Exam question 2 · Tanglewood Tales, The Pygmies, part 9: Theseus comes home…

Identify the principal distinction between the Giant Antaeus and the Pygmies as described in the passage.

Mova's choice: option 1 · The right answer: option 3 · wrong ✗ · Who acts: you · What happens: identify, describe · To what, where: principal distinction, passage

This is exam question 2 of lesson 2050 «Tanglewood Tales, The Pygmies, part 9: Theseus comes home to grief, and the Giant Antaeus is introduced as friend of the Pygmies» 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	Identify	identify	VERB	Mood=Imp VerbForm=Fin	root	root
2	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	4 distinction	det
3	principal	principal	ADJ	Degree=Pos	4 distinction	amod
4	distinction	distinction	NOUN	Number=Sing	1 Identify	obj
5	between	between	ADP	_	8 Antaeus	case
6	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	8 Antaeus	det
7	Giant	giant	ADJ	Degree=Pos	8 Antaeus	amod
8	Antaeus	Antaeus	PROPN	Number=Sing	4 distinction	nmod
9	and	and	CCONJ	_	11 Pygmies	cc
10	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	11 Pygmies	det
11	Pygmies	pygmy	NOUN	Number=Plur	8 Antaeus	conj
12	as	as	SCONJ	_	13 described	mark
13	described	describe	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	1 Identify	advcl
14	in	in	ADP	_	16 passage	case
15	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	16 passage	det
16	passage	passage	NOUN	Number=Sing	13 described	obl
17	.	.	PUNCT	_	1 Identify	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	identify	imperative	you not said here	the principal distinction				between the Giant Antaeus and the Pygmies	vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S_ING»: agent=Agent distinction=Theme
2	describe	participle	you not said here			the passage			vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V S_ING»: 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

The Giant lived on a mountain, while the Pygmies lived in tiny houses on the plain.

The tree, 16 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	The	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	2 Giant	det
2	Giant	giant	ADJ	Degree=Pos	3 lived	nsubj
3	lived	live	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
4	on	on	ADP	_	6 mountain	case
5	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	6 mountain	det
6	mountain	mountain	NOUN	Number=Sing	3 lived	obl
7	,	,	PUNCT	_	11 lived	punct
8	while	while	SCONJ	_	11 lived	mark
9	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	10 Pygmies	det
10	Pygmies	Pygmy	PROPN	Number=Plur	11 lived	nsubj
11	lived	live	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	3 lived	conj
12	in	in	ADP	_	14 houses	case
13	tiny	tiny	ADJ	Degree=Pos	14 houses	amod
14	houses	house	NOUN	Number=Plur	11 lived	obl
15	on	on	ADP	_	17 plain	case
16	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	17 plain	det
17	plain	plain	NOUN	Number=Sing	11 lived	obl
18	.	.	PUNCT	_	3 lived	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	live	past	the Giant			a mountain			vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on mountain=Location
2	live	past	the Pygmies			tiny houses		on the plain	vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in house=Location

Option 2

The Giant was of very lofty stature, and he could blow ships away with his breath, while the Pygmies were extremely small and lived in fear of him.

The tree, 28 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	The	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	2 Giant	det
2	Giant	giant	ADJ	Degree=Pos	7 stature	nsubj
3	was	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	7 stature	cop
4	of	of	ADP	_	7 stature	case
5	very	very	ADV	_	6 lofty	advmod
6	lofty	lofty	ADJ	Degree=Pos	7 stature	amod
7	stature	stature	NOUN	Number=Sing	root	root
8	,	,	PUNCT	_	12 blow	punct
9	and	and	CCONJ	_	12 blow	cc
10	he	he	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	12 blow	nsubj
11	could	could	AUX	VerbForm=Fin	12 blow	aux
12	blow	blow	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	7 stature	parataxis
13	ships	ship	NOUN	Number=Plur	12 blow	obj
14	away	away	ADV	_	12 blow	advmod
15	with	with	ADP	_	17 breath	case
16	his	his	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	17 breath	nmod:poss
17	breath	breath	NOUN	Number=Sing	12 blow	obl
18	,	,	PUNCT	_	24 small	punct
19	while	while	SCONJ	_	24 small	mark
20	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	21 Pygmies	det
21	Pygmies	pygmy	NOUN	Number=Plur	24 small	nsubj
22	were	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	24 small	cop
23	extremely	extremely	ADV	_	24 small	advmod
24	small	small	ADJ	Degree=Pos	12 blow	conj
25	and	and	CCONJ	_	26 lived	cc
26	lived	live	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	24 small	conj
27	in	in	ADP	_	28 fear	case
28	fear	fear	NOUN	Number=Sing	26 lived	obl
29	of	of	ADP	_	30 him	case
30	him	he	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	28 fear	nmod
31	.	.	PUNCT	_	7 stature	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	where	other	roles by
1	is	past	the Giant			of lofty stature	tree rules
2	blow away	could	he	ships		with his breath; away property	vn split-23.2 «NP V NP apart»: agent=Agent ship=Patient
3	is	past	the Pygmies			extremely, small property	tree rules
4	live	past	the Pygmies not said here		fear of him		vn lodge-46 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in fear=Location
5	fear			him = he			nom fear «feeling transitive»: of=patient

