---
title: Explain why the elder brother failed to observe the mountain as he e… — Lang's Fairy Book, How the Little Brot… · tree and pragmatics
description: Explain why the elder brother failed to observe the mountain as he entered it, citing the circumstances of the chase. Exam question 3 of lesson 1222 «Lang's Fairy Book, How the Little Brother Set Free His Big Brothers, part 2: the bear chief's servant lures the hunters into the mountain» of the book
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1222-pg3282-part23/e3/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [questions](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/) / [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/) / [Lang's Fairy Book, How the Little Brot…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1222-pg3282-part23/) / e3

# Exam question 3 · Lang's Fairy Book, How the Little Brother Set Free His Big…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Explain why the elder brother failed to observe the mountain as he entered it, citing the circumstances of the chase.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, elder brother, brother · **What happens:** explain, fail, not observe, enter, cite · **To what, where:** mountain, circumstances · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 1222 «Lang's Fairy Book, How the Little Brother Set Free His Big Brothers, part 2: the bear chief's servant lures the hunters into the mountain» 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/1222-pg3282-part23/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1222-pg3282-part23:e3:1
# text = Explain why the elder brother failed to observe the mountain as he entered it, citing the circumstances of the chase.
1	Explain	explain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	elder	elder	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	failed	fail	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	1	ccomp	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	observe	observe	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	mountain	mountain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
12	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
13	entered	enter	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	advcl	_	_
14	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
16	citing	cite	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	13	advcl	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	circumstances	circumstance	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	obj	_	_
19	of	of	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
20	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
21	chase	chase	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **explain** *speech: assert* | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **fail** | past | the elder brother |  |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 3 | **not** **observe** | to-infinitive | the elder brother *not said here* | the mountain |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent mountain=Topic |
| 4 | **enter** | past | brother | mountain |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme it=Destination |
| 5 | **cite** | gerund | brother *not said here* | the circumstances of the chase |  |  |  |  | vn judgment-33.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent circumstance=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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He was intent upon the pursuit of the bear through brush and bramble that tore at his cloak all morning

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1222-pg3282-part23:e3:o1:1
# text = He was intent upon the pursuit of the bear through brush and bramble that tore at his cloak all morning
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	intent	intent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	pursuit	pursuit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	bear	bear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
10	through	through	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	brush	brush	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	bramble	bramble	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	_
14	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	15	nsubj	_	_
15	tore	tore	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	acl:relcl	_	_
16	at	at	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	18	nmod:poss	_	_
18	cloak	cloak	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obl	_	_
19	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	20	det	_	_
20	morning	morning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obl:unmarked	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | He |  |  | brush and bramble |  | upon the pursuit of the bear; intent *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **tore** | past | brush and bramble |  |  | his cloak | morning |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **pursue** |  |  | the bear |  |  |  |  | nom pursuit «act transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He was so intent upon the pursuit of the bear that he never looked up at the cliffs or the entrance

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1222-pg3282-part23:e3:o2:1
# text = He was so intent upon the pursuit of the bear that he never looked up at the cliffs or the entrance
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	so	so	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	intent	intent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	pursuit	pursuit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	bear	bear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
11	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	14	mark	_	_
12	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
13	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	14	advmod	_	_
14	looked	look	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
15	up	up	ADP	RP	_	14	compound:prt	_	_
16	at	at	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	cliffs	cliff	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obl	_	_
19	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
20	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
21	entrance	entrance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | He |  |  |  |  | upon the pursuit of the bear; intent *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **look up** | past | he |  |  |  |  | at the cliffs or the entrance | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent at cliff=Theme |
| 3 | **pursue** |  |  | the bear |  |  |  |  | nom pursuit «act transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He was intent upon the pursuit of the bear

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1222-pg3282-part23:e3:o3:1
# text = He was intent upon the pursuit of the bear
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	intent	intent	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	pursuit	pursuit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	bear	bear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | He |  |  |  |  | upon the pursuit of the bear; intent *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **pursue** |  |  | the bear |  |  |  |  | nom pursuit «act transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He had his eyes on the trail

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1222-pg3282-part23:e3:o4:1
# text = He had his eyes on the trail
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	eyes	eye	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	trail	trail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | He | his eyes |  | the trail |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent eye=Patient |

<!-- 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [Lang's Fairy Book, How the Little Brot…, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1222-pg3282-part23/e2/)
- next →: [Lang's Fairy Book, How the Little Brot…, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1222-pg3282-part23/e4/)
- ↑ back to [Lang's Fairy Book, How the Little Brother Set Free His Big Brothers, part 2: the bear chief's servant lures the hunters into the mountain](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1222-pg3282-part23/)