---
title: State the principal grounds upon which the jackal sought to establis… — Indian Tales, The Younger Son of the J… · tree and pragmatics
description: State the principal grounds upon which the jackal sought to establish his claim to the greater portion. Exam question 3 of lesson 1165 «Indian Tales, The Younger Son of the Jackal, part 31: the jackal cheats the sheep over the grain, and the greyhound is called in» of the books course of Mova's prim
---

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# Exam question 3 · Indian Tales, The Younger Son of the Jackal, part 31: the…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
State the principal grounds upon which the jackal sought to establish his claim to the greater portion.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 2 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** State principal grounds, jackal · **What happens:** seek, establish, claim · **To what, where:** claim

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 1165 «Indian Tales, The Younger Son of the Jackal, part 31: the jackal cheats the sheep over the grain, and the greyhound is called in» 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/1165-pg3027-part31/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1165-pg3027-part31:e3:1
# text = State the principal grounds upon which the jackal sought to establish his claim to the greater portion.
1	State	state	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	grounds	grounds	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	9	nsubj	_	_
5	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	obl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	jackal	jackal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	sought	seek	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	establish	establish	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	_
12	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	claim	claim	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
14	to	to	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
16	greater	great	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	17	amod	_	_
17	portion	portion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	9	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **seek** | past | the State principal grounds |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **establish** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the State principal grounds *not said here* | jackal's claim |  |  |  | to the greater portion | vn establish-55.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent claim=Patient |
| 3 | **claim** |  | jackal |  |  |  |  |  | nom claim «communication 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 -->
he claimed he had carried the water and the sheep had only watched

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1165-pg3027-part31:e3:o1:1
# text = he claimed he had carried the water and the sheep had only watched
1	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	claimed	claim	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
4	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	carried	carry	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	2	ccomp	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	sheep	sheep	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	nsubj:pass	_	_
11	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
12	only	only	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
13	watched	watch	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 | **claim** *speech: other* | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **carry** | past · perfect | he | the water |  |  |  |  | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent water=Theme |
| 3 | **watch** | past · perfect · passive |  | the sheep |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
he asserted that he had drawn the water and the sheep had merely poured it

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1165-pg3027-part31:e3:o2:1
# text = he asserted that he had drawn the water and the sheep had merely poured it
1	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	asserted	assert	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
5	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	drawn	draw	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	sheep	sheep	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	nsubj:pass	_	_
12	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
13	merely	merely	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
14	poured	pour	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	conj	_	_
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **assert** | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **draw** | past · perfect | he | the water |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent water=Theme |
| 3 | **pour** | past · perfect · passive |  | the sheep |  |  |  | merely *property* | vn pour-9.5 «NP V NP ADVP»: subject=Theme it=Destination |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
he claimed that he had drawn the water while the sheep slept in the shade, and that the field belonged entirely to him by right

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1165-pg3027-part31:e3:o3:1
# text = he claimed that he had drawn the water while the sheep slept in the shade, and that the field belonged entirely to him by right
1	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	claimed	claim	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
5	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	drawn	draw	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	2	ccomp	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	while	while	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	sheep	sheep	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	nsubj	_	_
12	slept	sleep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	advcl	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	shade	shade	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
18	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	21	mark	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	field	field	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	nsubj	_	_
21	belonged	belong	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
22	entirely	entirely	ADV	RB	_	21	advmod	_	_
23	to	to	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
24	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	21	obl	_	_
25	by	by	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
26	right	right	ADV	RB	_	21	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **claim** *speech: other* | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **draw** | past · perfect | he | the water |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent water=Theme |
| 3 | **sleep** | past | the sheep |  |  | the shade |  |  | vn fit-54.3 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent in shade=Location |
| 4 | **belong** | past | the field |  | him *= he* |  |  | entirely *property* | vn attend-107.4-2 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
he asserted that he had drawn the water, the sheep had merely poured it, and so he deserved the greater portion of all the grain

<!-- fold The tree, 25 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1165-pg3027-part31:e3:o4:1
# text = he asserted that he had drawn the water, the sheep had merely poured it, and so he deserved the greater portion of all the grain
1	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	asserted	assert	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
5	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	drawn	draw	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	sheep	sheep	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	nsubj:pass	_	_
12	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
13	merely	merely	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
14	poured	pour	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	conj	_	_
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
18	so	so	ADV	RB	_	20	advmod	_	_
19	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	20	nsubj	_	_
20	deserved	deserve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
22	greater	great	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	23	amod	_	_
23	portion	portion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obj	_	_
24	of	of	ADP	IN	_	27	case	_	_
25	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	27	det:predet	_	_
26	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	27	det	_	_
27	grain	grain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **assert** | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **draw** | past · perfect | he | the water |  |  |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent water=Theme |
| 3 | **pour** | past · perfect · passive |  | the sheep |  |  |  | merely *property* | vn pour-9.5 «NP V NP ADVP»: subject=Theme it=Destination |
| 4 | **deserve** | past | he | the greater portion of all grain |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**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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