--- title: Bets, dares and silly reasons — a lesson of Mova's school · trees and pragmatics description: «Bets, dares and silly reasons», a lesson of the world course of Mova's primary school, sentence by sentence with dependency trees and pragmatics. It begins: Charlie bets Noah a chocolate bar that he can hold his breath for five minutes: "My cousin can do it." But his cousin doing it (maybe) says no --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-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/) / Bets, dares and silly reasons # Bets, dares and silly reasons Lesson 169 of the world course of Mova's primary school: 19 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/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/). - [0](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/0/) — Charlie bets Noah a chocolate bar that he can hold his breath for five minutes: "My cousin can do it." But his cousin doing it (maybe) says nothing about Charlie, and last time Charlie went red at 30 seconds. - [1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/1/) — Breath-holding contests are dangerous, so this is a bet to walk away from. - [2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/2/) — Bets and dares are full of silly reasons: a dream as proof ("I did it in my dream"), a calendar as a weather forecast (snow because it's Christmas), new trainers as superpowers, a big brother as the expert. - [3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/3/) — Dares often come with a false choice: "If you don't, you're scared." There are other reasons to say no: it tastes awful, it's dangerous, it's just pointless. - [4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/4/) — Saying no is choosing, not being scared. - [5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/5/) — Some dares invent deals nobody agreed to: "If you don't climb on the roof, you owe me a fiver." A bet needs two people to agree, and you can't owe money because someone said a sentence at you. - [6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/6/) — The coolest comebacks aim at the reason: "If it's not on, you touch it." The kid who dares you to do something risky usually won't do it himself, because he doesn't believe his own claim. - [7](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/7/) — Someone else being able to do something does not mean you can; grown-ups call this a false comparison. - [9](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/9/) — "Do it or you're scared" is a false choice (an either-or): there are other reasons to say no. - [10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/10/) — A dream is not practice and not evidence; jumping from high up can break bones. - [11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/11/) — A question built so that every answer looks wrong is a trick, or loaded, question; it's fine to say "that's a trick question". - [12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/12/) — Snow on Christmas Day is rare in most of Britain now, and in London it hardly ever settles; the forecast is a far better guide than the calendar. - [13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/13/) — Never touch or test an electric fence; you cannot tell by looking whether it is on. - [14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/14/) — If the person daring you won't do it themselves, they don't really believe their own claim. - [15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/15/) — Good running shoes can help a little if they fit, but training matters far more for speed. - [16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/16/) — Scientists have trained goldfish to remember things for weeks and even months; the "three-second memory" is a myth. - [17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/17/) — A bet needs both people to agree; nobody owes anything for a deal they never accepted. - [18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/18/) — In science a fruit is the part of a plant that holds the seeds, so tomatoes are fruits; cooks call them vegetables because they are not sweet. - [19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/169-bets-dares-and-silly-reasons/19/) — Words people use: "nah, I'm good" means no thanks, "bro" and "mate" mean friend, "mid" means not very good (young slang), "a fiver" is a five-pound note, "galaxy brain" is sarcastic for a silly idea, and "your face will fold in half" is a joke about the sour face lemons give you. - ← previous: [The whole class punished, and "you didn't say no"](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/168-the-whole-class-punished-and-you-didnt-say-no/) - next →: [The football argument that goes in circles](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/170-the-football-argument-that-goes-in-circles/) - ↑ back to [World](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/world/)