Exam question 3 · Grimm's Fairy Tales, The Faithful John, part 18: the King…

Identify the means by which John gains the princess's attention in the palace courtyard.

Mova's choice: option 2 · The right answer: option 3 · wrong ✗ · Who acts: you, the, John, princess · What happens: identify, mean, gain, attend · To what, where: attention · Speech: someone speaks here

This is exam question 3 of lesson 115 «Grimm's Fairy Tales, The Faithful John, part 18: the King sees a portrait, falls in love, and sails off with its princess» 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	Identify	identify	VERB	Mood=Imp VerbForm=Fin	root	root
2	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	3 means	nsubj
3	means	mean	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	1 Identify	ccomp
4	by	by	ADP	_	5 which	case
5	which	which	PRON	PronType=Rel	7 gains	obl
6	John	John	PROPN	Number=Sing	7 gains	nsubj
7	gains	gain	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	3 means	ccomp
8	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	9 princess	det
9	princess	princess	NOUN	Number=Sing	11 attention	nmod:poss
10	's	's	PART	_	9 princess	case
11	attention	attention	NOUN	Number=Sing	7 gains	obj
12	in	in	ADP	_	15 courtyard	case
13	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	15 courtyard	det
14	palace	palace	NOUN	Number=Sing	15 courtyard	compound
15	courtyard	courtyard	NOUN	Number=Sing	7 gains	obl
16	.	.	PUNCT	_	1 Identify	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	other	roles by
1	identify	imperative	you not said here			vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V S_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Theme
2	mean	present	the			vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic
3	gain	present	John	the princess's attention	in the palace courtyard	vn calibratable_cos-45.6.1-1 «NP.patient V PP.attribute NP.extent PP.source PP.goal»: agent=Patient attention=Extent in courtyard=Attribute
4	attend		the princess			nom attention «cognition intransitive»: poss=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

He shows golden plates from a sack and says he is a soldier.

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	He	he	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 shows	nsubj
2	shows	show	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	golden	golden	ADJ	Degree=Pos	4 plates	amod
4	plates	plate	NOUN	Number=Plur	2 shows	obj
5	from	from	ADP	_	7 sack	case
6	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	7 sack	det
7	sack	sack	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 shows	obl
8	and	and	CCONJ	_	9 says	cc
9	says	say	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	2 shows	conj
10	he	he	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	13 soldier	nsubj
11	is	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	13 soldier	cop
12	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	13 soldier	det
13	soldier	soldier	NOUN	Number=Sing	9 says	ccomp
14	.	.	PUNCT	_	2 shows	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	where	roles by
1	show	present	He	golden plates	a sack	vn transfer_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent plate=Recipient
2	say speech: assert	present	He not said here			vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent
3	is a	present	he	a soldier		tree rules

Option 2 · ← Mova's choice

He hides a golden cup in his coat, rides into the courtyard on a black horse, and tells everyone he is a foreign prince who has come to trade.

The tree, 29 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	He	he	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 hides	nsubj
2	hides	hide	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	5 cup	det
4	golden	golden	ADJ	Degree=Pos	5 cup	amod
5	cup	cup	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 hides	obj
6	in	in	ADP	_	8 coat	case
7	his	his	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	8 coat	nmod:poss
8	coat	coat	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 hides	obl
9	,	,	PUNCT	_	10 rides	punct
10	rides	ride	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	2 hides	parataxis
11	into	into	ADP	_	13 courtyard	case
12	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	13 courtyard	det
13	courtyard	courtyard	NOUN	Number=Sing	10 rides	obl
14	on	on	ADP	_	17 horse	case
15	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	17 horse	det
16	black	black	ADJ	Degree=Pos	17 horse	amod
17	horse	horse	NOUN	Number=Sing	10 rides	obl
18	,	,	PUNCT	_	20 tells	punct
19	and	and	CCONJ	_	20 tells	cc
20	tells	tell	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	2 hides	parataxis
21	everyone	everyone	PRON	Number=Sing PronType=Tot	20 tells	obj
22	he	he	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	26 prince	nsubj
23	is	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	26 prince	cop
24	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	26 prince	det
25	foreign	foreign	ADJ	Degree=Pos	26 prince	amod
26	prince	prince	NOUN	Number=Sing	20 tells	ccomp
27	who	who	PRON	PronType=Rel	29 come	nsubj
28	has	have	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	29 come	aux
29	come	come	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part	26 prince	acl:relcl
30	to	to	PART	_	31 trade	mark
31	trade	trade	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	29 come	xcomp
32	.	.	PUNCT	_	2 hides	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	other	roles by
1	hide	present	He	a golden cup		his coat		vn concealment-16-1 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent cup=Patient in coat=Location
2	ride	present				the courtyard	on a black horse	vn nonvehicle-51.4.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent into courtyard=Trajectory
3	tell speech: assert	present			everyone			vn transfer_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent everyone=Recipient
4	is a	present	horse	a foreign prince				tree rules
5	come	present · perfect	a foreign prince					tree rules
6	trade	to-infinitive	a foreign prince not said here					vn exchange-13.6.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent

