Exam question 2 · Arabian Nights, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, part 58: M…

What signal did the Captain prescribe for the commencement of the attack?

Mova's choice: option 1 · The right answer: option 3 · wrong ✗ · Who acts: signal · What happens: prescribe

This is exam question 2 of lesson 1471 «Arabian Nights, Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves, part 58: Morgiana foils the robbers' attack and dances at supper» 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	What	what	DET	PronType=Int	2 signal	det
2	signal	signal	NOUN	Number=Sing	6 prescribe	nsubj
3	did	do	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	6 prescribe	aux
4	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	5 Captain	det
5	Captain	Captain	PROPN	Number=Sing	6 prescribe	nsubj
6	prescribe	prescribe	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	root	root
7	for	for	ADP	_	9 commencement	case
8	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	9 commencement	det
9	commencement	commencement	NOUN	Number=Sing	6 prescribe	obl
10	of	of	ADP	_	12 attack	case
11	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	12 attack	det
12	attack	attack	NOUN	Number=Sing	9 commencement	nmod
13	?	?	PUNCT	_	6 prescribe	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	prescribe	past · do-support	what signal					for the commencement of the attack	tree rules

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 lighting of a torch at the gate

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	The	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	2 lighting	det
2	lighting	lighting	NOUN	Number=Sing	root	root
3	of	of	ADP	_	5 torch	case
4	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	5 torch	det
5	torch	torch	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 lighting	nmod
6	at	at	ADP	_	8 gate	case
7	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	8 gate	det
8	gate	gate	NOUN	Number=Sing	5 torch	nmod

The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

Option 2

The sounding of a horn from the rooftop beside the stable

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	The	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	2 sounding	det
2	sounding	sounding	NOUN	Number=Sing	root	root
3	of	of	ADP	_	5 horn	case
4	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	5 horn	det
5	horn	horn	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 sounding	nmod
6	from	from	ADP	_	8 rooftop	case
7	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	8 rooftop	det
8	rooftop	rooftop	NOUN	Number=Sing	5 horn	nmod
9	beside	beside	ADP	_	11 stable	case
10	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	11 stable	det
11	stable	stable	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 rooftop	nmod

The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

Option 3 · ✓ the right answer

The throwing of stones from a window

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	The	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	2 throwing	det
2	throwing	throwing	NOUN	Number=Sing	root	root
3	of	of	ADP	_	4 stones	case
4	stones	stone	NOUN	Number=Plur	2 throwing	nmod
5	from	from	ADP	_	7 window	case
6	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	7 window	det
7	window	window	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 throwing	nmod

The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

Option 4

The ringing of a bell in the yard

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	The	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	2 ringing	det
2	ringing	ringing	NOUN	Number=Sing	root	root
3	of	of	ADP	_	5 bell	case
4	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	5 bell	det
5	bell	bell	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 ringing	nmod
6	in	in	ADP	_	8 yard	case
7	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	8 yard	det
8	yard	yard	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 ringing	nmod

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	ring			a bell				in the yard	nom ringing «event transitive»: of=patient in=obl

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/1471-pg503-part58/e2/