Option 3 · ✓ the right answer

The Giant was of very lofty stature, while the Pygmies were extremely small.

The tree, 13 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	The	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	2 Giant	det
2	Giant	giant	ADJ	Degree=Pos	7 stature	nsubj
3	was	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	7 stature	cop
4	of	of	ADP	_	7 stature	case
5	very	very	ADV	_	6 lofty	advmod
6	lofty	lofty	ADJ	Degree=Pos	7 stature	amod
7	stature	stature	NOUN	Number=Sing	root	root
8	,	,	PUNCT	_	14 small	punct
9	while	while	SCONJ	_	14 small	mark
10	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	11 Pygmies	det
11	Pygmies	pygmy	NOUN	Number=Plur	14 small	nsubj
12	were	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	14 small	cop
13	extremely	extremely	ADV	_	14 small	advmod
14	small	small	ADJ	Degree=Pos	7 stature	conj
15	.	.	PUNCT	_	7 stature	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	is	past	the Giant					of lofty stature	tree rules
2	is	past	the Pygmies					extremely, small property	tree rules

Option 4

The Giant was of very lofty stature and lived on the mountain, while the Pygmies were extremely small and built their houses of straw, feathers and clay.

The tree, 27 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	The	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	2 Giant	det
2	Giant	giant	ADJ	Degree=Pos	7 stature	nsubj
3	was	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	7 stature	cop
4	of	of	ADP	_	7 stature	case
5	very	very	ADV	_	6 lofty	advmod
6	lofty	lofty	ADJ	Degree=Pos	7 stature	amod
7	stature	stature	NOUN	Number=Sing	root	root
8	and	and	CCONJ	_	9 lived	cc
9	lived	live	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	7 stature	conj
10	on	on	ADP	_	12 mountain	case
11	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	12 mountain	det
12	mountain	mountain	NOUN	Number=Sing	9 lived	obl
13	,	,	PUNCT	_	19 small	punct
14	while	while	SCONJ	_	19 small	mark
15	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	16 Pygmies	det
16	Pygmies	pygmy	NOUN	Number=Plur	19 small	nsubj
17	were	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	19 small	cop
18	extremely	extremely	ADV	_	19 small	advmod
19	small	small	ADJ	Degree=Pos	7 stature	parataxis
20	and	and	CCONJ	_	21 built	cc
21	built	build	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	19 small	conj
22	their	their	PRON	Case=Gen Number=Plur Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	23 houses	nmod:poss
23	houses	house	NOUN	Number=Plur	21 built	obj
24	of	of	ADP	_	25 straw	case
25	straw	straw	NOUN	Number=Sing	23 houses	nmod
26	,	,	PUNCT	_	27 feathers	punct
27	feathers	feather	NOUN	Number=Plur	23 houses	conj
28	and	and	CCONJ	_	29 clay	cc
29	clay	clay	NOUN	Number=Sing	23 houses	conj
30	.	.	PUNCT	_	7 stature	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	where	other	roles by
1	is	past	the Giant			of lofty stature	tree rules
2	live	past	the Giant not said here		the mountain		vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on mountain=Location
3	is	past	the Pygmies			extremely, small property	tree rules
4	build	past	the Pygmies not said here	Pygmies's houses of straw and feathers and clay			vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset house=Product

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.

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