Exam question 4 · Crimson Fairy Book, The Singing Roses, part 20: the stepmo…

Account for the stepmother's conduct toward the princess at the shoreline, with reference to her earlier motives.

Mova's choice: option 2 · The right answer: option 3 · wrong ✗ · Who acts: stepmother · What happens: conduct

This is exam question 4 of lesson 1154 «Crimson Fairy Book, The Singing Roses, part 20: the stepmother drowns the princess and disguises her own daughter as the bride» 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	Account	account	NOUN	Number=Sing	6 conduct	nsubj
2	for	for	ADP	_	6 conduct	case
3	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	4 stepmother	det
4	stepmother	stepmother	NOUN	Number=Sing	6 conduct	nmod:poss
5	's	's	PART	_	4 stepmother	case
6	conduct	conduct	NOUN	Number=Sing	root	root
7	toward	toward	ADP	_	9 princess	case
8	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	9 princess	det
9	princess	princess	NOUN	Number=Sing	6 conduct	nmod
10	at	at	ADP	_	12 shoreline	case
11	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	12 shoreline	det
12	shoreline	shoreline	NOUN	Number=Sing	9 princess	nmod
13	,	,	PUNCT	_	15 reference	punct
14	with	with	ADP	_	15 reference	case
15	reference	reference	NOUN	Number=Sing	6 conduct	appos
16	to	to	ADP	_	19 motives	case
17	her	her	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	19 motives	nmod:poss
18	earlier	early	ADJ	Degree=Cmp	19 motives	amod
19	motives	motive	NOUN	Number=Plur	15 reference	nmod
20	.	.	PUNCT	_	6 conduct	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	conduct		the stepmother					toward the princess at the shoreline	nom conduct «act transitive»: poss=agent toward=obl

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

Motivated by envy and revenge, she lured the princess out onto the great grey rock above the sea, where she pushed her from the edge into the deep water below so that she could steal her place at the palace and never be discovered.

The tree, 44 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	Motivated	motivate	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	8 lured	advcl
2	by	by	ADP	_	3 envy	case
3	envy	envy	NOUN	Number=Sing	1 Motivated	obl
4	and	and	CCONJ	_	5 revenge	cc
5	revenge	revenge	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 envy	conj
6	,	,	PUNCT	_	1 Motivated	punct
7	she	she	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	8 lured	nsubj
8	lured	lure	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
9	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	10 princess	det
10	princess	princess	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 lured	obj
11	out	out	ADP	_	8 lured	compound:prt
12	onto	onto	ADP	_	16 rock	case
13	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	16 rock	det
14	great	great	ADJ	Degree=Pos	16 rock	amod
15	grey	grey	ADJ	Degree=Pos	16 rock	amod
16	rock	rock	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 lured	obl
17	above	above	ADP	_	19 sea	case
18	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	19 sea	det
19	sea	sea	NOUN	Number=Sing	16 rock	nmod
20	,	,	PUNCT	_	23 pushed	punct
21	where	where	ADV	PronType=Rel	23 pushed	advmod
22	she	she	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	23 pushed	nsubj
23	pushed	push	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	16 rock	parataxis
24	her	she	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	23 pushed	obj
25	from	from	ADP	_	27 edge	case
26	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	27 edge	det
27	edge	edge	NOUN	Number=Sing	23 pushed	obl
28	into	into	ADP	_	31 water	case
29	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	31 water	det
30	deep	deep	ADJ	Degree=Pos	31 water	amod
31	water	water	NOUN	Number=Sing	23 pushed	obl
32	below	below	ADV	_	31 water	advmod
33	so	so	SCONJ	ExtPos=SCONJ	37 steal	mark
34	that	that	SCONJ	_	33 so	fixed
35	she	she	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	37 steal	nsubj
36	could	could	AUX	VerbForm=Fin	37 steal	aux
37	steal	steal	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	23 pushed	advcl
38	her	she	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	39 place	nmod:poss
39	place	place	NOUN	Number=Sing	37 steal	obj
40	at	at	ADP	_	42 palace	case
41	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	42 palace	det
42	palace	palace	NOUN	Number=Sing	37 steal	obl
43	and	and	CCONJ	_	46 discovered	cc
44	never	never	ADV	PronType=Neg	46 discovered	advmod
45	be	be	AUX	VerbForm=Inf	46 discovered	aux:pass
46	discovered	discover	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	37 steal	conj
47	.	.	PUNCT	_	8 lured	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	where	other	roles by
1	motivate	participle	she not said here			by envy and revenge	vn compel-59.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent
2	lure out	past	she	the princess	the great grey rock above the sea		vn lure-59.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent princess=Patient
3	push	past	princess	her = she	the edge	into the deep water	vn funnel-9.3-1-1 «NP V NP PP.initial_location PP.destination»: agent=Agent she=Theme from edge=Initial_Location into water=Destination
4	steal	could	princess	princess's place	the palace		vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location place=Theme
5	not discover	infinitive · passive	princess not said here				vn discover-84-1 «NP V PP.topic S_ING»

Option 2 · ← Mova's choice

Consumed by ambition and a bitter desire to rule, she waited until the princess had walked alone along the shore at dusk, then shoved her from the high rock into the churning water so she could take her place and marry the prince.

