Exam question 2 · Indian Fairy Tales, Moti the Fool, part 25: Moti rides a s…

With reference to the text, which account best describes the manner in which Moti arrived at his answer to the king's question concerning the object concealed within the box?

Mova's choice: option 3 · The right answer: option 2 · wrong ✗ · Who acts: Moti, object, king · What happens: describe, arrive, concern, conceal, answer, question · To what, where: manner, answer

This is exam question 2 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	With	with	ADP	_	2 reference	case
2	reference	reference	NOUN	Number=Sing	10 describes	obl
3	to	to	ADP	_	5 text	case
4	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	5 text	det
5	text	text	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 reference	nmod
6	,	,	PUNCT	_	8 account	punct
7	which	which	DET	PronType=Int	8 account	det
8	account	account	NOUN	Number=Sing	5 text	appos
9	best	well	ADV	Degree=Sup	8 account	advmod
10	describes	describe	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	root	root
11	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	12 manner	det
12	manner	manner	NOUN	Number=Sing	10 describes	obj
13	in	in	ADP	_	14 which	case
14	which	which	PRON	PronType=Rel	16 arrived	obl
15	Moti	Moti	PROPN	Number=Sing	16 arrived	nsubj
16	arrived	arrive	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	10 describes	parataxis
17	at	at	ADP	_	19 answer	case
18	his	his	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	19 answer	nmod:poss
19	answer	answer	NOUN	Number=Sing	16 arrived	obl
20	to	to	ADP	_	24 question	case
21	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	22 king	det
22	king	king	NOUN	Number=Sing	24 question	nmod:poss
23	's	's	PART	_	22 king	case
24	question	question	NOUN	Number=Sing	16 arrived	obl
25	concerning	concern	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	16 arrived	advcl
26	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	27 object	det
27	object	object	NOUN	Number=Sing	28 concealed	nsubj
28	concealed	conceal	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	25 concerning	ccomp
29	within	within	ADP	_	31 box	case
30	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	31 box	det
31	box	box	NOUN	Number=Sing	28 concealed	obl
32	?	?	PUNCT	_	10 describes	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	where	other	roles by
1	describe	present		the manner		with reference to the text	vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S_ING»: agent=Agent manner=Theme
2	arrive	past	Moti		Moti's answer	to the king's question	vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial_location»: agent=Theme to question=Initial_Location
3	concern	gerund	Moti not said here				tree rules
4	conceal	past	the object			within the box	vn concealment-16 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent
5	answer		Moti				nom answer «communication transitive»: poss=agent
6	question		the king				nom question «communication transitive»: 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

By consulting the Afghans, who had hidden the object and then named it for him

The tree, 15 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	By	by	SCONJ	_	2 consulting	mark
2	consulting	consult	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	root	root
3	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	4 Afghans	det
4	Afghans	Afghan	PROPN	Number=Plur	2 consulting	obj
5	,	,	PUNCT	_	8 hidden	punct
6	who	who	PRON	PronType=Rel	8 hidden	nsubj:pass
7	had	have	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	8 hidden	aux
8	hidden	hide	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	4 Afghans	acl
9	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	10 object	det
10	object	object	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 hidden	obj
11	and	and	CCONJ	_	13 named	cc
12	then	then	ADV	PronType=Dem	13 named	advmod
13	named	name	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	8 hidden	conj
14	it	it	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	13 named	obj
15	for	for	ADP	_	16 him	case
16	him	he	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	13 named	obl

#	verb	tense, mood	what, whom	when	other	roles by
1	consult	gerund	the Afghans			vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent afghan=Theme
2	hide	past · perfect · passive	the Afghans			tree rules
3	name	past	object	then	for him = he	vn appoint-29.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme

Option 2 · ✓ the right answer

By reasoning from the wrapping, the scent and the season of fruits, and then naming a pomegranate

The tree, 17 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	By	by	SCONJ	_	2 reasoning	mark
2	reasoning	reason	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	root	root
3	from	from	ADP	_	5 wrapping	case
4	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	5 wrapping	det
5	wrapping	wrapping	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 reasoning	obl
6	,	,	PUNCT	_	8 scent	punct
7	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	8 scent	det
8	scent	scent	NOUN	Number=Sing	5 wrapping	conj
9	and	and	CCONJ	_	11 season	cc
10	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	11 season	det
11	season	season	NOUN	Number=Sing	5 wrapping	conj
12	of	of	ADP	_	13 fruits	case
13	fruits	fruit	NOUN	Number=Plur	11 season	nmod
14	,	,	PUNCT	_	17 naming	punct
15	and	and	CCONJ	_	17 naming	cc
16	then	then	ADV	PronType=Dem	17 naming	advmod
17	naming	name	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	2 reasoning	conj
18	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	19 pomegranate	det
19	pomegranate	pomegranate	NOUN	Number=Sing	17 naming	obj

