Exam question 3 · Deirdre, Becfola's Wooing, part 21: Becfola sneaks home an…
What is the principal matter of contention that the four clerics bring before the king?
Mova's choice: option 1 · The right answer: option 2 · wrong ✗ · Who acts: principal matter, four clerics, contention · What happens: be, bring, matter
This is exam question 3 of lesson 1053 «Deirdre, Becfola's Wooing, part 21: Becfola sneaks home and the king turns her scolding into a joke» of the books course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. The page gives the question's syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause, then the 4 options as the student saw them, each with its tree and pragmatics. Every text is parsed by Mova itself. How the student answered it, with the score of every option and why: the test at school.
The question
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What | what | PRON | PronType=Int | root | root |
| 2 | is | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 1 What | cop |
| 3 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 5 matter | det |
| 4 | principal | principal | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 5 matter | amod |
| 5 | matter | matter | NOUN | Number=Sing | 1 What | nsubj |
| 6 | of | of | ADP | _ | 7 contention | case |
| 7 | contention | contention | NOUN | Number=Sing | 5 matter | nmod |
| 8 | that | that | SCONJ | _ | 12 bring | mark |
| 9 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 11 clerics | det |
| 10 | four | four | NUM | NumForm=Word NumType=Card | 11 clerics | nummod |
| 11 | clerics | cleric | NOUN | Number=Plur | 12 bring | nsubj |
| 12 | bring | bring | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 5 matter | advcl |
| 13 | before | before | ADP | _ | 15 king | case |
| 14 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 15 king | det |
| 15 | king | king | NOUN | Number=Sing | 12 bring | obl |
| 16 | ? | ? | PUNCT | _ | 1 What | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | is a | present | the principal matter of contention | tree rules | |||||
| 2 | bring | present | the four clerics | before the king | vn bring-11.3-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent before king=Destination | ||||
| 3 | matter | contention | nom matter «cognition intransitive»: of=agent |
One row per clause the reader finds. «not said here»: a role filled from the clause above. «roles by»: a VerbNet class and frame when one fits the verb, else the reader's rules on the tree.
The options
Option 1 · ← Mova's choice
Whether the treasure taken from the seven slain men, being found on a Sunday, may lawfully be given to the Brothers of Devenish at all.
The tree, 25 words
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whether | whether | SCONJ | _ | 3 treasure | mark |
| 2 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 3 treasure | det |
| 3 | treasure | treasure | NOUN | Number=Sing | 20 given | advcl |
| 4 | taken | take | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 3 treasure | acl |
| 5 | from | from | ADP | _ | 9 men | case |
| 6 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 9 men | det |
| 7 | seven | seven | NUM | NumForm=Word NumType=Card | 9 men | nummod |
| 8 | slain | slain | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 9 men | amod |
| 9 | men | man | NOUN | Number=Plur | 4 taken | obl |
| 10 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 12 found | punct |
| 11 | being | be | AUX | Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part | 12 found | aux:pass |
| 12 | found | find | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 9 men | acl |
| 13 | on | on | ADP | _ | 15 Sunday | case |
| 14 | a | a | DET | Definite=Ind PronType=Art | 15 Sunday | det |
| 15 | Sunday | Sunday | PROPN | Number=Sing | 12 found | obl |
| 16 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 3 treasure | punct |
| 17 | may | may | AUX | VerbForm=Fin | 20 given | aux |
| 18 | lawfully | lawfully | ADV | _ | 20 given | advmod |
| 19 | be | be | AUX | VerbForm=Inf | 20 given | aux:pass |
| 20 | given | give | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | root | root |
| 21 | to | to | ADP | _ | 23 Brothers | case |
| 22 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 23 Brothers | det |
| 23 | Brothers | Brother | PROPN | Number=Plur | 20 given | iobj |
| 24 | of | of | ADP | _ | 25 Devenish | case |
| 25 | Devenish | Devenish | PROPN | Number=Sing | 23 Brothers | nmod |
| 26 | at | at | ADP | _ | 27 all | case |
| 27 | all | all | DET | PronType=Tot | 20 given | obl |
| 28 | . | . | PUNCT | _ | 20 given | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | take | participle | the treasure not said here | from the seven slain men | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP PP.initial_location»: agent=Agent from man=Initial_Location | ||||
| 2 | find | gerund · passive | the seven slain men not said here | sunday | vn declare-29.4-1-1 «NP V what S_INF» | ||||
| 3 | give | may · passive | the Brothers of Devenish | all | lawfully property | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.asset»: brother=Theme at all=Asset |
Option 2 · ✓ the right answer
The disposition of the treasure taken from the seven slain men.
