---
title: By what means did Fergus True-Lips bring the combatants to a cessati… — Fionn Tales, The Brawl at the Feast, p… · tree and pragmatics
description: By what means did Fergus True-Lips bring the combatants to a cessation? Exam question 4 of lesson 1055 «Fionn Tales, The Brawl at the Feast, part 23: Goll's boast starts a hall-wide fight, then judges at Tara give their ruling» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree a
---

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# Exam question 4 · Fionn Tales, The Brawl at the Feast, part 23: Goll's boast…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By what means did Fergus True-Lips bring the combatants to a cessation?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Lips · **What happens:** mean, bring · **To what, where:** Fergus, cessation · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 1055 «Fionn Tales, The Brawl at the Feast, part 23: Goll's boast starts a hall-wide fight, then judges at Tara give their ruling» 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/1055-pg2892-part23/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1055-pg2892-part23:e4:1
# text = By what means did Fergus True-Lips bring the combatants to a cessation?
1	By	by	SCONJ	IN	_	3	mark	_	_
2	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	3	nsubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	Fergus	Fergus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
6	True	True	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	Lips	lip	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
9	bring	bring	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	combatants	combatant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	_
12	to	to	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	cessation	cessation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	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 clause=Topic |
| 2 | **bring** | present | Lips | Fergus |  | a cessation |  |  | vn bring-11.3-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent combatant=Theme to cessation=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 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By chanting rhythmic incantations over the whole hall until they stopped

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1055-pg2892-part23:e4:o1:1
# text = By chanting rhythmic incantations over the whole hall until they stopped
1	By	by	SCONJ	IN	_	2	mark	_	_
2	chanting	chant	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
3	rhythmic	rhythmic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	incantations	incantation	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	over	over	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	hall	hall	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
9	until	until	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
10	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	stopped	stop	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **chant** | gerund |  | rhythmic incantations |  | the whole hall |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent incantation=Topic |
| 2 | **stop** | past | incantations *= incantation* |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By striking down the leaders

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1055-pg2892-part23:e4:o2:1
# text = By striking down the leaders
1	By	by	SCONJ	IN	_	2	mark	_	_
2	striking	strike	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
3	down	down	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	leaders	leader	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **strike down** | gerund |  | the leaders |  |  |  |  | vn hit-18.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent leader=Patient |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By threatening both sides with spears

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1055-pg2892-part23:e4:o3:1
# text = By threatening both sides with spears
1	By	by	SCONJ	IN	_	2	mark	_	_
2	threatening	threaten	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
3	both	both	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	4	det	_	_
4	sides	side	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	spears	spear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **threaten** | gerund |  | both sides |  |  |  | with spears | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus side=Experiencer |

### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By chanting rhythmic incantations

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1055-pg2892-part23:e4:o4:1
# text = By chanting rhythmic incantations
1	By	by	SCONJ	IN	_	2	mark	_	_
2	chanting	chant	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
3	rhythmic	rhythmic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	incantations	incantation	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **chant** | gerund |  | rhythmic incantations |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent incantation=Topic |

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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: [Fionn Tales, The Brawl at the Feast, p…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1055-pg2892-part23/e3/)
- next →: [Fionn's Fianna, The Carl of the Drab C…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1056-pg2892-part24/t1/)
- ↑ back to [Fionn Tales, The Brawl at the Feast, part 23: Goll's boast starts a hall-wide fight, then judges at Tara give their ruling](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1055-pg2892-part23/)