Exam question 1 · Indian Fairy Tales, Moti the Fool, part 25: Moti rides a s…

Which of the following statements most accurately describes the reason the king gave for choosing the riddle as the means of settling the dispute between Moti and the Afghans?

Mova's choice: option 1 · The right answer: option 3 · wrong ✗ · Who acts: king, the · What happens: follow, describe, give, choose, mean, settle · To what, where: reason, riddle, dispute · Speech: someone speaks here

This is exam question 1 of lesson 1300 «Indian Fairy Tales, Moti the Fool, part 25: Moti rides a stolen-looking horse, catches a tiger, and chooses a pony» 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	Which	which	PRON	PronType=Rel	8 describes	nsubj
2	of	of	ADP	_	5 statements	case
3	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	5 statements	det
4	following	follow	VERB	VerbForm=Ger	5 statements	amod
5	statements	statement	NOUN	Number=Plur	8 describes	obl
6	most	most	ADV	Degree=Sup	7 accurately	advmod
7	accurately	accurately	ADV	_	8 describes	advmod
8	describes	describe	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	root	root
9	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	10 reason	det
10	reason	reason	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 describes	obj
11	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	12 king	det
12	king	king	NOUN	Number=Sing	13 gave	nsubj
13	gave	give	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	10 reason	acl:relcl
14	for	for	SCONJ	_	15 choosing	mark
15	choosing	choose	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	13 gave	advcl
16	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	17 riddle	det
17	riddle	riddle	NOUN	Number=Sing	15 choosing	obj
18	as	as	SCONJ	_	20 means	mark
19	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	20 means	nsubj
20	means	mean	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	15 choosing	advcl
21	of	of	SCONJ	_	22 settling	mark
22	settling	settle	VERB	VerbForm=Ger	20 means	ccomp
23	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	24 dispute	det
24	dispute	dispute	NOUN	Number=Sing	22 settling	obj
25	between	between	ADP	_	26 Moti	case
26	Moti	Moti	PROPN	Number=Sing	24 dispute	nmod
27	and	and	CCONJ	_	29 Afghans	cc
28	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	29 Afghans	det
29	Afghans	Afghan	PROPN	Number=Plur	26 Moti	conj
30	?	?	PUNCT	_	8 describes	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	other	roles by
1	follow	gerund				vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme
2	describe	present		the reason	of the following statements; accurately property	vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S_ING»: agent=Agent reason=Theme
3	give	past	the king	the reason not said here		vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent reason=Theme
4	choose	gerund	the king not said here	the riddle		vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent riddle=Theme
5	mean	present	the			vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic
6	settle	gerund		the dispute	between Moti and the Afghans	vn odge-46-1 «NP V ADV»: agent=Theme dispute=Location

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

The king chose a riddle because it was the custom of his court, and he believed clever answers were the only sure proof of an honest claim

The tree, 27 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	The	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	2 king	det
2	king	king	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 chose	nsubj
3	chose	choose	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
4	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	5 riddle	det
5	riddle	riddle	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 chose	obj
6	because	because	SCONJ	_	10 custom	mark
7	it	it	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	10 custom	nsubj
8	was	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	10 custom	cop
9	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	10 custom	det
10	custom	custom	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 chose	xcomp
11	of	of	ADP	_	13 court	case
12	his	his	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	13 court	nmod:poss
13	court	court	NOUN	Number=Sing	10 custom	nmod
14	,	,	PUNCT	_	17 believed	punct
15	and	and	CCONJ	_	17 believed	cc
16	he	he	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	17 believed	nsubj
17	believed	believe	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	3 chose	conj
18	clever	clever	ADJ	Degree=Pos	19 answers	amod
19	answers	answer	NOUN	Number=Plur	24 proof	nsubj
20	were	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	24 proof	cop
21	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	24 proof	det
22	only	only	ADJ	Degree=Pos	24 proof	amod
23	sure	sure	ADJ	Degree=Pos	24 proof	amod
24	proof	proof	NOUN	Number=Sing	17 believed	parataxis
25	of	of	ADP	_	28 claim	case
26	an	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	28 claim	det
27	honest	honest	ADJ	Degree=Pos	28 claim	amod
28	claim	claim	NOUN	Number=Sing	24 proof	nmod

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	other	roles by
1	choose	past	the king	a riddle		vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent riddle=Theme
2	is a	past	riddle	the custom	of king's court	tree rules
3	believe	past	king			vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer
4	is a	past	clever answers	the only sure proof	of a honest claim	tree rules

Option 2

The king was bored of the case

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	The	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	2 king	det
2	king	king	NOUN	Number=Sing	4 bored	nsubj
3	was	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	4 bored	aux:pass
4	bored	bore	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	root	root
5	of	of	ADP	_	7 case	case
6	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	7 case	det
7	case	case	NOUN	Number=Sing	4 bored	obl

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	bore	past · passive		the king				of the case	vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Experiencer

Option 3 · ✓ the right answer

The king stated that the dispute had become so confusing that a riddle was the fairest way to decide the matter

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 king	det
2	king	king	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 stated	nsubj
3	stated	state	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
4	that	that	SCONJ	_	8 become	mark
5	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	6 dispute	det
6	dispute	dispute	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 become	nsubj
7	had	have	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	8 become	aux
8	become	become	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part	3 stated	ccomp
9	so	so	ADV	_	10 confusing	advmod
10	confusing	confusing	ADJ	Degree=Pos	8 become	xcomp
11	that	that	SCONJ	_	17 way	mark
12	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	13 riddle	det
13	riddle	riddle	NOUN	Number=Sing	17 way	nsubj
14	was	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	17 way	cop
15	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	17 way	det
16	fairest	fair	ADJ	Degree=Sup	17 way	amod
17	way	way	NOUN	Number=Sing	10 confusing	obl
18	to	to	PART	_	19 decide	mark
19	decide	decide	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	17 way	acl
20	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	21 matter	det
21	matter	matter	NOUN	Number=Sing	19 decide	obj

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	other	roles by
1	state speech: other	past	the king			vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic
2	become	past · perfect	the dispute		confusing property	vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient
3	is a	past	a riddle	the fairest way		tree rules
4	decide	to-infinitive	the dispute not said here	the matter		vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent matter=Topic

Option 4

The king said the Afghans had asked for it

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	The	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	2 king	det
2	king	king	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 said	nsubj
3	said	say	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
4	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	5 Afghans	det
5	Afghans	Afghan	PROPN	Number=Plur	7 asked	nsubj
6	had	have	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	7 asked	aux
7	asked	ask	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part	3 said	ccomp
8	for	for	ADP	_	9 it	case
9	it	it	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	7 asked	obl

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	say speech: assert	past	the king						vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic
2	ask speech: ask	past · perfect	the Afghans					for it	vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V»: agent=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/1300-pg3454-part25/e1/