---
title: Poetry forms: haiku, limerick, kenning, acrostic, performing — how Mova does on the tests · English
description: Lesson 47 of the english course of Mova's primary school: 3 of 11 tests right, exam 2 of 4, every question with the options, the student's choice, the right answer and why it chose.
---

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# Poetry forms: haiku, limerick, kenning, acrostic, performing

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**Tests:** 3 of 11 right · **Exam:** 2 of 4 right · **Kind:** plain · **Understood:** 8 of 15 · **Run:** 2026-10-18, commit `f3c23ea72`

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Lesson 47 of the english course of Mova's primary school, as Mova's small model took its tests: it had read this lesson and the ones before it and learned from their exercises. Each test shows the options in the order the student saw them, its choice, the right answer, the score of every option and why it chose. The lesson itself, sentence by sentence with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/english/47-poetry-forms-haiku-limerick-kenning-acrostic-performing/).

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Every question of this lesson and each of its options parsed by Mova, with trees and pragmatics: [the lesson's questions in the corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/47-poetry-forms-haiku-limerick-kenning-acrostic-performing/).

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### Test 1 · wrong ✗ {#t1}

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Your mate says, "Any short poem's a haiku, innit." Put him right.

- **1.** A haiku must be about the sea, only that — no support
- **2.** A haiku is any poem that rhymes twice — **← Mova's choice** · score 2
- **3.** Any poem under ten words is a haiku — no support
- **4.** A haiku keeps a 5-7-5 syllable pattern — **✓ the right answer** · score 1

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 2 with score 2, against 1 for the next best. Its support: lesson 45, line 5: «Rhyme depends on accent: a Glasgow boy says "'Bath' doesnae rhyme wi' 'laugh' for me, Miss" ("doesnae" is doesn't), because in Scotland and the North bath has…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «rhyme» (+1); the same doer «poem» (+1). The right option, 4, scored 1. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/47-poetry-forms-haiku-limerick-kenning-acrostic-performing/t1/)

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### Test 2 · wrong ✗ {#t2}

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Ella writes the line "Petrol smell, cars hum". Can it open a haiku?

- **1.** No, haiku can't be about cars — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Yes, it has five syllables — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** No, it has seven syllables — no support
- **4.** No, it has four syllables — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/47-poetry-forms-haiku-limerick-kenning-acrostic-performing/t2/)

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### Test 3 · right ✓ {#t3}

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Grandad, dry: "Back in my day poems rhymed, end of." The teacher shows free verse. What is true?

- **1.** Free verse is real poetry built on line breaks — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 2
- **2.** No rhyme means no poem, so Grandad is right — no support
- **3.** It is prose with lines cut at random places — no support
- **4.** Free verse is a modern name for a limerick — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 2, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 45, line 14: «Free verse is poetry without a regular rhyme or beat; it uses line breaks and images instead.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same doer «free verse» (+1); the same light verb (be, have, do, get, go) (+1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/47-poetry-forms-haiku-limerick-kenning-acrostic-performing/t3/)

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### Test 4 · wrong ✗ {#t4}

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What would happen to a limerick if line 5 did not rhyme with line 1?

- **1.** It would turn into a kenning — **← Mova's choice** · score 4
- **2.** Nothing; line 5 is free — no support
- **3.** It would break the AABBA pattern — **✓ the right answer** · score 3
- **4.** It would turn into a haiku — score 4

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**Why:** It took the question to ask what happens next. It chose option 1 with score 4, tied with another option at 4 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 45, line 11: «A rhyme pattern can be shown with letters: lines that rhyme get the same letter, so a verse where lines 1 and 2 rhyme and lines 3 and 4 rhyme is AABB.», reached through what followed the sentence the question matched. What matched: the same doer «lines» (+4). The right option, 3, scored 3. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/47-poetry-forms-haiku-limerick-kenning-acrostic-performing/t4/)

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### Test 5 · wrong ✗ {#t5}

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A cartoon says a kenning is "a poem about a bloke called Ken". Fix it.

- **1.** It is a poem of exactly ten lines — **← Mova's choice** · score 7
- **2.** It is any poem written by a Viking — no support
- **3.** It names a thing in two-word phrases — **✓ the right answer** · score 2
- **4.** The cartoon is right about Ken — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 7, against 2 for the next best. Its support: lesson 47, line 10: «A limerick is a funny five-line poem with the rhyme pattern AABBA and a bouncy rhythm.», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same thing acted on «funny line poem» (+5); the same circumstance (+4). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-2). The right option, 3, scored 2. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/47-poetry-forms-haiku-limerick-kenning-acrostic-performing/t5/)

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### Test 6 · wrong ✗ {#t6}

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Shona in Aberdeen: "It's dreich the day, I'll dae a kenning for the rain." ("Dreich" means grey and gloomy; "the day" means today.) Which is a kenning for rain?

- **1.** As cold as tears — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Puddle-maker — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **3.** Rain falls down — no support
- **4.** Wet and grey all day — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/47-poetry-forms-haiku-limerick-kenning-acrostic-performing/t6/)

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### Test 7 · wrong ✗ {#t7}

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Which poem is an acrostic for CAT?

