---
title: Identify the principal reason for which the electric eel may leap fr… — Amazon giants and tall tales: anaconda… · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the principal reason for which the electric eel may leap from the water against a threatening animal. Exam question 2 of lesson 158 «Amazon giants and tall tales: anacondas, caimans, electric eels and the candiru» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and 
---

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# Exam question 2 · Amazon giants and tall tales: anacondas, caimans, electric…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the principal reason for which the electric eel may leap from the water against a threatening animal.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, electric eel · **What happens:** identify, leap, threaten · **To what, where:** principal reason, water

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This is exam question 2 of lesson 158 «Amazon giants and tall tales: anacondas, caimans, electric eels and the candiru» 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/158-amazon-giants-and-tall-tales/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:158-amazon-giants-and-tall-tales:e2:1
# text = Identify the principal reason for which the electric eel may leap from the water against a threatening animal.
1	Identify	identify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	11	obl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	electric	electric	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	eel	eel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
10	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
11	leap	leap	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	parataxis	_	_
12	from	from	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
15	against	against	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
17	threatening	threaten	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	18	amod	_	_
18	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **identify** | imperative | you *not said here* | the principal reason |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent reason=Theme |
| 2 | **leap** | may | the electric eel |  |  | the water |  | for the principal reason; against a threatening animal | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme from water=Trajectory |
| 3 | **threaten** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |

<!-- .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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The eel thereby obtains a breath of air

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:158-amazon-giants-and-tall-tales:e2:o1:1
# text = The eel thereby obtains a breath of air
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	eel	eel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	thereby	thereby	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	obtains	obtain	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	breath	breath	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **obtain** | present | the eel | a breath of air |  |  |  | thereby *property* | vn obtain-13.5.2-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset breath=Theme |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The eel thereby bites the animal with its teeth and holds it fast until it ceases entirely to struggle

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:158-amazon-giants-and-tall-tales:e2:o2:1
# text = The eel thereby bites the animal with its teeth and holds it fast until it ceases entirely to struggle
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	eel	eel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	thereby	thereby	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	bites	bite	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	teeth	tooth	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	holds	hold	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
12	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	_
13	fast	fast	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	11	advmod	_	_
14	until	until	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
16	ceases	cease	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	advcl	_	_
17	entirely	entirely	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	_
18	to	to	PART	TO	_	19	mark	_	_
19	struggle	struggle	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bite** | present | the eel | the animal |  |  |  | with eel's teeth; thereby *property* | vn swat-18.2 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent animal=Patient with tooth=Instrument |
| 2 | **hold** | present | the eel *not said here* | eel |  |  |  | fast *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |
| 3 | **cease** | present | eel |  |  |  |  | entirely *property* | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Affector clause=Eventuality |
| 4 | **struggle** | to-infinitive | eel *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn battle-36.4 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The discharge thereby passes directly into the animal rather than dispersing through the water

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:158-amazon-giants-and-tall-tales:e2:o3:1
# text = The discharge thereby passes directly into the animal rather than dispersing through the water
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	discharge	discharge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	thereby	thereby	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	passes	pass	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	directly	directly	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
6	into	into	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
9	rather	rather	ADV	RB	ExtPos=CCONJ	11	cc	_	_
10	than	than	ADP	IN	_	9	fixed	_	_
11	dispersing	disperse	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	conj	_	_
12	through	through	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pass** | present | the discharge |  |  |  |  | into the animal; directly, thereby *property* | vn escape-51.1-1-3 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme into animal=Initial\_Location |
| 2 | **disperse** | gerund | the discharge *not said here* |  |  | the water |  |  | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The eel thereby escapes into the forest

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:158-amazon-giants-and-tall-tales:e2:o4:1
# text = The eel thereby escapes into the forest
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	eel	eel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	thereby	thereby	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	escapes	escape	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	into	into	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	forest	forest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **escape** | present | the eel |  |  | the forest |  | thereby *property* | vn escape-51.1-1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme into forest=Initial\_Location |

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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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