---
title: Identify the principal action performed by the protagonist upon the… — Persian Tales, Prince Almas and the Si… · tree and pragmatics
description: Identify the principal action performed by the protagonist upon the monstrous creature, in order of occurrence. Exam question 1 of lesson 1206 «Persian Tales, Prince Almas and the Simurgh, part 7: Almas slays the dragon, the Simurgh spares him and the prince wins the king's trust» of the books cours
---

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# Exam question 1 · Persian Tales, Prince Almas and the Simurgh, part 7: Almas…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Identify the principal action performed by the protagonist upon the monstrous creature, in order of occurrence.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you · **What happens:** identify, perform, order · **To what, where:** principal action, order, occurrence

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 1206 «Persian Tales, Prince Almas and the Simurgh, part 7: Almas slays the dragon, the Simurgh spares him and the prince wins the king's trust» 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/1206-pg3282-part7/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1206-pg3282-part7:e1:1
# text = Identify the principal action performed by the protagonist upon the monstrous creature, in order of occurrence.
1	Identify	identify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	action	action	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
5	performed	perform	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
6	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	protagonist	protagonist	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	monstrous	monstrous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	creature	creature	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
14	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	order	order	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obl	_	_
16	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	occurrence	occurrence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **identify** | imperative | you *not said here* | the principal action |  | order of occurrence |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent action=Theme |
| 2 | **perform** | participle |  | the principal action *not said here* |  |  |  | by the protagonist; upon the monstrous creature | vn performance-26.7 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **order** |  |  | occurrence |  |  |  |  | nom order «communication transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .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 cut its neck with a sword

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1206-pg3282-part7:e1:o1:1
# text = He cut its neck with a sword
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	cut	cut	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	neck	neck	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	sword	sword	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cut** | past | He | its neck |  |  |  | with a sword | vn cut-21.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent neck=Patient with sword=Instrument |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He struck its eye with his spear, then pierced its chest with arrows

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1206-pg3282-part7:e1:o2:1
# text = He struck its eye with his spear, then pierced its chest with arrows
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	struck	strike	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	eye	eye	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	with	with	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	spear	spear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
9	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	10	advmod	_	_
10	pierced	pierce	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	conj	_	_
11	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	chest	chest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
13	with	with	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	arrows	arrow	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **strike** | past | He | its eye |  |  |  | with his spear | vn hit-18.1-1 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent eye=Patient with spear=Instrument |
| 2 | **pierce** | participle | He *not said here* | spear's chest |  |  | then | with arrows | vn poke-19-1 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent chest=Patient with arrow=Instrument |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He pierced its wing and tail with arrows, then struck its head with a club

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1206-pg3282-part7:e1:o3:1
# text = He pierced its wing and tail with arrows, then struck its head with a club
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	pierced	pierce	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	wing	wing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	arrows	arrow	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	11	advmod	_	_
11	struck	strike	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
12	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
14	with	with	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	club	club	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pierce** | past | He | its wing and tail |  |  |  | with arrows | vn poke-19-1 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent wing=Patient with arrow=Instrument |
| 2 | **strike** | past | He *not said here* | tail's head |  |  | then | with a club | vn hit-18.1-1 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent head=Patient with club=Instrument |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He pierced its eye and throat with arrows, then severed its neck with his sword

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1206-pg3282-part7:e1:o4:1
# text = He pierced its eye and throat with arrows, then severed its neck with his sword
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	pierced	pierce	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	eye	eye	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	throat	throat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
7	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	arrows	arrow	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	11	advmod	_	_
11	severed	sever	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
12	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	neck	neck	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
14	with	with	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	16	nmod:poss	_	_
16	sword	sword	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pierce** | past | He | its eye and throat |  |  |  | with arrows | vn poke-19-1 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent eye=Patient with arrow=Instrument |
| 2 | **sever** | past | He *not said here* | throat's neck |  |  | then | with his sword | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent neck=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: [Persian Tales, Prince Almas and the Si…, test 13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1206-pg3282-part7/t13/)
- next →: [Persian Tales, Prince Almas and the Si…, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1206-pg3282-part7/e2/)
- ↑ back to [Persian Tales, Prince Almas and the Simurgh, part 7: Almas slays the dragon, the Simurgh spares him and the prince wins the king's trust](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1206-pg3282-part7/)