---
title: For what purpose did the two strangers wish to purchase the child? — Grimm, Thumbling, part 21: a tiny boy… · tree and pragmatics
description: For what purpose did the two strangers wish to purchase the child? Exam question 2 of lesson 118 «Grimm, Thumbling, part 21: a tiny boy is sold, escapes, and offers to help thieves rob a pastor» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and
---

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# Exam question 2 · Grimm, Thumbling, part 21: a tiny boy is sold, escapes, an…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
For what purpose did the two strangers wish to purchase the child?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** purpose, two strangers · **What happens:** do, wish, purchase · **To what, where:** child

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 118 «Grimm, Thumbling, part 21: a tiny boy is sold, escapes, and offers to help thieves rob a pastor» 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/118-pg11027-part21/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:118-pg11027-part21:e2:1
# text = For what purpose did the two strangers wish to purchase the child?
1	For	for	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	obj	_	_
3	purpose	purpose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	7	nummod	_	_
7	strangers	stranger	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj	_	_
8	wish	wish	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	ccomp	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	purchase	purchase	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	xcomp	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	child	child	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | past | purpose |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **wish** | present | the two strangers |  |  |  |  |  | vn wish-62 «NP V for NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 3 | **purchase** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the two strangers *not said here* | the child |  |  |  |  | vn obtain-13.5.2-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset child=Theme |

<!-- .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 -->
To take him far away and put him on display in a traveling show for paying audiences across many towns

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:118-pg11027-part21:e2:o1:1
# text = To take him far away and put him on display in a traveling show for paying audiences across many towns
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	take	take	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	far	far	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	5	advmod	_	_
5	away	away	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	put	put	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
8	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	_
9	on	on	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	display	display	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	traveling	traveling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	compound	_	_
14	show	show	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
15	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
16	paying	pay	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	7	advcl	_	_
17	audiences	audience	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	obj	_	_
18	across	across	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	amod	_	_
20	towns	town	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | to-infinitive |  |  | him *= he* |  |  | away *property* | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP ADVP»: agent=Instrument he=Destination |
| 2 | **put** | infinitive |  | him *= he* |  | display |  | in a traveling show | vn put-9.1-2 «NP V PP.destination NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme on display=Destination |
| 3 | **pay** | gerund |  | audiences |  | many towns |  |  | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent audience=Asset |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To show him to paying crowds in the city

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:118-pg11027-part21:e2:o2:1
# text = To show him to paying crowds in the city
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	show	show	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	iobj	_	_
4	to	to	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
5	paying	pay	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
6	crowds	crowd	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	city	city	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | to-infinitive |  |  | him *= he* |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent he=Recipient |
| 2 | **pay** | gerund |  | crowds |  | the city |  |  | vn pay-68-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent crowd=Asset |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To adopt him as a servant and bring him to their home in the capital city to serve the court

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:118-pg11027-part21:e2:o3:1
# text = To adopt him as a servant and bring him to their home in the capital city to serve the court
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	adopt	adopt	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	as	as	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	servant	servant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	bring	bring	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
9	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	_
10	to	to	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	home	home	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
15	capital	capital	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	compound	_	_
16	city	city	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
17	to	to	PART	TO	_	18	mark	_	_
18	serve	serve	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	advcl	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	court	court	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **adopt** | to-infinitive |  | him *= he* |  |  |  | as a servant | vn appoint-29.1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Agent he=Theme as servant=Attribute |
| 2 | **bring** | infinitive |  | him *= he* |  | the capital city |  | to their home | vn bring-11.3-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent he=Theme to home=Destination |
| 3 | **serve** | to-infinitive |  | the court |  |  |  |  | vn masquerade-29.6-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent court=Attribute |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To exhibit him for payment in a large town

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:118-pg11027-part21:e2:o4:1
# text = To exhibit him for payment in a large town
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	exhibit	exhibit	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	payment	payment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	large	large	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	town	town	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **exhibit** | to-infinitive |  | him *= he* |  |  |  | for payment in a large town | vn reflexive\_appearance-48.1.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=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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