Exam question 1 · Hauff's Tales, The False Prince, part 57: Labakan is taken…

Which statement correctly describes the sultan's reason for entrusting his son to Elfi Bey?

Mova's choice: option 1 · The right answer: option 3 · wrong ✗ · Who acts: statement, reason · What happens: describe, entrust · To what, where: reason, son, Elfi

This is exam question 1 of lesson 717 «Hauff's Tales, The False Prince, part 57: Labakan is taken for the prince, but the queen doubts him» 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	DET	PronType=Int	2 statement	det
2	statement	statement	NOUN	Number=Sing	4 describes	nsubj
3	correctly	correctly	ADV	_	4 describes	advmod
4	describes	describe	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Pres VerbForm=Fin	root	root
5	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	6 sultan	det
6	sultan	sultan	NOUN	Number=Sing	8 reason	nmod:poss
7	's	's	PART	_	6 sultan	case
8	reason	reason	NOUN	Number=Sing	4 describes	obj
9	for	for	SCONJ	_	10 entrusting	mark
10	entrusting	entrust	VERB	VerbForm=Ger	8 reason	acl
11	his	his	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	12 son	nmod:poss
12	son	son	NOUN	Number=Sing	10 entrusting	obj
13	to	to	ADP	_	14 Elfi	case
14	Elfi	Elfi	PROPN	Number=Sing	10 entrusting	obl
15	Bey	Bey	PROPN	Number=Sing	14 Elfi	flat
16	?	?	PUNCT	_	4 describes	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	describe	present	which statement	the sultan's reason				correctly property	vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S_ING»: agent=Agent reason=Theme
2	entrust	gerund	the sultan's reason not said here	statement's son	Elfi				vn fulfilling-13.4.1-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent son=Theme to elfi=Recipient

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

He had been told by soothsayers, who were men of great learning, that his son would face mortal peril in the coming years and must be hidden in a distant province until he was old enough to defend himself against his enemies and rule the kingdom wisely.

The tree, 47 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	4 told	nsubj
2	had	have	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	4 told	aux
3	been	be	AUX	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part	4 told	aux:pass
4	told	tell	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	root	root
5	by	by	ADP	_	6 soothsayers	case
6	soothsayers	soothsayer	NOUN	Number=Plur	4 told	iobj
7	,	,	PUNCT	_	10 men	punct
8	who	who	PRON	PronType=Rel	10 men	nsubj
9	were	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	10 men	cop
10	men	man	NOUN	Number=Plur	6 soothsayers	appos
11	of	of	ADP	_	13 learning	case
12	great	great	ADJ	Degree=Pos	13 learning	amod
13	learning	learning	NOUN	Number=Sing	10 men	nmod
14	,	,	PUNCT	_	19 face	punct
15	that	that	SCONJ	_	19 face	mark
16	his	his	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	17 son	nmod:poss
17	son	son	NOUN	Number=Sing	19 face	nsubj
18	would	would	AUX	VerbForm=Fin	19 face	aux
19	face	face	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	4 told	ccomp
20	mortal	mortal	ADJ	Degree=Pos	21 peril	amod
21	peril	peril	NOUN	Number=Sing	19 face	obj
22	in	in	ADP	_	25 years	case
23	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	25 years	det
24	coming	come	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	25 years	amod
25	years	year	NOUN	Number=Plur	19 face	obl
26	and	and	CCONJ	_	29 hidden	cc
27	must	must	AUX	VerbForm=Fin	29 hidden	aux
28	be	be	AUX	VerbForm=Inf	29 hidden	aux:pass
29	hidden	hide	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	19 face	conj
30	in	in	ADP	_	33 province	case
31	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	33 province	det
32	distant	distant	ADJ	Degree=Pos	33 province	amod
33	province	province	NOUN	Number=Sing	29 hidden	obl
34	until	until	SCONJ	_	37 old	mark
35	he	he	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	37 old	nsubj
36	was	be	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	37 old	cop
37	old	old	ADJ	Degree=Pos	29 hidden	advcl
38	enough	enough	ADV	_	37 old	advmod
39	to	to	PART	_	40 defend	mark
40	defend	defend	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	37 old	advcl
41	himself	himself	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs Reflex=Yes	40 defend	obj
42	against	against	ADP	_	44 enemies	case
43	his	his	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	44 enemies	nmod:poss
44	enemies	enemy	NOUN	Number=Plur	40 defend	obl
45	and	and	CCONJ	_	46 rule	cc
46	rule	rule	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	40 defend	conj
47	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	48 kingdom	det
48	kingdom	kingdom	NOUN	Number=Sing	46 rule	obj
49	wisely	wisely	ADV	_	46 rule	advmod
50	.	.	PUNCT	_	4 told	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	tell speech: assert	past · perfect · passive		He	soothsayers				tree rules
2	is a	past	soothsayers	men				of great learning	tree rules
3	face	would	his son	mortal peril			year		vn fill-9.8-1 «NP V NP.destination»: agent=Agent peril=Destination
4	come	gerund							vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme
5	hide	must · passive	his son not said here			a distant province			vn concealment-16-1 «NP V PP.location»: in province=Location
6	is	past	son					enough, old property	tree rules
7	defend	to-infinitive	son not said here	son				against son's enemies	vn defend-72.3 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent himself=Beneficiary against enemy=Theme
8	rule	infinitive	son not said here	the kingdom				wisely property	vn dub-29.3.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent kingdom=Theme

