---
title: Ascertain the principal means by which the coyote obtains its prey. — Looney Tunes: the real roadrunner and… · tree and pragmatics
description: Ascertain the principal means by which the coyote obtains its prey. Exam question 4 of lesson 122 «Looney Tunes: the real roadrunner and the real coyote» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choice was wron
---

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# Exam question 4 · Looney Tunes: the real roadrunner and the real coyote

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ascertain the principal means by which the coyote obtains its prey.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 1 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, principal, coyote · **What happens:** ascertain, mean, obtain · **To what, where:** prey

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 122 «Looney Tunes: the real roadrunner and the real coyote» of the biology 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/biology/122-looney-tunes-real-roadrunner-and-coyote/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:122-looney-tunes-real-roadrunner-and-coyote:e4:1
# text = Ascertain the principal means by which the coyote obtains its prey.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	principal	principal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	ccomp	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	obl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	coyote	coyote	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	obtains	obtain	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
10	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	prey	prey	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **mean** | present | the principal |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **obtain** | present | the coyote | coyote's prey |  |  |  |  | vn obtain-13.5.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent prey=Theme |

<!-- .note -->
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 {#options}

### Option 1 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By stalking, pursuit and pouncing

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:122-looney-tunes-real-roadrunner-and-coyote:e4:o1:1
# text = By stalking, pursuit and pouncing
1	By	by	SCONJ	IN	_	2	mark	_	_
2	stalking	stalk	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
4	pursuit	pursuit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	pouncing	pouncing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stalk** | gerund |  | pursuit and pouncing |  |  |  |  | vn stalk-35.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent pursuit=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By awaiting the fall of prey from trees

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:122-looney-tunes-real-roadrunner-and-coyote:e4:o2:1
# text = By awaiting the fall of prey from trees
1	By	by	SCONJ	IN	_	2	mark	_	_
2	awaiting	await	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	fall	fall	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	prey	prey	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
7	from	from	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	trees	tree	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **await** | gerund |  | the fall of prey |  | trees |  |  | tree rules |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By the employment of manufactured traps

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:122-looney-tunes-real-roadrunner-and-coyote:e4:o3:1
# text = By the employment of manufactured traps
1	By	by	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	employment	employment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	manufactured	manufacture	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	amod	_	_
6	traps	trap	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **manufacture** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn create-26.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **employ** |  |  | manufactured traps |  |  |  |  | nom employment «state transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By the excavation of pits beneath the prey

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:122-looney-tunes-real-roadrunner-and-coyote:e4:o4:1
# text = By the excavation of pits beneath the prey
1	By	by	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	excavation	excavation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	pits	pit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nmod	_	_
6	beneath	beneath	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	prey	prey	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **excavate** |  | pits beneath the prey |  |  |  |  |  | nom excavation «act intransitive»: of=agent |

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**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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- ↑ back to [Looney Tunes: the real roadrunner and the real coyote](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/122-looney-tunes-real-roadrunner-and-coyote/)