163 of the world course of Mova's primary school: 23 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/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/0/) — Ethan asks why he has to go to bed at eight. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/1/) — Mum: "Because I said so." He asks why again. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/2/) — "Because I'm your mother." That answers "who decides", not "why". - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/3/) — It is a stop sign, not a reason. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/4/) — Other dead ends sound like reasons but go nowhere: "Phones are bad because they're bad" just says the answer twice. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/5/) — "You're not going because I don't like it, and I don't like it because you're not going" is a loop. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/6/) — Some dead ends lean on age or habit: "I'm the adult, so I'd know", "back in my day we didn't ask". - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/7/) — Some jump from one small step to a disaster: blue hair, then tattoos, then the circus. - [8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/8/) — Parents are allowed to decide. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/9/) — But there usually is a real reason, and saying it helps: children of 9 or 10 need about 9 to 11 hours of sleep to grow and learn, and vegetables give fibre and vitamins. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/10/) — Kids roll their eyes at the dead end, not at the parent: "Phones are bad because they're bad. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/11/) — Somebody write that down, it's science." A good adult can laugh and then give the real reason. - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/12/) — "Because I said so" answers who decides, not why; grown-ups call leaning on who you are instead of a reason an appeal to authority. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/13/) — Saying the answer again in other words as the reason is going in circles; grown-ups call it circular reasoning or begging the question. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/14/) — Children of 9 or 10 need about 9 to 11 hours of sleep a night to grow and learn. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/15/) — "That's how we always did it" does not show it is the best way; this trap is called appeal to tradition. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/16/) — Vegetables give your body fibre and vitamins, which is a real reason to eat peas, today and long ago. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/17/) — Changing a deal after the other person has kept it is called moving the goalposts. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/18/) — Treating a small chance as a sure thing, or a small step as the start of a disaster, is called worst-case thinking or the slippery slope. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/19/) — Adults usually know more, so listening to them is sensible, but a fact is checked by looking, not by asking who is oldest. - [20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/20/) — How cold it is can be checked with a window, a thermometer or a weather app; one person's feeling is not the measurement. - [21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/21/) — Hair dye that washes out lasts a few weeks; a parent may still say no, but should give a real reason, such as school rules. - [23](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/163-because-i-said-so-dead-end-reasons/23/) — Words people use: "back in my day" is how older people start a story about the past (Gen X and boomers), "love that for me" is sarcastic for "how useless", "bro got scammed" means he was tricked, "boy" is a Texan grandpa's word for a lad, and "cold-mum" is a family joke word for mums who always feel cold. - ← previous: [Who stole the remote? Jumping to conclusions at home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/162-who-stole-the-remote-jumping-to-conclusions/) - next →: ["It worked once": one example is not all](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/164-it-worked-once-one-example-is-not-all/) - ↑ back to [World](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/)