Option 3 · ✓ the right answer

He displays golden cups from a napkin and represents himself as a merchant.

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	He	he	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 displays	nsubj
2	displays	display	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	golden	golden	ADJ	Degree=Pos	4 cups	amod
4	cups	cup	NOUN	Number=Plur	2 displays	obj
5	from	from	ADP	_	7 napkin	case
6	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	7 napkin	det
7	napkin	napkin	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 displays	obl
8	and	and	CCONJ	_	9 represents	cc
9	represents	represent	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	2 displays	conj
10	himself	himself	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs Reflex=Yes	9 represents	obj
11	as	as	ADP	_	13 merchant	case
12	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	13 merchant	det
13	merchant	merchant	NOUN	Number=Sing	9 represents	obl
14	.	.	PUNCT	_	2 displays	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	display	present	He	golden cups		a napkin			vn reflexive_appearance-48.1.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cup=Theme
2	represent	present	He not said here	himself = he				as a merchant	vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S_ING»: agent=Agent himself=Theme as merchant=Attribute

Option 4

He arrives at the palace gate with a sack of golden cups, wins over the lady's maid with kind words, and then shows the cups to the princess in the courtyard as a merchant from far away.

The tree, 38 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	He	he	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 arrives	nsubj
2	arrives	arrive	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	at	at	ADP	_	6 gate	case
4	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	6 gate	det
5	palace	palace	NOUN	Number=Sing	6 gate	compound
6	gate	gate	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 arrives	obl
7	with	with	ADP	_	9 sack	case
8	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	9 sack	det
9	sack	sack	NOUN	Number=Sing	6 gate	nmod
10	of	of	ADP	_	12 cups	case
11	golden	golden	ADJ	Degree=Pos	12 cups	amod
12	cups	cup	NOUN	Number=Plur	9 sack	nmod
13	,	,	PUNCT	_	14 wins	punct
14	wins	win	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	2 arrives	conj
15	over	over	ADP	_	19 maid	case
16	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	17 lady	det
17	lady	lady	NOUN	Number=Sing	19 maid	nmod:poss
18	's	's	PART	_	17 lady	case
19	maid	maid	NOUN	Number=Sing	14 wins	obl
20	with	with	ADP	_	22 words	case
21	kind	kind	ADJ	Degree=Pos	22 words	amod
22	words	word	NOUN	Number=Plur	19 maid	nmod
23	,	,	PUNCT	_	26 shows	punct
24	and	and	CCONJ	_	26 shows	cc
25	then	then	ADV	PronType=Dem	26 shows	advmod
26	shows	show	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	2 arrives	conj
27	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	28 cups	det
28	cups	cup	NOUN	Number=Plur	26 shows	obj
29	to	to	ADP	_	31 princess	case
30	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	31 princess	det
31	princess	princess	NOUN	Number=Sing	26 shows	obl
32	in	in	ADP	_	34 courtyard	case
33	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	34 courtyard	det
34	courtyard	courtyard	NOUN	Number=Sing	31 princess	nmod
35	as	as	ADP	_	37 merchant	case
36	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	37 merchant	det
37	merchant	merchant	NOUN	Number=Sing	26 shows	obl
38	from	from	ADP	_	39 far	case
39	far	far	ADV	Degree=Pos	40 away	advmod
40	away	away	ADV	_	26 shows	advmod
41	.	.	PUNCT	_	2 arrives	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	arrive	present	He			the palace gate with a sack of golden cups			vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme
2	win	present	He not said here					over the lady's maid with kind words	vn succeed-74-2 «NP V»: agent=Agent
3	show	present	He not said here	the cups	the princess in the courtyard		then	as a merchant; away property	vn transfer_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent cup=Topic to princess=Recipient

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.

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