Exam question 2 · pg503, Whittington and His Cat: Whittington gets his treas…

In which manner did the eldest princess justify her choice of a green dress to her father the King?

Mova's choice: option 2 · The right answer: option 4 · wrong ✗ · Who acts: eldest princess · What happens: do, justify · To what, where: manner, choice

This is exam question 2 of lesson 1463 «pg503, Whittington and His Cat: Whittington gets his treasure, marries Alice and becomes Lord Mayor» 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	In	in	ADP	_	3 manner	case
2	which	which	DET	PronType=Int	3 manner	det
3	manner	manner	NOUN	Number=Sing	4 did	obl
4	did	do	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=1 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
5	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	7 princess	det
6	eldest	eld	ADJ	Degree=Sup	7 princess	amod
7	princess	princess	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 justify	nsubj
8	justify	justify	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	4 did	ccomp
9	her	her	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	10 choice	nmod:poss
10	choice	choice	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 justify	obj
11	of	of	ADP	_	14 dress	case
12	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	14 dress	det
13	green	green	ADJ	Degree=Pos	14 dress	amod
14	dress	dress	NOUN	Number=Sing	10 choice	nmod
15	to	to	ADP	_	17 father	case
16	her	her	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	17 father	nmod:poss
17	father	father	NOUN	Number=Sing	14 dress	nmod
18	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	19 King	det
19	King	King	PROPN	Number=Sing	17 father	appos
20	?	?	PUNCT	_	4 did	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	do	past				which manner			tree rules
2	justify speech: other	infinitive	the eldest princess	princess's choice of a green dress to princess's father					vn transfer_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent choice=Topic

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

She said green was her favourite

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	She	she	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 said	nsubj
2	said	say	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	green	green	ADJ	Degree=Pos	2 said	xcomp
4	was	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	5 her	cop
5	her	her	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	2 said	ccomp
6	favourite	favourite	ADJ	Degree=Pos	2 said	xcomp

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	say speech: assert	past	She					favourite, green property	vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent
2	is a	past		her = she					tree rules

Option 2 · ← Mova's choice

She told him that green was the colour of joy and that she prayed daily for his safe and speedy return from the wars in France and Spain

The tree, 28 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	She	she	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 told	nsubj
2	told	tell	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	him	he	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 told	iobj
4	that	that	SCONJ	_	8 colour	mark
5	green	green	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 colour	nsubj
6	was	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	8 colour	cop
7	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	8 colour	det
8	colour	colour	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 told	ccomp
9	of	of	ADP	_	10 joy	case
10	joy	joy	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 colour	nmod
11	and	and	CCONJ	_	14 prayed	cc
12	that	that	SCONJ	_	14 prayed	mark
13	she	she	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	14 prayed	nsubj
14	prayed	pray	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	2 told	conj
15	daily	daily	ADV	_	14 prayed	advmod
16	for	for	ADP	_	21 return	case
17	his	his	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	21 return	nmod:poss
18	safe	safe	ADJ	Degree=Pos	21 return	amod
19	and	and	CCONJ	_	20 speedy	cc
20	speedy	speedy	ADJ	Degree=Pos	18 safe	conj
21	return	return	NOUN	Number=Sing	14 prayed	obl
22	from	from	ADP	_	24 wars	case
23	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	24 wars	det
24	wars	war	NOUN	Number=Plur	14 prayed	obl
25	in	in	ADP	_	26 France	case
26	France	France	PROPN	Number=Sing	24 wars	nmod
27	and	and	CCONJ	_	28 Spain	cc
28	Spain	Spain	PROPN	Number=Sing	26 France	conj

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	other	roles by
1	tell speech: assert	past	She		him = he			vn transfer_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent he=Recipient
2	is a	past	green	the colour			of joy	tree rules
3	pray	past	she			the wars in France and Spain	for his safe return; daily property	vn long-32.2 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Pivot for return=Theme
4	return		his = he					nom return «communication intransitive»: poss=agent

Option 3

She replied that the green silk had been chosen by her mother, the queen, and that it signified her grief and her loyalty to the court

The tree, 26 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	She	she	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 replied	nsubj
2	replied	reply	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	that	that	SCONJ	_	9 chosen	mark
4	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	6 silk	det
5	green	green	ADJ	Degree=Pos	6 silk	amod
6	silk	silk	NOUN	Number=Sing	9 chosen	nsubj:pass
7	had	have	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	9 chosen	aux
8	been	be	AUX	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part	9 chosen	aux:pass
9	chosen	choose	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	2 replied	ccomp
10	by	by	ADP	_	12 mother	case
11	her	her	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	12 mother	nmod:poss
12	mother	mother	NOUN	Number=Sing	9 chosen	obl
13	,	,	PUNCT	_	15 queen	punct
14	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	15 queen	det
15	queen	queen	NOUN	Number=Sing	12 mother	conj
16	,	,	PUNCT	_	20 signified	punct
17	and	and	CCONJ	_	20 signified	cc
18	that	that	SCONJ	_	20 signified	mark
19	it	it	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	20 signified	nsubj
20	signified	signify	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	2 replied	conj
21	her	her	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	22 grief	nmod:poss
22	grief	grief	NOUN	Number=Sing	20 signified	obj
23	and	and	CCONJ	_	25 loyalty	cc
24	her	her	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	25 loyalty	nmod:poss
25	loyalty	loyalty	NOUN	Number=Sing	22 grief	conj
26	to	to	ADP	_	28 court	case
27	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	28 court	det
28	court	court	NOUN	Number=Sing	20 signified	obl

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	other	roles by
1	reply speech: assert	past	She			vn say-37.7-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic
2	choose	past · perfect · passive	her mother and the queen	the green silk		vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Theme
3	signify	past	silk	her grief and her loyalty	to the court	vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Pivot grief=Theme to court=Attribute

Option 4 · ✓ the right answer

She stated that green signified her joy and her hope of his speedy return

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	She	she	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 stated	nsubj
2	stated	state	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	that	that	SCONJ	_	5 signified	mark
4	green	green	ADJ	Degree=Pos	5 signified	nsubj
5	signified	signify	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	2 stated	ccomp
6	her	her	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	7 joy	nmod:poss
7	joy	joy	NOUN	Number=Sing	5 signified	obj
8	and	and	CCONJ	_	10 hope	cc
9	her	her	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	10 hope	nmod:poss
10	hope	hope	NOUN	Number=Sing	5 signified	conj
11	of	of	ADP	_	14 return	case
12	his	his	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	14 return	nmod:poss
13	speedy	speedy	ADJ	Degree=Pos	14 return	amod
14	return	return	NOUN	Number=Sing	10 hope	nmod

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	roles by
1	state speech: other	past	She		vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic
2	signify	past	green	her joy	vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot joy=Theme
3	joy		her = she		nom joy «feeling transitive»: poss=agent
4	hope		his speedy return		nom hope «feeling intransitive»: of=agent
5	return		his = he		nom return «communication intransitive»: poss=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/1463-pg503-part50/e2/