The tree, 43 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	Consumed	consume	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	12 waited	advcl
2	by	by	ADP	_	3 ambition	case
3	ambition	ambition	NOUN	Number=Sing	1 Consumed	obl
4	and	and	CCONJ	_	7 desire	cc
5	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	7 desire	det
6	bitter	bitter	ADJ	Degree=Pos	7 desire	amod
7	desire	desire	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 ambition	conj
8	to	to	PART	_	9 rule	mark
9	rule	rule	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	7 desire	acl
10	,	,	PUNCT	_	1 Consumed	punct
11	she	she	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	12 waited	nsubj
12	waited	wait	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
13	until	until	SCONJ	_	17 walked	mark
14	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	15 princess	det
15	princess	princess	NOUN	Number=Sing	17 walked	nsubj
16	had	have	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	17 walked	aux
17	walked	walk	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part	12 waited	ccomp
18	alone	alone	ADV	_	17 walked	advmod
19	along	along	ADP	_	21 shore	case
20	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	21 shore	det
21	shore	shore	NOUN	Number=Sing	17 walked	obl
22	at	at	ADP	_	23 dusk	case
23	dusk	dusk	NOUN	Number=Sing	17 walked	obl
24	,	,	PUNCT	_	26 shoved	punct
25	then	then	ADV	PronType=Dem	26 shoved	advmod
26	shoved	shove	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	12 waited	conj
27	her	she	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	26 shoved	obj
28	from	from	ADP	_	31 rock	case
29	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	31 rock	det
30	high	high	ADJ	Degree=Pos	31 rock	amod
31	rock	rock	NOUN	Number=Sing	26 shoved	obl
32	into	into	ADP	_	35 water	case
33	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	35 water	det
34	churning	churning	NOUN	Number=Sing	35 water	compound
35	water	water	NOUN	Number=Sing	26 shoved	obl
36	so	so	ADV	_	39 take	advmod
37	she	she	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	39 take	nsubj
38	could	could	AUX	VerbForm=Fin	39 take	aux
39	take	take	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	12 waited	advcl
40	her	her	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	41 place	nmod:poss
41	place	place	NOUN	Number=Sing	39 take	obj
42	and	and	CCONJ	_	43 marry	cc
43	marry	marry	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	39 take	conj
44	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	45 prince	det
45	prince	prince	NOUN	Number=Sing	43 marry	obj
46	.	.	PUNCT	_	12 waited	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	consume	participle	she not said here				by ambition and a bitter desire	vn consume-66 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent
2	rule	to-infinitive	she not said here					vn dub-29.3.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent
3	wait	past	she					tree rules
4	walk	past · perfect	the princess		the shore	dusk	alone property	vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme along shore=Trajectory
5	shove	past	she not said here	princess	the high rock	then	into the churning water	vn throw-17.1-1 «NP V NP PP.initial_location PP.destination»: agent=Agent she=Theme from rock=Initial_Location into water=Destination
6	take	could	princess	princess's place				vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent place=Theme
7	marry	infinitive	princess not said here	the prince				vn amalgamate-22.2-3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent prince=Patient

Option 3 · ✓ the right answer

Motivated by envy and revenge, she pushed the princess from the rock into the deep water to take her place.

The tree, 20 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	Motivated	motivate	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	8 pushed	advcl
2	by	by	ADP	_	3 envy	case
3	envy	envy	NOUN	Number=Sing	1 Motivated	obl
4	and	and	CCONJ	_	5 revenge	cc
5	revenge	revenge	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 envy	conj
6	,	,	PUNCT	_	1 Motivated	punct
7	she	she	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	8 pushed	nsubj
8	pushed	push	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
9	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	10 princess	det
10	princess	princess	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 pushed	obj
11	from	from	ADP	_	13 rock	case
12	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	13 rock	det
13	rock	rock	NOUN	Number=Sing	10 princess	nmod
14	into	into	ADP	_	17 water	case
15	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	17 water	det
16	deep	deep	ADJ	Degree=Pos	17 water	amod
17	water	water	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 pushed	obl
18	to	to	PART	_	19 take	mark
19	take	take	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	8 pushed	advcl
20	her	her	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	21 place	nmod:poss
21	place	place	NOUN	Number=Sing	19 take	obj
22	.	.	PUNCT	_	8 pushed	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	where	other	roles by
1	motivate	participle	she not said here			by envy and revenge	vn compel-59.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent
2	push	past	she	the princess	the rock	into the deep water	vn funnel-9.3-1-1 «NP V NP PP.initial_location PP.destination»: agent=Agent princess=Theme into water=Destination from rock=Initial_Location
3	take	to-infinitive	she not said here	princess's place			vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent place=Theme

Option 4

Driven by greed for the throne, she shoved the princess off the cliff to seize her place.

The tree, 17 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	Driven	drive	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	root	root
2	by	by	ADP	_	3 greed	case
3	greed	greed	NOUN	Number=Sing	1 Driven	obl
4	for	for	ADP	_	6 throne	case
5	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	6 throne	det
6	throne	throne	NOUN	Number=Sing	1 Driven	obl
7	,	,	PUNCT	_	9 shoved	punct
8	she	she	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	9 shoved	nsubj
9	shoved	shove	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	1 Driven	conj
10	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	11 princess	det
11	princess	princess	NOUN	Number=Sing	9 shoved	obj
12	off	off	ADP	_	14 cliff	case
13	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	14 cliff	det
14	cliff	cliff	NOUN	Number=Sing	9 shoved	obl
15	to	to	PART	_	16 seize	mark
16	seize	seize	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	9 shoved	advcl
17	her	her	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	18 place	nmod:poss
18	place	place	NOUN	Number=Sing	16 seize	obj
19	.	.	PUNCT	_	1 Driven	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	where	other	roles by
1	drive	participle				by greed; for the throne	vn nonvehicle-51.4.2-1 «NP.agent V»: agent=Agent
2	shove	past	she	the princess	the cliff		vn throw-17.1-1 «NP V NP PP.initial_location»: agent=Agent princess=Theme off cliff=Initial_Location
3	seize	to-infinitive	she not said here	princess's place			vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent place=Theme

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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