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	reason	gerund				the wrapping and the scent and the season of fruits			vn deduce-97.2 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent from wrapping=Source
2	name	gerund		a pomegranate			then		vn appoint-29.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent pomegranate=Theme

Option 3 · ← Mova's choice

By refusing to answer until the Afghans admitted their theft, and then by naming the object after they confessed to hiding it in the box themselves

The tree, 26 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	By	by	SCONJ	_	2 refusing	mark
2	refusing	refuse	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	root	root
3	to	to	PART	_	4 answer	mark
4	answer	answer	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	2 refusing	xcomp
5	until	until	SCONJ	_	8 admitted	mark
6	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	7 Afghans	det
7	Afghans	Afghan	PROPN	Number=Plur	8 admitted	nsubj
8	admitted	admit	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	4 answer	ccomp
9	their	their	PRON	Case=Gen Number=Plur Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	10 theft	nmod:poss
10	theft	theft	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 admitted	obj
11	,	,	PUNCT	_	15 naming	punct
12	and	and	CCONJ	_	15 naming	cc
13	then	then	ADV	PronType=Dem	15 naming	advmod
14	by	by	SCONJ	_	15 naming	mark
15	naming	name	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	2 refusing	conj
16	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	17 object	det
17	object	object	NOUN	Number=Sing	15 naming	obj
18	after	after	SCONJ	_	20 confessed	mark
19	they	they	PRON	Case=Nom Number=Plur Person=3 PronType=Prs	20 confessed	nsubj
20	confessed	confess	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	15 naming	advcl
21	to	to	SCONJ	_	22 hiding	mark
22	hiding	hide	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	20 confessed	advcl
23	it	it	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	22 hiding	obj
24	in	in	ADP	_	26 box	case
25	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	26 box	det
26	box	box	NOUN	Number=Sing	22 hiding	obl
27	themselves	themselves	PRON	Case=Acc Number=Plur Person=3 PronType=Emp Reflex=Yes	26 box	nmod:unmarked

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	where	when	roles by
1	refuse	gerund					vn reject-77.2 «NP V S_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Theme
2	not answer speech: assert	to-infinitive					tree rules
3	admit speech: other	past	the Afghans	Afghans's theft			vn admit-64.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent theft=Theme
4	name	gerund		the object		then	vn appoint-29.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent object=Theme
5	confess	past	Afghans = afghan				vn confess-37.10 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent
6	hide	gerund	Afghans = afghan not said here	object	the box Afghans		vn concealment-16-1 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent it=Patient in box=Location

Option 4

By waiting patiently for the king to hint at the answer, then by slowly searching the entire room for clues and eventually recalling a tale of his childhood

The tree, 28 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	By	by	SCONJ	_	2 waiting	mark
2	waiting	wait	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	root	root
3	patiently	patiently	ADV	_	2 waiting	advmod
4	for	for	ADP	_	6 king	case
5	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	6 king	det
6	king	king	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 waiting	obl
7	to	to	PART	_	8 hint	mark
8	hint	hint	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	2 waiting	advcl
9	at	at	ADP	_	11 answer	case
10	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	11 answer	det
11	answer	answer	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 hint	obl
12	,	,	PUNCT	_	16 searching	punct
13	then	then	ADV	PronType=Dem	16 searching	advmod
14	by	by	SCONJ	_	16 searching	mark
15	slowly	slowly	ADV	_	16 searching	advmod
16	searching	search	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	2 waiting	conj
17	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	19 room	det
18	entire	entire	ADJ	Degree=Pos	19 room	amod
19	room	room	NOUN	Number=Sing	16 searching	obj
20	for	for	ADP	_	21 clues	case
21	clues	clue	NOUN	Number=Plur	16 searching	obl
22	and	and	CCONJ	_	24 recalling	cc
23	eventually	eventually	ADV	_	24 recalling	advmod
24	recalling	recall	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	2 waiting	conj
25	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	26 tale	det
26	tale	tale	NOUN	Number=Sing	24 recalling	obj
27	of	of	ADP	_	29 childhood	case
28	his	his	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	29 childhood	nmod:poss
29	childhood	childhood	NOUN	Number=Sing	26 tale	nmod

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	wait	gerund					for the king; patiently property	vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme
2	hint speech: other	to-infinitive			the answer			vn say-37.7-1-2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent
3	search	gerund		the entire room		then	for clues; slowly property	vn search-35.2 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent room=Location for clue=Theme
4	recall	gerund		a tale of king's childhood			eventually property	vn banish-10.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tale=Theme
5	tell		king's childhood					nom tale «communication 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/1300-pg3454-part25/e2/