---
title: Identify the principal reason for which a domestic cat deposits dead… — Cats as hunters: presents on the doorm… · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the principal reason for which a domestic cat deposits dead prey upon the doormat. Exam question 2 of lesson 198 «Cats as hunters: presents on the doormat and why Tom never catches Jerry» of the biology course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question
---

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# Exam question 2 · Cats as hunters: presents on the doormat and why Tom never…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the principal reason for which a domestic cat deposits dead prey upon the doormat.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 3 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** you, domestic cat · **What happens:** identify, deposit · **To what, where:** principal reason, dead prey, doormat

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This is exam question 2 of lesson 198 «Cats as hunters: presents on the doormat and why Tom never catches Jerry» 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/198-cats-as-hunters-presents-on-the-doormat-and-why-tom-never-catches-jerry/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:198-cats-as-hunters-presents-on-the-doormat-and-why-tom-never-catches-jerry:e2:1
# text = Identify the principal reason for which a domestic cat deposits dead prey upon the doormat.
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	10	obl	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	domestic	domestic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
10	deposits	deposit	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
11	dead	dead	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	prey	prey	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
13	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	doormat	doormat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	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 | **deposit** | present | a domestic cat | dead prey |  | the doormat |  | for the principal reason | vn put-9.1-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent prey=Theme upon doormat=Destination |

<!-- .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 -->
It seeks to teach the owner to read

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:198-cats-as-hunters-presents-on-the-doormat-and-why-tom-never-catches-jerry:e2:o1:1
# text = It seeks to teach the owner to read
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	seeks	seek	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	teach	teach	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	owner	owner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	read	read	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **seek** | present | It |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **teach** *speech: other* *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | the owner |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent owner=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 3 | **read** | to-infinitive | the owner *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It expresses gratitude to its owner

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:198-cats-as-hunters-presents-on-the-doormat-and-why-tom-never-catches-jerry:e2:o2:1
# text = It expresses gratitude to its owner
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	expresses	express	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	gratitude	gratitude	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	owner	owner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **express** | present | It | gratitude | gratitude's owner |  |  |  | vn reflexive\_appearance-48.1.2 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent gratitude=Theme to owner=Recipient |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It carries food to a place of safety by instinct

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:198-cats-as-hunters-presents-on-the-doormat-and-why-tom-never-catches-jerry:e2:o3:1
# text = It carries food to a place of safety by instinct
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	carries	carry	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	food	food	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	place	place	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	safety	safety	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
9	by	by	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	instinct	instinct	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **carry** | present | It | food |  | a place of safety |  | by instinct | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent food=Theme to place=Destination |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It intends to punish the household

```conllu
# sent_id = question:biology:198-cats-as-hunters-presents-on-the-doormat-and-why-tom-never-catches-jerry:e2:o4:1
# text = It intends to punish the household
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	intends	intend	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	punish	punish	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	household	household	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **intend** | present | It |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **punish** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | the household |  |  |  |  | vn prosecute-33.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent household=Patient |

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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 [Cats as hunters: presents on the doormat and why Tom never catches Jerry](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/biology/198-cats-as-hunters-presents-on-the-doormat-and-why-tom-never-catches-jerry/)