Test 14 · ★★ · The Wind in the Willows, chapter II, part 2: The Open Road…
★★★ Toad calls boating a «sheer waste of time» and talks about «the wasted years». But in chapter I he was rowing his hardest in a brand-new boat. What does that show?
Mova's choice: option 1 · The right answer: option 4 · wrong ✗ · Who acts: ★ ★, I, that · What happens: call, boat, talk, waste, row, show · To what, where: sheer waste, hardest, chapter · Speech: someone speaks here
This is test 14 · ★★ of lesson 30 «The Wind in the Willows, chapter II, part 2: The Open Road (Toad's canary-coloured caravan)» of the books course of Mova's primary school. 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
Sentence 1: ★★★ Toad calls boating a «sheer waste of time» and talks about «the wasted years».
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ★ | ★ | PROPN | Number=Sing | 2 ★ | compound |
| 2 | ★ | ★ | NOUN | Number=Sing | 5 calls | nsubj |
| 3 | ★ | ★ | ADP | _ | 4 Toad | case |
| 4 | Toad | Toad | PROPN | Number=Sing | 2 ★ | nmod |
| 5 | calls | call | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 6 | boating | boat | VERB | VerbForm=Ger | 5 calls | xcomp |
| 7 | a | a | DET | Definite=Ind PronType=Art | 10 waste | det |
| 8 | « | « | PUNCT | _ | 10 waste | punct |
| 9 | sheer | sheer | NOUN | Number=Sing | 10 waste | compound |
| 10 | waste | waste | NOUN | Number=Sing | 6 boating | obj |
| 11 | of | of | ADP | _ | 12 time | case |
| 12 | time | time | NOUN | Number=Sing | 10 waste | nmod |
| 13 | » | » | PUNCT | _ | 6 boating | punct |
| 14 | and | and | CCONJ | _ | 15 talks | cc |
| 15 | talks | talk | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 5 calls | conj |
| 16 | about | about | ADP | _ | 20 years | case |
| 17 | « | « | PUNCT | _ | 20 years | punct |
| 18 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 20 years | det |
| 19 | wasted | waste | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 20 years | amod |
| 20 | years | year | NOUN | Number=Plur | 15 talks | obl |
| 21 | » | » | PUNCT | _ | 20 years | punct |
| 22 | . | . | PUNCT | _ | 5 calls | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | call speech: assert | present | ★ ★ ★ Toad | vn manner_speaking-37.3 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | |||||
| 2 | boat | gerund | ★ ★ ★ Toad not said here | a sheer waste of time | vn vehicle-51.4.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent waste=Theme | ||||
| 3 | talk | present | ★ ★ ★ Toad not said here | year | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent | ||||
| 4 | waste in a quote | participle | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: 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.
Sentence 2: But in chapter I he was rowing his hardest in a brand-new boat.
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | But | but | CCONJ | _ | 7 rowing | cc |
| 2 | in | in | ADP | _ | 3 chapter | case |
| 3 | chapter | chapter | NOUN | Number=Sing | 7 rowing | obl |
| 4 | I | I | PRON | Case=Nom Number=Sing Person=1 PronType=Prs | 7 rowing | nsubj |
| 5 | he | he | PRON | Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 7 rowing | nsubj |
| 6 | was | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=1 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 7 rowing | aux |
| 7 | rowing | row | VERB | Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part | root | root |
| 8 | his | his | PRON | Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs | 9 hardest | nmod:poss |
| 9 | hardest | hard | ADJ | Degree=Sup | 7 rowing | obj |
| 10 | in | in | ADP | _ | 15 boat | case |
| 11 | a | a | DET | Definite=Ind PronType=Art | 15 boat | det |
| 12 | brand | brand | NOUN | Number=Sing | 14 new | compound |
| 13 | - | - | PUNCT | _ | 12 brand | punct |
| 14 | new | new | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 15 boat | amod |
| 15 | boat | boat | NOUN | Number=Sing | 9 hardest | obl |
| 16 | . | . | PUNCT | _ | 7 rowing | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | row | past · progressive | I | ★'s hardest | chapter | vn nonvehicle-51.4.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hard=Theme |
Sentence 3: What does that show?
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | What | what | PRON | PronType=Int | 4 show | obj |
| 2 | does | do | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 4 show | aux |
| 3 | that | that | PRON | Number=Sing PronType=Dem | 4 show | nsubj |
| 4 | show | show | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | root | root |
| 5 | ? | ? | PUNCT | _ | 4 show | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | show | present · do-support | that | vn transfer_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent what=Recipient |
The options
Option 1 · ← Mova's choice
He is a dishonest, boastful toad who lies
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 | 7 toad | nsubj |
| 2 | is | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 7 toad | cop |
| 3 | a | a | DET | Definite=Ind PronType=Art | 7 toad | det |
| 4 | dishonest | dishonest | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 7 toad | amod |
| 5 | , | , | PUNCT | _ | 4 dishonest | punct |
| 6 | boastful | boastful | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 7 toad | amod |
| 7 | toad | toad | NOUN | Number=Sing | root | root |
| 8 | who | who | PRON | PronType=Rel | 9 lies | nsubj |
| 9 | lies | lie | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 7 toad | acl:relcl |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | is a | present | He | a dishonest boastful toad | tree rules | ||||
| 2 | lie | present | a dishonest boastful toad | vn assuming_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
Option 2
He changes his mind about everything he owns
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 changes | nsubj |
| 2 | changes | change | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 3 | his | his | PRON | Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs | 4 mind | nmod:poss |
| 4 | mind | mind | NOUN | Number=Sing | 2 changes | obj |
| 5 | about | about | ADP | _ | 6 everything | case |
| 6 | everything | everything | PRON | Number=Sing PronType=Tot | 2 changes | obl |
| 7 | he | he | PRON | Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 8 owns | nsubj |
| 8 | owns | own | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | 6 everything | acl:relcl |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | change | present | He | his mind | about everything | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent mind=Patient | |||
| 2 | own | present | he | vn own-100.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot | |||||
| 3 | mind | his = he | nom mind «cognition transitive»: poss=agent |
Option 3
He never really rows at all
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 | 4 rows | nsubj |
| 2 | never | never | ADV | PronType=Neg | 4 rows | advmod |
| 3 | really | really | ADV | _ | 4 rows | advmod |
| 4 | rows | row | NOUN | Number=Plur | root | root |
| 5 | at | at | ADP | _ | 6 all | case |
| 6 | all | all | DET | PronType=Tot | 4 rows | nmod |
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.
Option 4 · ✓ the right answer
Each new craze makes him scorn the last one
The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)
| # | word | lemma | UPOS | features | head | relation |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Each | each | DET | PronType=Tot | 3 craze | det |
| 2 | new | new | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 3 craze | amod |
| 3 | craze | craze | NOUN | Number=Sing | 4 makes | nsubj |
| 4 | makes | make | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin | root | root |
| 5 | him | he | PRON | Case=Acc Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs | 4 makes | obj |
| 6 | scorn | scorn | VERB | VerbForm=Inf | 4 makes | xcomp |
| 7 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 9 one | det |
| 8 | last | last | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 9 one | amod |
| 9 | one | one | NOUN | Number=Sing | 6 scorn | obj |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | make | present | each new craze | him = he | tree rules | ||||
| 2 | scorn | infinitive | him = he not said here | the last one | vn judgment-33.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent one=Theme |
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/30-willows-ch2-part2-the-canary-coloured-cart/t14/