---
title: so the fox was saying the cheese was ages old, like it was in a well — Reynard the Fox, The Wolf and the Fox… · tree and pragmatics
description: so the fox was saying the cheese was ages old, like it was in a well Test 10 · ★ of lesson 1144 «Reynard the Fox, The Wolf and the Fox at the Well, part 10: the hungry wolf and the cunning fox plan a feast of cheese, and the fox tricks the wolf into the bucket» of the books course of Mova's primary 
---

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# Test 10 · ★ · Reynard the Fox, The Wolf and the Fox at the Well, part 10…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
so the fox was saying the cheese was ages old, like it was in a well

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 2 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** fox, saying · **What happens:** say, be · **To what, where:** cheese · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 10 · ★ of lesson 1144 «Reynard the Fox, The Wolf and the Fox at the Well, part 10: the hungry wolf and the cunning fox plan a feast of cheese, and the fox tricks the wolf into the bucket» of the books course of Mova's primary school. 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/1144-pg3027-part10/#t10).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1144-pg3027-part10:t10:1
# text = so the fox was saying the cheese was ages old, like it was in a well
1	so	so	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	fox	fox	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	saying	say	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	csubj	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	cheese	cheese	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
9	ages	age	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obl:unmarked	_	_
10	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
12	like	like	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
14	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	17	cop	_	_
15	in	in	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	well	well	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past · progressive | the fox | the cheese |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent cheese=Topic |
| 2 | **is** | past | saying |  |  |  | ages | old *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **is** | past | fox |  |  |  |  | like a well | tree rules |

<!-- .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 well had been dry for years

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1144-pg3027-part10:t10:o1:1
# text = the well had been dry for years
1	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	well	well	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	been	be	AUX	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	5	cop	_	_
5	dry	dry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past · perfect | the well |  |  |  | year | dry *property* | tree rules |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
it was kept in an old well, dry now

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1144-pg3027-part10:t10:o2:1
# text = it was kept in an old well, dry now
1	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	kept	keep	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	well	well	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
9	dry	dry	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	advcl	_	_
10	now	now	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	9	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | past · passive |  | it |  | a old well |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: subject=Theme in well=Location |
| 2 | **dry** | infinitive |  |  |  |  | now |  | vn other\_cos-45.4-1 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
the cheese had been hidden in the well by the farmer's wife many winters ago and forgotten

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1144-pg3027-part10:t10:o3:1
# text = the cheese had been hidden in the well by the farmer's wife many winters ago and forgotten
1	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cheese	cheese	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	been	be	AUX	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	hidden	hide	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	well	well	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	5	obl	_	_
9	by	by	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	farmer	farmer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	's	's	PART	POS	_	11	case	_	_
13	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
14	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	winters	winter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	obl:unmarked	_	_
16	ago	ago	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
18	forgotten	forget	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hide** | past · perfect · passive | the farmer's wife | the cheese |  |  |  | ago *property* | vn concealment-16-1 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent subject=Patient in well=Location |
| 2 | **forget** | participle | the farmer's wife *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
the cheese was made fresh that morning

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1144-pg3027-part10:t10:o4:1
# text = the cheese was made fresh that morning
1	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cheese	cheese	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	fresh	fresh	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	_
6	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
7	morning	morning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **make** | past · passive |  | the cheese |  |  |  | fresh *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: subject=Product |

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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 [Reynard the Fox, The Wolf and the Fox at the Well, part 10: the hungry wolf and the cunning fox plan a feast of cheese, and the fox tricks the wolf into the bucket](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1144-pg3027-part10/)