Exam question 1 · Russian Fairy Tales, The Dragon Emperor, part 11: the prin…

Which of the following accurately describes the conduct of the prince toward the voice issuing from the cask?

Mova's choice: option 2 · The right answer: option 4 · wrong ✗ · Who acts: voice · What happens: follow, describe, issue, conduct · To what, where: conduct, cask, prince

This is exam question 1 of lesson 1760 «Russian Fairy Tales, The Dragon Emperor, part 11: the prince frees a fish, a fox and a wolf, then serves the old woman» 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	Which	which	PRON	PronType=Rel	4 following	nsubj
2	of	of	ADP	_	4 following	case
3	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	4 following	det
4	following	follow	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	root	root
5	accurately	accurately	ADV	_	6 describes	advmod
6	describes	describe	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	4 following	advcl
7	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	8 conduct	det
8	conduct	conduct	NOUN	Number=Sing	6 describes	obj
9	of	of	ADP	_	11 prince	case
10	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	11 prince	det
11	prince	prince	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 conduct	nmod
12	toward	toward	ADP	_	14 voice	case
13	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	14 voice	det
14	voice	voice	NOUN	Number=Sing	11 prince	nmod
15	issuing	issue	VERB	VerbForm=Ger	14 voice	acl
16	from	from	ADP	_	18 cask	case
17	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	18 cask	det
18	cask	cask	NOUN	Number=Sing	15 issuing	obl
19	?	?	PUNCT	_	4 following	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	where	other	roles by
1	follow	gerund					vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme
2	describe	present		the conduct of the prince toward the voice		accurately property	vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S_ING»: agent=Agent conduct=Theme
3	issue	gerund	the voice not said here		the cask		vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme
4	conduct			the prince toward the voice			nom conduct «act transitive»: of=patient

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

He poured water over the cask at each request, though the voice never thanked him for any of it

The tree, 19 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	He	he	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 poured	nsubj
2	poured	pour	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	water	water	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 poured	obj
4	over	over	ADP	_	6 cask	case
5	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	6 cask	det
6	cask	cask	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 poured	obl
7	at	at	ADP	_	9 request	case
8	each	each	DET	PronType=Tot	9 request	det
9	request	request	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 poured	obl
10	,	,	PUNCT	_	15 thanked	punct
11	though	though	SCONJ	_	15 thanked	mark
12	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	13 voice	det
13	voice	voice	NOUN	Number=Sing	15 thanked	nsubj
14	never	never	ADV	PronType=Neg	15 thanked	advmod
15	thanked	thank	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	2 poured	conj
16	him	he	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	15 thanked	obj
17	for	for	ADP	_	18 any	case
18	any	any	DET	PronType=Ind	15 thanked	obl
19	of	of	ADP	_	20 it	case
20	it	it	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	18 any	nmod

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	pour	past	He	water		the cask		at each request	vn preparing-26.3-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent water=Patient
2	not thank speech: thank	past	the voice		him = he			for any	vn judgment-33.1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Agent he=Theme for any=Attribute

Option 2 · ← Mova's choice

He complied with its petitions for water only after the voice promised him a magic horse, which then turned out to be a dragon in disguise, leaving him with nothing

The tree, 30 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	He	he	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 complied	nsubj
2	complied	comply	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	with	with	ADP	_	5 petitions	case
4	its	its	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	5 petitions	nmod:poss
5	petitions	petition	NOUN	Number=Plur	2 complied	obl
6	for	for	ADP	_	7 water	case
7	water	water	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 complied	obl
8	only	only	ADV	_	11 voice	advmod
9	after	after	ADP	_	11 voice	case
10	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	11 voice	det
11	voice	voice	NOUN	Number=Sing	12 promised	nsubj
12	promised	promise	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	2 complied	conj
13	him	he	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	12 promised	iobj
14	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	16 horse	det
15	magic	magic	ADJ	Degree=Pos	16 horse	amod
16	horse	horse	NOUN	Number=Sing	12 promised	obj
17	,	,	PUNCT	_	20 turned	punct
18	which	which	PRON	PronType=Rel	20 turned	nsubj
19	then	then	ADV	PronType=Dem	20 turned	advmod
20	turned	turn	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	16 horse	acl:relcl
21	out	out	ADP	_	20 turned	compound:prt
22	to	to	PART	_	25 dragon	mark
23	be	be	AUX	VerbForm=Inf	25 dragon	cop
24	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	25 dragon	det
25	dragon	dragon	NOUN	Number=Sing	20 turned	xcomp
26	in	in	ADP	_	27 disguise	case
27	disguise	disguise	NOUN	Number=Sing	25 dragon	nmod
28	,	,	PUNCT	_	29 leaving	punct
29	leaving	leave	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	12 promised	advcl
30	him	he	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	29 leaving	obj
31	with	with	ADP	_	32 nothing	case
32	nothing	nothing	PRON	Number=Sing PronType=Neg	29 leaving	obl

