Exam question 4 · Fairy Tales, The Fir-Tree, part 18: the tree is dressed fo…

What was the condition of the fir-tree's dwelling place, and by what means was it upheld?

Mova's choice: option 3 · The right answer: option 2 · wrong ✗ · Who acts: condition · What happens: be, dwell, mean, uphold · To what, where: condition, place

This is exam question 4 of lesson 1629 «Fairy Tales, The Fir-Tree, part 18: the tree is dressed for Christmas, hears a story, and is then shut away in a dark loft» 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	PRON	PronType=Int	4 condition	nsubj
2	was	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	4 condition	cop
3	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	4 condition	det
4	condition	condition	NOUN	Number=Sing	20 upheld	parataxis
5	of	of	ADP	_	12 place	case
6	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	9 tree	det
7	fir	fir	NOUN	Number=Sing	9 tree	compound
8	-	-	PUNCT	_	7 fir	punct
9	tree	tree	NOUN	Number=Sing	12 place	nmod:poss
10	's	's	PART	_	9 tree	case
11	dwelling	dwell	VERB	VerbForm=Ger	12 place	amod
12	place	place	NOUN	Number=Sing	4 condition	nmod
13	,	,	PUNCT	_	17 means	punct
14	and	and	CCONJ	_	17 means	cc
15	by	by	ADP	_	16 what	case
16	what	what	PRON	PronType=Int	17 means	nsubj
17	means	mean	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	4 condition	parataxis
18	was	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	20 upheld	aux:pass
19	it	it	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	20 upheld	nsubj:pass
20	upheld	uphold	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	root	root
21	?	?	PUNCT	_	20 upheld	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	other	roles by
1	is a	past		the condition	of the fir tree's dwelling place	tree rules
2	dwell	gerund				vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme
3	mean	present	the condition			vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent
4	uphold	past · passive		place		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

It leaned against a wall, supported by a stout wooden stand and some bricks.

The tree, 14 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	It	it	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 leaned	nsubj
2	leaned	learn	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	against	against	ADP	_	5 wall	case
4	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	5 wall	det
5	wall	wall	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 leaned	obl
6	,	,	PUNCT	_	7 supported	punct
7	supported	support	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	5 wall	acl
8	by	by	ADP	_	12 stand	case
9	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	12 stand	det
10	stout	stout	ADJ	Degree=Pos	12 stand	amod
11	wooden	wooden	ADJ	Degree=Pos	12 stand	amod
12	stand	stand	NOUN	Number=Sing	7 supported	obl
13	and	and	CCONJ	_	15 bricks	cc
14	some	some	DET	PronType=Ind	15 bricks	det
15	bricks	brick	NOUN	Number=Plur	12 stand	conj
16	.	.	PUNCT	_	2 leaned	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	learn	past	It					against a wall	vn learn-14-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent
2	support	participle		a wall not said here				by a stout wooden stand and some bricks	vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer

Option 2 · ✓ the right answer

It stood in a great tub filled with sand, concealed by greenery and a gay carpet.

The tree, 16 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	It	it	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 stood	nsubj
2	stood	stand	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	in	in	ADP	_	6 tub	case
4	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	6 tub	det
5	great	great	ADJ	Degree=Pos	6 tub	amod
6	tub	tub	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 stood	obl
7	filled	fill	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	6 tub	acl
8	with	with	ADP	_	9 sand	case
9	sand	sand	NOUN	Number=Sing	7 filled	obl
10	,	,	PUNCT	_	11 concealed	punct
11	concealed	conceal	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	2 stood	conj
12	by	by	ADP	_	13 greenery	case
13	greenery	greenery	NOUN	Number=Sing	11 concealed	obl
14	and	and	CCONJ	_	17 carpet	cc
15	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	17 carpet	det
16	gay	gay	ADJ	Degree=Pos	17 carpet	amod
17	carpet	carpet	NOUN	Number=Sing	13 greenery	conj
18	.	.	PUNCT	_	2 stood	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	where	other	roles by
1	stand	past	It		a great tub		vn assuming_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent in tub=Location
2	fill	participle		a great tub not said here		with sand	vn other_cos-45.4 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent with sand=Instrument
3	conceal	participle				by greenery and a gay carpet	vn concealment-16 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent by greenery=Location

Option 3 · ← Mova's choice

It stood in a huge tub of earth, wrapped with ribbons and held upright by heavy cords tied to the ceiling beams and the walls.

