---
title: By what means did Grethel bring about the death of the old witch? — Grimm's Fairy Tales, Oh, If I Could Bu… · tree and pragmatics
description: By what means did Grethel bring about the death of the old witch? Exam question 1 of lesson 102 «Grimm's Fairy Tales, Oh, If I Could But Shiver!, part 1: a simple boy is sent to learn shivering and throws a ghost down the stairs» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree
---

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# Exam question 1 · Grimm's Fairy Tales, Oh, If I Could But Shiver!, part 1: a…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By what means did Grethel bring about the death of the old witch?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 2 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** Grethel, old witch · **What happens:** mean, bring, die

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 102 «Grimm's Fairy Tales, Oh, If I Could But Shiver!, part 1: a simple boy is sent to learn shivering and throws a ghost down the stairs» 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/102-pg11027-part5/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:102-pg11027-part5:e1:1
# text = By what means did Grethel bring about the death of the old witch?
1	By	by	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	6	obl	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
4	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
5	Grethel	Grethel	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	bring	bring	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	about	about	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	death	death	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	witch	witch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **bring** | past · do-support | Grethel |  |  |  |  | about the death of the old witch | vn bring-11.3-1 «NP V NP together»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **die** |  | the old witch |  |  |  |  |  | nom death «event intransitive»: of=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 -->
She tricked the witch into the cellar and bolted the heavy wooden door

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:102-pg11027-part5:e1:o1:1
# text = She tricked the witch into the cellar and bolted the heavy wooden door
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	tricked	trick	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	witch	witch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	into	into	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	cellar	cellar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	bolted	bolt	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
11	heavy	heavy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
12	wooden	wooden	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	door	door	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **trick** | past | She | the witch |  |  |  | into the cellar *result* | vn trick-59.2 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent witch=Patient into cellar=Result |
| 2 | **bolt** | past | She *not said here* | the heavy wooden door |  |  |  |  | vn gobble-39.3-1 «NP V NP up»: agent=Agent door=Patient |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She pushed the witch into the oven and bolted the iron door

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:102-pg11027-part5:e1:o2:1
# text = She pushed the witch into the oven and bolted the iron door
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	pushed	push	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	witch	witch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	into	into	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	oven	oven	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	bolted	bolt	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	iron	iron	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	door	door	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **push** | past | She | the witch |  | the oven |  |  | vn funnel-9.3-1-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent witch=Theme into oven=Destination |
| 2 | **bolt** | past | She *not said here* | the iron door |  |  |  |  | vn gobble-39.3-1 «NP V NP up»: agent=Agent door=Patient |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She dragged the witch to the well and pushed her under the water

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:102-pg11027-part5:e1:o3:1
# text = She dragged the witch to the well and pushed her under the water
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	dragged	drag	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	witch	witch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	well	well	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	pushed	push	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
10	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	_
11	under	under	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **drag** | past | She | the witch |  | the well |  |  | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent witch=Theme to well=Destination |
| 2 | **push** | past | She *not said here* | her *= she* |  | the water |  |  | vn funnel-9.3-1-1 «NP V NP PP.trajectory»: agent=Agent she=Theme under water=Trajectory |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She burned the witch alive

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:102-pg11027-part5:e1:o4:1
# text = She burned the witch alive
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	burned	burn	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	witch	witch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	alive	alive	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **burn** | past | She | the witch |  |  |  | alive *property* | vn light\_emission-43.1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent witch=Theme |

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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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- ← previous: [Grimm's Fairy Tales, Oh, If I Could Bu…, test 14](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/102-pg11027-part5/t14/)
- next →: [Grimm's Fairy Tales, Oh, If I Could Bu…, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/102-pg11027-part5/e2/)
- ↑ back to [Grimm's Fairy Tales, Oh, If I Could But Shiver!, part 1: a simple boy is sent to learn shivering and throws a ghost down the stairs](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/102-pg11027-part5/)