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	comply	past	He					with its petitions; for water	tree rules
2	promise speech: promise	past	the voice	a magic horse	him = he				vn future_having-13.3 «NP V NP.goal NP»: agent=Agent he=Goal horse=Theme
3	turn out	past	a magic horse				then		vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme
4	is a	to-infinitive	a magic horse not said here	a dragon		disguise			tree rules
5	leave	gerund	the voice not said here		horse			with nothing	vn fulfilling-13.4.1 «NP V NP-Fulfilling PP.theme»: agent=Agent he=Recipient with nothing=Theme
6	petition		its = it						nom petition «communication transitive»: poss=agent

Option 3

He gave the voice water three times, and each time he also tied a red ribbon to the cask, uncovered its lid, and whispered a prayer to the river spirits for its safety

The tree, 33 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	He	he	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 gave	nsubj
2	gave	give	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	5 water	det
4	voice	voice	NOUN	Number=Sing	5 water	compound
5	water	water	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 gave	obj
6	three	three	NUM	NumForm=Word NumType=Card	7 times	nummod
7	times	time	NOUN	Number=Plur	2 gave	obl:unmarked
8	,	,	PUNCT	_	22 uncovered	punct
9	and	and	CCONJ	_	22 uncovered	cc
10	each	each	DET	PronType=Tot	11 time	det
11	time	time	NOUN	Number=Sing	22 uncovered	nsubj
12	he	he	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	14 tied	nsubj
13	also	also	ADV	_	14 tied	advmod
14	tied	tie	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	11 time	acl:relcl
15	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	17 ribbon	det
16	red	red	ADJ	Degree=Pos	17 ribbon	amod
17	ribbon	ribbon	NOUN	Number=Sing	14 tied	obj
18	to	to	ADP	_	20 cask	case
19	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	20 cask	det
20	cask	cask	NOUN	Number=Sing	14 tied	obl
21	,	,	PUNCT	_	11 time	punct
22	uncovered	uncover	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	2 gave	conj
23	its	its	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	24 lid	nmod:poss
24	lid	lid	NOUN	Number=Sing	22 uncovered	obj
25	,	,	PUNCT	_	27 whispered	punct
26	and	and	CCONJ	_	27 whispered	cc
27	whispered	whisper	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=1 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	33 spirits	advcl
28	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	29 prayer	det
29	prayer	prayer	NOUN	Number=Sing	27 whispered	obj
30	to	to	ADP	_	32 river	case
31	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	32 river	det
32	river	river	NOUN	Number=Sing	27 whispered	obl
33	spirits	spirit	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	2 gave	parataxis
34	for	for	ADP	_	36 safety	case
35	its	its	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	36 safety	nmod:poss
36	safety	safety	NOUN	Number=Sing	33 spirits	obl

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	when	other	roles by
1	give	past	He	the voice water		time		vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent water=Theme
2	tie	past	he	a red ribbon			to the cask	vn mix-22.1-2 «NP V NP PP.co-patient»: agent=Agent ribbon=Patient to cask=Co-Patient
3	uncover	past	each time	cask's lid				tree rules
4	whisper speech: assert	past		a prayer	the river			vn manner_speaking-37.3 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent prayer=Topic to river=Recipient
5	spirit	present					for river's safety	tree rules

Option 4 · ✓ the right answer

He complied with each of its three petitions for water, though each compliance caused a hoop to burst

The tree, 18 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	He	he	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	2 complied	nsubj
2	complied	comply	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	with	with	ADP	_	4 each	case
4	each	each	DET	PronType=Tot	2 complied	obl
5	of	of	ADP	_	8 petitions	case
6	its	its	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Neut Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	8 petitions	nmod:poss
7	three	three	NUM	NumForm=Word NumType=Card	8 petitions	nummod
8	petitions	petition	NOUN	Number=Plur	4 each	nmod
9	for	for	ADP	_	10 water	case
10	water	water	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 petitions	nmod
11	,	,	PUNCT	_	15 caused	punct
12	though	though	SCONJ	_	15 caused	mark
13	each	each	DET	PronType=Tot	14 compliance	det
14	compliance	compliance	NOUN	Number=Sing	15 caused	nsubj
15	caused	cause	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	2 complied	parataxis
16	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	17 hoop	det
17	hoop	hoop	NOUN	Number=Sing	15 caused	obj
18	to	to	PART	_	19 burst	mark
19	burst	burst	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	15 caused	xcomp

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	other	roles by
1	comply	past	He		with each	tree rules
2	cause	past	each compliance	a hoop		tree rules
3	burst	to-infinitive	a hoop not said here			vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme
4	petition		its = it		for water	nom petition «communication transitive»: poss=agent for=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/1760-pg641-part11/e1/