---
title: What is the principal reason the hens give for abandoning their atta… — Andersen's Tales, The Toad: a toad cli… · tree and pragmatics
description: What is the principal reason the hens give for abandoning their attack upon the caterpillar? Exam question 3 of lesson 1004 «Andersen's Tales, The Toad: a toad climbs out of a well and goes hunting for a better world» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmat
---

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# Exam question 3 · Andersen's Tales, The Toad: a toad climbs out of a well an…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What is the principal reason the hens give for abandoning their attack upon the caterpillar?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 2 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** hens · **What happens:** be, give, abandon, attack · **To what, where:** principal reason, attack

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 1004 «Andersen's Tales, The Toad: a toad climbs out of a well and goes hunting for a better world» 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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/school-run/books/1004-pg27200-part215/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1004-pg27200-part215:e3:1
# text = What is the principal reason the hens give for abandoning their attack upon the caterpillar?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	hens	hen	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
8	give	give	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	acl:relcl	_	_
9	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
10	abandoning	abandon	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	advcl	_	_
11	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	attack	attack	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	caterpillar	caterpillar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present |  | the principal reason |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **give** | present | the hens | the principal reason *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent reason=Theme |
| 3 | **abandon** | gerund | the hens *not said here* | hens's attack |  |  |  | upon the caterpillar | vn leave-51.2 «NP V NP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme attack=Source |
| 4 | **attack** |  | hens *= hen* |  |  |  |  |  | nom attack «act transitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- .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 -->
They deem the caterpillar too small to be worth eating, so they leave for their own dinner

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1004-pg27200-part215:e3:o1:1
# text = They deem the caterpillar too small to be worth eating, so they leave for their own dinner
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	deem	deem	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	caterpillar	caterpillar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	too	too	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	advcl	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
8	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	cop	_	_
9	worth	worth	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	_
10	eating	eat	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	9	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
12	so	so	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
13	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
14	leave	leave	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
15	for	for	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
16	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	18	nmod:poss	_	_
17	own	own	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	dinner	dinner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **deem** | present | They | the caterpillar |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Agent caterpillar=Attribute |
| 2 | **is** | to-infinitive | They *not said here* |  |  |  |  | worth *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **eat** | gerund | They *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **leave** | present | they |  |  |  |  | for their own dinner | vn fulfilling-13.4.1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent for dinner=Recipient |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They deem the caterpillar too small to be worth eating

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1004-pg27200-part215:e3:o2:1
# text = They deem the caterpillar too small to be worth eating
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	deem	deem	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	caterpillar	caterpillar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	too	too	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	advcl	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
8	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	cop	_	_
9	worth	worth	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	_
10	eating	eat	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	9	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **deem** | present | They | the caterpillar |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Agent caterpillar=Attribute |
| 2 | **is** | to-infinitive | They *not said here* |  |  |  |  | worth *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **eat** | gerund | They *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They deem the caterpillar too small and too tough to be worth eating at all

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1004-pg27200-part215:e3:o3:1
# text = They deem the caterpillar too small and too tough to be worth eating at all
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	deem	deem	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	caterpillar	caterpillar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	too	too	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
6	small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	advcl	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	too	too	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	tough	tough	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	conj	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
11	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	cop	_	_
12	worth	worth	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	conj	_	_
13	eating	eat	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	12	xcomp	_	_
14	at	at	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	13	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **deem** | present | They | the caterpillar |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Agent caterpillar=Attribute |
| 2 | **is** | to-infinitive | They *not said here* |  |  |  |  | worth *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **eat** | gerund | They *not said here* |  |  | all |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They think it is not worth eating

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1004-pg27200-part215:e3:o4:1
# text = They think it is not worth eating
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	think	think	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
5	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	6	advmod	_	_
6	worth	worth	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	ccomp	_	_
7	eating	eat	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	6	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **think** *speech: other* | present | They |  |  |  |  |  | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **not** **is** | present | it |  |  |  |  | worth *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **eat** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V»: agent=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.

<!-- /div -->

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