Exam question 4 · Norse Tales, The Blue Bull, part 45: the princess and the…
For what reason did the princess offer to walk rather than ride upon the Bull?
Mova's choice: option 1 · The right answer: option 4 · wrong ✗ · Who acts: reason · What happens: do, walk, ride · To what, where: princess offer
This is exam question 4 of lesson 1548 «Norse Tales, The Blue Bull, part 45: the princess and the Bull flee, and she tears leaves in three magic woods» 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 | For | for | ADP | _ | 2 what | case |
| 2 | what | what | PRON | PronType=Int | root | root |
| 3 | reason | reason | NOUN | Number=Sing | 4 did | nsubj |
| 4 | did | do | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 2 what | acl:relcl |
| 5 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 7 offer | det |
| 6 | princess | princess | NOUN | Number=Sing | 7 offer | compound |
| 7 | offer | offer | NOUN | Number=Sing | 4 did | obj |
| 8 | to | to | PART | _ | 9 walk | mark |
| 9 | walk | walk | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 4 did | advcl |
| 10 | rather | rather | ADV | ExtPos=CCONJ | 12 ride | cc |
| 11 | than | than | ADP | _ | 10 rather | fixed |
| 12 | ride | ride | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 9 walk | conj |
| 13 | upon | upon | ADP | _ | 15 Bull | case |
| 14 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 15 Bull | det |
| 15 | Bull | bull | NOUN | Number=Sing | 12 ride | obl |
| 16 | ? | ? | PUNCT | _ | 2 what | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | do | past | reason | the princess offer | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent offer=Eventuality | ||||
| 2 | walk | to-infinitive | reason not said here | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | |||||
| 3 | ride | infinitive | reason not said here | upon the Bull | vn nonvehicle-51.4.2 «NP.agent V»: agent=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 · ← Mova's choice
She wished to spare the Bull's legs
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 wished | nsubj |
| 2 | wished | wish | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 3 | to | to | PART | _ | 4 spare | mark |
| 4 | spare | spare | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 2 wished | xcomp |
| 5 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 6 Bull | det |
| 6 | Bull | Bull | PROPN | Number=Sing | 8 legs | nmod:poss |
| 7 | 's | 's | PART | _ | 6 Bull | case |
| 8 | legs | leg | NOUN | Number=Plur | 4 spare | obj |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | wish | past | She | vn wish-62 «NP V for NP S_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme | |||||
| 2 | spare not said to happen | to-infinitive | She not said here | the Bull's legs | vn bill-54.5 «NP V NP NP.asset»: agent=Agent leg=Asset |
Option 2
She wished to spare the weakened Bull, who had asked her to walk beside him
The tree, 15 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 wished | nsubj |
| 2 | wished | wish | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 3 | to | to | PART | _ | 4 spare | mark |
| 4 | spare | spare | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 2 wished | xcomp |
| 5 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 7 Bull | det |
| 6 | weakened | weaken | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 7 Bull | amod |
| 7 | Bull | bull | NOUN | Number=Sing | 4 spare | obj |
| 8 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 11 asked | punct |
| 9 | who | who | PRON | PronType=Rel | 11 asked | nsubj:pass |
| 10 | had | have | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 11 asked | aux |
| 11 | asked | ask | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 7 Bull | acl:relcl |
| 12 | her | she | PRON | Case=Acc Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 11 asked | iobj |
| 13 | to | to | PART | _ | 14 walk | mark |
| 14 | walk | walk | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 11 asked | xcomp |
| 15 | beside | beside | ADP | _ | 16 him | case |
| 16 | him | he | PRON | Case=Acc Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 14 walk | obl |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | wish | past | She | vn wish-62 «NP V for NP S_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme | |||||
| 2 | spare not said to happen | to-infinitive | She not said here | the weakened Bull | vn bill-54.5 «NP V NP NP.asset»: agent=Agent bull=Asset | ||||
| 3 | weaken | participle | vn other_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient | ||||||
| 4 | ask speech: ask | past · perfect · passive | the weakened Bull | her = she | tree rules | ||||
| 5 | walk not said to happen | to-infinitive | the weakened Bull not said here | beside Bull | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme beside he=Trajectory |
Option 3
She wished to spare the weakened Bull from carrying her weight across the wood
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 wished | nsubj |
| 2 | wished | wish | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 3 | to | to | PART | _ | 4 spare | mark |
| 4 | spare | spare | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 2 wished | xcomp |
| 5 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 7 Bull | det |
| 6 | weakened | weaken | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 7 Bull | amod |
| 7 | Bull | bull | NOUN | Number=Sing | 4 spare | obj |
| 8 | from | from | SCONJ | _ | 9 carrying | mark |
| 9 | carrying | carry | VERB | VerbForm=Ger | 7 Bull | acl |
| 10 | her | her | PRON | Case=Gen Gender=Fem Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs | 11 weight | nmod:poss |
| 11 | weight | weight | NOUN | Number=Sing | 9 carrying | obj |
| 12 | across | across | ADP | _ | 14 wood | case |
| 13 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 14 wood | det |
| 14 | wood | wood | NOUN | Number=Sing | 9 carrying | obl |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | wish | past | She | vn wish-62 «NP V for NP S_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme | |||||
| 2 | spare not said to happen | to-infinitive | She not said here | the weakened Bull | vn bill-54.5 «NP V NP NP.asset»: agent=Agent bull=Asset | ||||
| 3 | weaken | participle | vn other_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient | ||||||
| 4 | carry | gerund | the weakened Bull not said here | her weight | the wood | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent weight=Theme |
Option 4 · ✓ the right answer
She wished to spare the weakened Bull
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 wished | nsubj |
| 2 | wished | wish | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 3 | to | to | PART | _ | 4 spare | mark |
| 4 | spare | spare | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 2 wished | xcomp |
| 5 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 7 Bull | det |
| 6 | weakened | weaken | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 7 Bull | amod |
| 7 | Bull | bull | NOUN | Number=Sing | 4 spare | obj |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | wish | past | She | vn wish-62 «NP V for NP S_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme | |||||
| 2 | spare not said to happen | to-infinitive | She not said here | the weakened Bull | vn bill-54.5 «NP V NP NP.asset»: agent=Agent bull=Asset | ||||
| 3 | weaken | participle | vn other_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
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/1548-pg540-part45/e4/