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 2 disposition | det |
| 2 | disposition | disposition | NOUN | Number=Sing | 6 taken | nsubj:pass |
| 3 | of | of | ADP | _ | 5 treasure | case |
| 4 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 5 treasure | det |
| 5 | treasure | treasure | NOUN | Number=Sing | 2 disposition | nmod |
| 6 | taken | take | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | root | root |
| 7 | from | from | ADP | _ | 11 men | case |
| 8 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 11 men | det |
| 9 | seven | seven | NUM | NumForm=Word NumType=Card | 11 men | nummod |
| 10 | slain | slain | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 11 men | amod |
| 11 | men | man | NOUN | Number=Plur | 6 taken | obl |
| 12 | . | . | PUNCT | _ | 6 taken | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | take | participle · passive | the disposition of the treasure | from the seven slain men | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP PP.initial_location»: subject=Theme from man=Initial_Location |
Option 3
Whether the seven dead men had any heirs to claim the gold.
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Whether | whether | SCONJ | _ | 6 had | mark |
| 2 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 5 men | det |
| 3 | seven | seven | NUM | NumForm=Word NumType=Card | 5 men | nummod |
| 4 | dead | dead | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 5 men | amod |
| 5 | men | man | NOUN | Number=Plur | 6 had | nsubj |
| 6 | had | have | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 7 | any | any | DET | PronType=Ind | 8 heirs | det |
| 8 | heirs | heir | NOUN | Number=Plur | 6 had | obj |
| 9 | to | to | PART | _ | 10 claim | mark |
| 10 | claim | claim | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 6 had | advcl |
| 11 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 12 gold | det |
| 12 | gold | gold | NOUN | Number=Sing | 10 claim | obj |
| 13 | . | . | PUNCT | _ | 6 had | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | have | past | the seven dead men | any heirs | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent heir=Patient | ||||
| 2 | claim speech: other | to-infinitive | the seven dead men not said here | the gold | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent gold=Topic |
Option 4
The disposition of the treasure taken from the seven slain men, and the matter of the reliquary for the late grandmother.
The tree, 21 words
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 2 disposition | det |
| 2 | disposition | disposition | NOUN | Number=Sing | root | root |
| 3 | of | of | ADP | _ | 5 treasure | case |
| 4 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 5 treasure | det |
| 5 | treasure | treasure | NOUN | Number=Sing | 2 disposition | nmod |
| 6 | taken | take | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 5 treasure | acl |
| 7 | from | from | ADP | _ | 11 men | case |
| 8 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 11 men | det |
| 9 | seven | seven | NUM | NumForm=Word NumType=Card | 11 men | nummod |
| 10 | slain | slain | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 11 men | amod |
| 11 | men | man | NOUN | Number=Plur | 6 taken | obl |
| 12 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 15 matter | punct |
| 13 | and | and | CCONJ | _ | 15 matter | cc |
| 14 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 15 matter | det |
| 15 | matter | matter | NOUN | Number=Sing | 2 disposition | appos |
| 16 | of | of | ADP | _ | 18 reliquary | case |
| 17 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 18 reliquary | det |
| 18 | reliquary | reliquary | NOUN | Number=Sing | 15 matter | nmod |
| 19 | for | for | ADP | _ | 22 grandmother | case |
| 20 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 22 grandmother | det |
| 21 | late | late | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 22 grandmother | amod |
| 22 | grandmother | grandmother | NOUN | Number=Sing | 18 reliquary | nmod |
| 23 | . | . | PUNCT | _ | 2 disposition | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | take | participle | the treasure not said here | from the seven slain men | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP PP.initial_location»: agent=Agent from man=Initial_Location | ||||
| 2 | matter | the reliquary for the late grandmother | nom matter «cognition intransitive»: of=agent |
Text: the tests of Mova's primary school, written for Mova (world/data/school/), as the course runner gave them to the student. Trees: Mova's own parse — the en model on the CPU, when the site is built — not checked by a teacher; they may be wrong. Frames: Mova's frames reader (prag), each text read on its own. Elamur Cosmic License.
This page in Markdown → https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1053-pg2892-part21/e3/