- **1.** Cat, cat, cat / cat, cat, cat / cat, cat, cat — score 6
- **2.** My cat is cool / And very fun / She is grey — score 7
- **3.** Curled up / Asleep in the sun / Tail twitching — **✓ the right answer** · score 7
- **4.** A cat sat / on a mat / and that is that — **← Mova's choice** · score 14

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 4 with score 14, against 7 for the next best. Its support: lesson 30, line 4: «You can sometimes leave the relative pronoun out: «The book that I read was good» can be «The book I read was good.» But not when the pronoun is the one doing…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «sit» (+4); the same place «mat» (+4); it fills the role the question asks for (+4); the same doer «cat» (+2). The right option, 3, scored 7. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/47-poetry-forms-haiku-limerick-kenning-acrostic-performing/t7/)

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### Test 8 · right ✓ {#t8}

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Jordan from Bristol: "I done a shape poem, proper job, it's a wave but there's only one word on it." ("Proper job" means a job well done.) What is missing?

- **1.** A title of 5, 7 and 5 syllables on top — no support
- **2.** An AABBA rhyme pattern running through it — no support
- **3.** Strong words, since the words matter too — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score -1
- **4.** Nothing; one word is the perfect shape poem — no support

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 3 with score -1, the only option with support. Its support: lesson 17, line 14: «Vague words like «and stuff» or «things» do not count as an answer; give the exact details.», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «count» (+1); the same doer «vague words» (+1). Against it: one says «not», the other does not (counts against) (-3). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/47-poetry-forms-haiku-limerick-kenning-acrostic-performing/t8/)

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### Test 9 · right ✓ {#t9}

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Year 1 performs "Twinkle, twinkle" with actions. Why do actions help?

- **1.** They help memory and show meaning — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** They mean you can skip the words — no support
- **3.** They turn the rhyme into a limerick — no support
- **4.** They let the class rush through it — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/47-poetry-forms-haiku-limerick-kenning-acrostic-performing/t9/)

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### Test 10 · wrong ✗ {#t10}

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Which list gives a haiku, a limerick and a kenning, in that order?

- **1.** funny AABBA lines; 5-7-5 lines; "goal-scorer" — **← Mova's choice** · score 3
- **2.** 5-7-5 lines; "goal-scorer"; funny AABBA lines — score 3
- **3.** "goal-scorer"; 5-7-5 lines; funny AABBA lines — score 3
- **4.** 5-7-5 lines; funny AABBA lines; "goal-scorer" — **✓ the right answer** · score 3

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**Why:** It took the question to ask who or what does it. It chose option 1 with score 3, tied with another option at 3 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 24, line 1: «A persuasive text tries to change your mind. «Dear Head Teacher, I am writing to ask for a longer lunch break. Firstly, children need time to eat. Secondly, ex…», reached through the remembered sentence the question matched. What matched: the same action «give» (+4); the same place «order» (+4). Against it: a different thing acted on (counts against) (-2); a different doer (counts against) (-3). The right option, 4, scored 3. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/47-poetry-forms-haiku-limerick-kenning-acrostic-performing/t10/)

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### Test 11 · wrong ✗ {#t11}

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Can "The old dog sleeps by the door" be the first line of a haiku?

- **1.** Yes: line one can be any length — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** Yes: it has exactly 5 syllables — no support
- **3.** No: it has 9, far too many — no support
- **4.** No: it has 7 syllables, not 5 — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/47-poetry-forms-haiku-limerick-kenning-acrostic-performing/t11/)

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### Exam question 1 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e1}

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Identify the poetic form, of Japanese origin, customarily composed in English schools as three lines of five, seven and five syllables respectively.

- **1.** The limerick — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** The kenning — no support
- **3.** The haiku — **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **4.** The acrostic — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/47-poetry-forms-haiku-limerick-kenning-acrostic-performing/e1/)

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### Exam question 2 · formal language · wrong ✗ {#e2}

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State the rhyme scheme conventionally observed in the limerick.

- **1.** AABB — **← Mova's choice** · no support
- **2.** ABABA — no support
- **3.** ABCB — no support
- **4.** AABBA — **✓ the right answer** · no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/47-poetry-forms-haiku-limerick-kenning-acrostic-performing/e2/)

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### Exam question 3 · formal language · right ✓ {#e3}

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Select the response that most accurately characterises a kenning.

- **1.** A two-word phrase that names a thing — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · score 0
- **2.** A humorous verse five lines in length — no support
- **3.** A poem arranged in the shape of its subject — no support
- **4.** A poem whose first letters spell a word — score 0

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**Why:** It took the question to ask which statement is true. It chose option 1 with score 0, tied with another option at 0 (the first shown, or the one claiming less beyond what it knows, wins). Its support: lesson 47, line 3: «A kenning names a thing with two-word phrases, often a noun and an "-er" word ("ball-kicker", "goal-scorer"), an old Viking and Anglo-Saxon trick; an acrostic…», reached through the option's own match among the sentences about the question's things. What matched: the same action «name» (+1). Against it: a different doer (counts against) (-1). · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/47-poetry-forms-haiku-limerick-kenning-acrostic-performing/e3/)

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### Exam question 4 · formal language · right ✓ {#e4}

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Determine which of the following is a defining feature of free verse.

- **1.** The absence of regular rhyme or rhythm — **← Mova's choice** · **✓ the right answer** · no support
- **2.** An arrangement in the shape of its subject — no support
- **3.** A length of precisely fourteen lines — no support
- **4.** A rhyme at the end of every single line — no support

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**Why:** No option found support in what it remembers, so it guessed: it took the first option shown. · [the question and its options parsed, with trees and pragmatics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/english/47-poetry-forms-haiku-limerick-kenning-acrostic-performing/e4/)

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- ← previous: [46. Poetry: simile, metaphor, personification, allit…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/english/46-poetry-simile-metaphor-personification-alliteration/)
- next →: [48. Spoken language: presenting and show-and-tell](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/english/48-spoken-language-presenting-and-show-and-tell/)
- ↑ back to [English](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/english/)