Exam question 4 · Uncle Remus, Brer Rabbit and the Well: Brer Fox falls down…
Which of the following accurately describes the eventual fate of the butter kept in the spring-house?
Mova's choice: option 1 · The right answer: option 2 · wrong ✗ · What happens: follow, describe, keep, fate · To what, where: eventual fate, butter, spring house
This is exam question 4 of lesson 576 «Uncle Remus, Brer Rabbit and the Well: Brer Fox falls down the well, and the butter goes missing» 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 | 9 fate | det |
| 8 | eventual | eventual | ADJ | Degree=Pos | 9 fate | amod |
| 9 | fate | fate | NOUN | Number=Sing | 6 describes | obj |
| 10 | of | of | ADP | _ | 12 butter | case |
| 11 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 12 butter | det |
| 12 | butter | butter | NOUN | Number=Sing | 9 fate | nmod |
| 13 | kept | keep | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | 12 butter | acl |
| 14 | in | in | ADP | _ | 18 house | case |
| 15 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 18 house | det |
| 16 | spring | spring | NOUN | Number=Sing | 18 house | compound |
| 17 | - | - | PUNCT | _ | 16 spring | punct |
| 18 | house | house | NOUN | Number=Sing | 13 kept | obl |
| 19 | ? | ? | PUNCT | _ | 4 following | punct |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | follow | gerund | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | ||||||
| 2 | describe | present | the eventual fate of the butter | accurately property | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S_ING»: agent=Agent fate=Theme | ||||
| 3 | keep | participle | the butter not said here | the spring house | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent in house=Location | ||||
| 4 | fate | the butter | nom fate «event 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 · ← Mova's choice
It was spread on the bread by Brer Fox quietly
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 | 3 spread | nsubj:pass |
| 2 | was | be | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 3 spread | aux:pass |
| 3 | spread | spread | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | root | root |
| 4 | on | on | ADP | _ | 6 bread | case |
| 5 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 6 bread | det |
| 6 | bread | bread | NOUN | Number=Sing | 3 spread | obl |
| 7 | by | by | ADP | _ | 9 Fox | case |
| 8 | Brer | Brer | PROPN | Number=Sing | 9 Fox | compound |
| 9 | Fox | Fox | PROPN | Number=Sing | 3 spread | obl |
| 10 | quietly | quietly | ADV | _ | 3 spread | advmod |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | spread | past · passive | Brer Fox | It | the bread | quietly property | vn spray-9.7-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent subject=Theme on bread=Destination |
Option 2 · ✓ the right answer
It had been entirely consumed by Brer Rabbit in secret
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 | 5 consumed | nsubj:pass |
| 2 | had | have | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 5 consumed | aux |
| 3 | been | be | AUX | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part | 5 consumed | aux:pass |
| 4 | entirely | entirely | ADV | _ | 5 consumed | advmod |
| 5 | consumed | consume | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | root | root |
| 6 | by | by | ADP | _ | 7 Brer | case |
| 7 | Brer | Brer | PROPN | Number=Sing | 5 consumed | obl:agent |
| 8 | Rabbit | Rabbit | PROPN | Number=Sing | 7 Brer | flat |
| 9 | in | in | ADP | _ | 10 secret | case |
| 10 | secret | secret | NOUN | Number=Sing | 5 consumed | obl |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | consume | past · perfect · passive | Brer | It | secret | entirely property | vn consume-66 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Asset |
Option 3
It had been entirely consumed by Brer Rabbit in secret while the others slept
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 | 5 consumed | nsubj:pass |
| 2 | had | have | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 5 consumed | aux |
| 3 | been | be | AUX | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part | 5 consumed | aux:pass |
| 4 | entirely | entirely | ADV | _ | 5 consumed | advmod |
| 5 | consumed | consume | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | root | root |
| 6 | by | by | ADP | _ | 8 Rabbit | case |
| 7 | Brer | Brer | PROPN | Number=Sing | 8 Rabbit | compound |
| 8 | Rabbit | Rabbit | PROPN | Number=Sing | 5 consumed | obl |
| 9 | in | in | ADP | _ | 10 secret | case |
| 10 | secret | secret | NOUN | Number=Sing | 5 consumed | obl |
| 11 | while | while | SCONJ | _ | 14 slept | mark |
| 12 | the | the | DET | Definite=Def PronType=Art | 13 others | det |
| 13 | others | other | NOUN | Number=Plur | 14 slept | nsubj |
| 14 | slept | sleep | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 5 consumed | advcl |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | consume | past · perfect · passive | Brer Rabbit | It | secret | entirely property | vn consume-66 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Asset | ||
| 2 | sleep | past | the others | vn snooze-40.4-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
Option 4
It had been entirely consumed by Brer Rabbit in secret and then blamed on Brer Possum
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 | 5 consumed | nsubj:pass |
| 2 | had | have | AUX | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 5 consumed | aux |
| 3 | been | be | AUX | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part | 5 consumed | aux:pass |
| 4 | entirely | entirely | ADV | _ | 5 consumed | advmod |
| 5 | consumed | consume | VERB | Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass | root | root |
| 6 | by | by | ADP | _ | 8 Rabbit | case |
| 7 | Brer | Brer | PROPN | Number=Sing | 8 Rabbit | compound |
| 8 | Rabbit | Rabbit | PROPN | Number=Sing | 5 consumed | obl |
| 9 | in | in | ADP | _ | 10 secret | case |
| 10 | secret | secret | NOUN | Number=Sing | 5 consumed | obl |
| 11 | and | and | CCONJ | _ | 13 blamed | cc |
| 12 | then | then | ADV | PronType=Dem | 13 blamed | advmod |
| 13 | blamed | blame | VERB | Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin | 5 consumed | conj |
| 14 | on | on | ADP | _ | 16 Possum | case |
| 15 | Brer | Brer | PROPN | Number=Sing | 16 Possum | compound |
| 16 | Possum | Possum | PROPN | Number=Sing | 13 blamed | obl |
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | consume | past · perfect · passive | Brer Rabbit | It | secret | entirely property | vn consume-66 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Asset | ||
| 2 | blame | past | Brer Rabbit not said here | Brer Possum | then | vn judgment-33.1 «NP V NP»: 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/576-pg2306-part12/e4/