Option 2

He obeyed the advice of his counsellors who warned of danger to the prince in youth.

The tree, 16 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 obeyed	nsubj
2	obeyed	obey	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	4 advice	det
4	advice	advice	NOUN	Number=Sing	2 obeyed	obj
5	of	of	ADP	_	7 counsellors	case
6	his	his	PRON	Case=Gen Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 Poss=Yes PronType=Prs	7 counsellors	nmod:poss
7	counsellors	counsellor	NOUN	Number=Plur	4 advice	nmod
8	who	who	PRON	PronType=Rel	9 warned	nsubj
9	warned	warn	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	7 counsellors	acl:relcl
10	of	of	ADP	_	11 danger	case
11	danger	danger	NOUN	Number=Sing	9 warned	obl
12	to	to	ADP	_	14 prince	case
13	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	14 prince	det
14	prince	prince	NOUN	Number=Sing	9 warned	obl
15	in	in	ADP	_	16 youth	case
16	youth	youth	NOUN	Number=Sing	9 warned	obl
17	.	.	PUNCT	_	2 obeyed	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	obey	past	He	the advice of his counsellors					vn abide_by-93.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent advice=Theme
2	warn speech: warn	past	his counsellors			youth		of danger; to the prince	vn advise-37.9-1 «NP V NP PP.topic»: agent=Agent of danger=Topic

Option 3 · ✓ the right answer

He acted upon the warnings of soothsayers who predicted peril before the age of twenty-two.

The tree, 16 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 acted	nsubj
2	acted	act	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
3	upon	upon	ADP	_	5 warnings	case
4	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	5 warnings	det
5	warnings	warning	NOUN	Number=Plur	2 acted	obl
6	of	of	ADP	_	7 soothsayers	case
7	soothsayers	soothsayer	NOUN	Number=Plur	5 warnings	nmod
8	who	who	PRON	PronType=Rel	9 predicted	nsubj
9	predicted	predict	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	7 soothsayers	acl:relcl
10	peril	peril	NOUN	Number=Sing	9 predicted	obj
11	before	before	ADP	_	13 age	case
12	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	13 age	det
13	age	age	NOUN	Number=Sing	9 predicted	obl
14	of	of	ADP	_	17 two	case
15	twenty	twenty	NUM	NumForm=Word NumType=Card	17 two	compound
16	-	-	PUNCT	_	15 twenty	punct
17	two	two	NUM	NumForm=Word NumType=Card	13 age	nmod
18	.	.	PUNCT	_	2 acted	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	when	other	roles by
1	act	past	He			upon the warnings of soothsayers	vn act-114-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent
2	predict	past	soothsayers	peril	before the age of twenty two		vn indicate-78 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot peril=Topic
3	warn			soothsayers			nom warning «communication transitive»: of=patient

Option 4

Because he trusted Elfi Bey above all others, he decided to send the boy away from the court, believing that such a secret arrangement would protect the young prince from every threat the stars had foretold for him in the years to come.

