---
title: By what means did the mermaid obtain possession of the prince, accor… — Fairy Book, The Prince and the Bee, pa… · tree and pragmatics
description: By what means did the mermaid obtain possession of the prince, according to the narrative? Exam question 4 of lesson 1229 «Fairy Book, The Prince and the Bee, part 30: the bee-prince steals the sword, and the mermaid pulls him under the waves» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the d
---

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# Exam question 4 · Fairy Book, The Prince and the Bee, part 30: the bee-princ…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By what means did the mermaid obtain possession of the prince, according to the narrative?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** mermaid · **What happens:** mean, obtain, accord, possess · **To what, where:** possession, prince

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 1229 «Fairy Book, The Prince and the Bee, part 30: the bee-prince steals the sword, and the mermaid pulls him under the waves» 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/1229-pg3282-part30/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1229-pg3282-part30:e4:1
# text = By what means did the mermaid obtain possession of the prince, according to the narrative?
1	By	by	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	obl	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
4	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	mermaid	mermaid	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	obtain	obtain	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
8	possession	possession	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	prince	prince	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
13	according	accord	VERB	VBG	ExtPos=ADP|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	16	case	_	_
14	to	to	ADP	IN	_	13	fixed	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	narrative	narrative	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **obtain** | past · do-support | the mermaid | possession of the prince |  |  |  | accord the narrative | vn obtain-13.5.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent possession=Theme |
| 3 | **accord** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **possess** |  |  | the prince |  |  |  |  | nom possession «act 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 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She grabbed his cloak and pulled him down into the deep river

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1229-pg3282-part30:e4:o1:1
# text = She grabbed his cloak and pulled him down into the deep river
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	grabbed	grab	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	cloak	cloak	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	pulled	pull	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
7	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	down	down	ADP	RP	_	6	compound:prt	_	_
9	into	into	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	deep	deep	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	river	river	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grab** | past | She | his cloak |  |  |  |  | vn steal-10.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cloak=Theme |
| 2 | **pull down** | past | She *not said here* | him *= he* |  | the deep river |  |  | vn push-12-1 «NP V NP ADJP-Result»: agent=Agent he=Result |

### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She seized him by the arm and drew him beneath the waves

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1229-pg3282-part30:e4:o2:1
# text = She seized him by the arm and drew him beneath the waves
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	seized	seize	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	arm	arm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	drew	draw	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
9	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	_
10	beneath	beneath	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	waves	wave	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **seize** | past | She | him *= he* |  |  |  | by the arm | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |
| 2 | **draw** | past | She *not said here* | him *= he* |  |  |  | beneath the waves | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She rose up out of the foam and wrapped her long silver tail around his waist and dragged him far below the waves into her underwater palace

<!-- fold The tree, 27 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1229-pg3282-part30:e4:o3:1
# text = She rose up out of the foam and wrapped her long silver tail around his waist and dragged him far below the waves into her underwater palace
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	rose	rise	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	up	up	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
4	out	out	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	foam	foam	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	wrapped	wrap	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
10	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
11	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
12	silver	silver	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	_
13	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
14	around	around	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	waist	waist	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
18	dragged	drag	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
19	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	obj	_	_
20	far	far	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	18	advmod	_	_
21	below	below	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
22	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
23	waves	wave	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	obl	_	_
24	into	into	ADP	IN	_	27	case	_	_
25	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	27	nmod:poss	_	_
26	underwater	underwater	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	27	amod	_	_
27	palace	palace	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **rise up** | past | She |  |  | the foam |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent out foam=Location |
| 2 | **wrap** | past | She *not said here* | her long silver tail |  | his waist |  |  | vn spray-9.7-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent tail=Theme around waist=Destination |
| 3 | **drag** | past | She *not said here* | him *= he* |  | the waves |  | into her underwater palace; far *property* | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him down into the cold water

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1229-pg3282-part30:e4:o4:1
# text = She grabbed him by the wrist and dragged him down into the cold water
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	grabbed	grab	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	wrist	wrist	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	dragged	drag	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
9	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	_
10	down	down	ADP	RP	_	8	compound:prt	_	_
11	into	into	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	cold	cold	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grab** | past | She | him *= he* |  |  |  | by the wrist | vn steal-10.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |
| 2 | **drag down** | past | She *not said here* | him *= he* |  | the cold water |  |  | vn carry-11.4 «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.

<!-- /div -->

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- ↑ back to [Fairy Book, The Prince and the Bee, part 30: the bee-prince steals the sword, and the mermaid pulls him under the waves](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1229-pg3282-part30/)