The tree, 25 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	It	it	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 stood	nsubj
2	stood	stand	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	in	in	ADP	_	6 tub	case
4	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	6 tub	det
5	huge	huge	ADJ	Degree=Pos	6 tub	amod
6	tub	tub	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 stood	obl
7	of	of	ADP	_	8 earth	case
8	earth	earth	NOUN	Number=Sing	6 tub	nmod
9	,	,	PUNCT	_	10 wrapped	punct
10	wrapped	wrap	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	2 stood	conj
11	with	with	ADP	_	12 ribbons	case
12	ribbons	ribbon	NOUN	Number=Plur	10 wrapped	obl
13	and	and	CCONJ	_	14 held	cc
14	held	hold	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	10 wrapped	conj
15	upright	upright	ADV	_	14 held	advmod
16	by	by	ADP	_	18 cords	case
17	heavy	heavy	ADJ	Degree=Pos	18 cords	amod
18	cords	cord	NOUN	Number=Plur	14 held	obl
19	tied	tie	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	18 cords	acl
20	to	to	ADP	_	23 beams	case
21	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	23 beams	det
22	ceiling	ceiling	NOUN	Number=Sing	23 beams	compound
23	beams	beam	NOUN	Number=Plur	19 tied	obl
24	and	and	CCONJ	_	26 walls	cc
25	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	26 walls	det
26	walls	wall	NOUN	Number=Plur	23 beams	conj
27	.	.	PUNCT	_	2 stood	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	where	other	roles by
1	stand	past	It		a huge tub of earth		vn assuming_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent in tub=Location
2	wrap	participle				with ribbons	vn spray-9.7-1 «NP V NP.destination PP.theme»: agent=Agent with ribbon=Theme
3	hold	participle				by heavy cords; upright property	vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme by cord=Location
4	tie	participle		heavy cords not said here		to the ceiling beams and the walls	vn mix-22.1-2 «NP V ADVP-Middle PP»: agent=Patient to beam=Co-Patient

Option 4

It stood in a great silver tub filled with sand and pebbles, concealed by thick greenery, a gay carpet, and many gilded paper ornaments.

The tree, 24 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	It	it	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 stood	nsubj
2	stood	stand	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	in	in	ADP	_	7 tub	case
4	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	7 tub	det
5	great	great	ADJ	Degree=Pos	7 tub	amod
6	silver	silver	NOUN	Number=Sing	7 tub	compound
7	tub	tub	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 stood	obl
8	filled	fill	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	7 tub	acl
9	with	with	ADP	_	10 sand	case
10	sand	sand	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 filled	obl
11	and	and	CCONJ	_	12 pebbles	cc
12	pebbles	pebble	NOUN	Number=Plur	10 sand	conj
13	,	,	PUNCT	_	14 concealed	punct
14	concealed	conceal	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	10 sand	acl
15	by	by	ADP	_	17 greenery	case
16	thick	thick	ADJ	Degree=Pos	17 greenery	amod
17	greenery	greenery	NOUN	Number=Sing	14 concealed	obl
18	,	,	PUNCT	_	21 carpet	punct
19	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	21 carpet	det
20	gay	gay	ADJ	Degree=Pos	21 carpet	amod
21	carpet	carpet	NOUN	Number=Sing	17 greenery	appos
22	,	,	PUNCT	_	27 ornaments	punct
23	and	and	CCONJ	_	27 ornaments	cc
24	many	many	ADJ	Degree=Pos	27 ornaments	amod
25	gilded	gild	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	27 ornaments	amod
26	paper	paper	NOUN	Number=Sing	27 ornaments	compound
27	ornaments	ornament	NOUN	Number=Plur	2 stood	parataxis
28	.	.	PUNCT	_	2 stood	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	where	other	roles by
1	stand	past	It		a great silver tub		vn assuming_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent in tub=Location
2	fill	participle		a great silver tub not said here		with sand and pebbles	vn other_cos-45.4 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent with sand=Instrument
3	conceal	participle		sand and pebbles not said here		by thick greenery	vn concealment-16 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent by greenery=Location
4	gild	participle					vn butter-9.9 «NP V NP.destination»: 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/1629-pg5615-part18/e4/