The tree, 43 words

The words, one row each (CoNLL-U)

#	word	lemma	UPOS	features	head	relation
1	Because	because	SCONJ	_	3 trusted	mark
2	he	he	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	3 trusted	nsubj
3	trusted	trust	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	11 decided	advcl
4	Elfi	Elfi	PROPN	Number=Sing	5 Bey	compound
5	Bey	Bey	PROPN	Number=Sing	3 trusted	obj
6	above	above	ADP	_	8 others	case
7	all	all	DET	PronType=Tot	8 others	det
8	others	other	NOUN	Number=Plur	3 trusted	obl
9	,	,	PUNCT	_	3 trusted	punct
10	he	he	PRON	Case=Nom Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	11 decided	nsubj
11	decided	decide	VERB	Mood=Ind Number=Sing Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	root	root
12	to	to	PART	_	13 send	mark
13	send	send	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	11 decided	xcomp
14	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	15 boy	det
15	boy	boy	NOUN	Number=Sing	13 send	obj
16	away	away	ADV	_	13 send	advmod
17	from	from	ADP	_	19 court	case
18	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	19 court	det
19	court	court	NOUN	Number=Sing	16 away	obl
20	,	,	PUNCT	_	21 believing	punct
21	believing	believe	VERB	Tense=Pres VerbForm=Part	13 send	advcl
22	that	that	SCONJ	_	28 protect	mark
23	such	such	DET	PronType=Ind	26 arrangement	det:predet
24	a	a	DET	Definite=Ind PronType=Art	26 arrangement	det
25	secret	secret	ADJ	Degree=Pos	26 arrangement	amod
26	arrangement	arrangement	NOUN	Number=Sing	28 protect	nsubj
27	would	would	AUX	VerbForm=Fin	28 protect	aux
28	protect	protect	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	21 believing	ccomp
29	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	31 prince	det
30	young	young	ADJ	Degree=Pos	31 prince	amod
31	prince	prince	NOUN	Number=Sing	28 protect	obj
32	from	from	ADP	_	34 threat	case
33	every	every	DET	PronType=Tot	34 threat	det
34	threat	threat	NOUN	Number=Sing	28 protect	obl
35	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	36 stars	det
36	stars	star	NOUN	Number=Plur	38 foretold	nsubj:pass
37	had	have	AUX	Mood=Ind Number=Plur Person=3 Tense=Past VerbForm=Fin	38 foretold	aux
38	foretold	foretell	VERB	Tense=Past VerbForm=Part Voice=Pass	34 threat	acl:relcl
39	for	for	ADP	_	40 him	case
40	him	he	PRON	Case=Acc Gender=Masc Number=Sing Person=3 PronType=Prs	38 foretold	obl
41	in	in	ADP	_	43 years	case
42	the	the	DET	Definite=Def PronType=Art	43 years	det
43	years	year	NOUN	Number=Plur	38 foretold	obl
44	to	to	PART	_	45 come	mark
45	come	come	VERB	VerbForm=Inf	38 foretold	advcl
46	.	.	PUNCT	_	11 decided	punct

#	verb	tense, mood	who	what, whom	to whom	where	when	other	roles by
1	trust	past	he	Elfi Bey		all others			vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bey=Theme
2	decide	past	Bey						vn correspond-36.1-1 «NP V what S_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic
3	send not said to happen	to-infinitive	Bey not said here	the boy				away property	vn confine-92-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent boy=Theme
4	believe	gerund	Bey not said here						vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus
5	protect	would	such secret arrangement		the young prince			from every threat	vn defend-72.3 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Agent prince=Beneficiary from threat=Theme
6	foretell	past · perfect · passive	every threat not said here	the stars			year	for arrangement	vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme
7	come	to-infinitive	every threat not said here						vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=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.

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