---
title: why wasn't the editor scared of the dark as a nipper? — The Lilac Fairy Book, The Shifty Lad,… · tree and pragmatics
description: why wasn't the editor scared of the dark as a nipper? Test 12 · ★ of lesson 1276 «The Lilac Fairy Book, The Shifty Lad, part 1: a clever boy's mother saves up to send him to school and then to a trade» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the quest
---

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# Test 12 · ★ · The Lilac Fairy Book, The Shifty Lad, part 1: a clever boy…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
why wasn't the editor scared of the dark as a nipper?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** editor · **What happens:** not be, scare · **To what, where:** editor

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 12 · ★ of lesson 1276 «The Lilac Fairy Book, The Shifty Lad, part 1: a clever boy's mother saves up to send him to school and then to a trade» of the books course of Mova's primary school. 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/1276-pg3454-part1/#t12).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1276-pg3454-part1:t12:1
# text = why wasn't the editor scared of the dark as a nipper?
1	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	5	advmod	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	editor	editor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	scared	scare	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	dark	dark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
10	as	as	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	nipper	nipper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is a** | past |  | the editor |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **scare** | past | the editor |  |  |  |  | of the dark; as a nipper | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Experiencer |

<!-- .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 -->
His old nurse had told him that the dark was full of friendly spirits who guarded his bed

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1276-pg3454-part1:t12:o1:1
# text = His old nurse had told him that the dark was full of friendly spirits who guarded his bed
1	His	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	nurse	nurse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	told	tell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	iobj	_	_
7	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	dark	dark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
10	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
11	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	advcl	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	friendly	friendly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	spirits	spirit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obl	_	_
15	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	16	nsubj	_	_
16	guarded	guard	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	14	acl:relcl	_	_
17	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	18	nmod:poss	_	_
18	bed	bed	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past · perfect · passive |  | His old nurse | him *= he* |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: subject=Recipient he=Topic |
| 2 | **is** | past | the dark |  |  |  |  | of friendly spirits; full *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **guard** | past | friendly spirits | his bed |  |  |  |  | vn defend-72.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bed=Beneficiary |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He had a big lamp by his bed and a dog who always barked at any ghost that came near

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1276-pg3454-part1:t12:o2:1
# text = He had a big lamp by his bed and a dog who always barked at any ghost that came near
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	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	big	big	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	lamp	lamp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	by	by	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	bed	bed	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj:pass	_	_
12	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	14	nsubj	_	_
13	always	always	ADV	RB	PronType=Tot	14	advmod	_	_
14	barked	bark	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	conj	_	_
15	at	at	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	17	det	_	_
17	ghost	ghost	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	_
18	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	19	nsubj	_	_
19	came	come	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	17	acl:relcl	_	_
20	near	near	ADV	RB	_	19	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | He | a big lamp |  |  |  | by his bed | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent lamp=Patient |
| 2 | **bark** | participle · passive |  | a dog |  |  |  | at any ghost; always *property* | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V NP.theme PP.recipient PP.stimulus»: subject=Theme at ghost=Stimulus |
| 3 | **come** | past | any ghost |  |  |  |  | near *property* | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He figured a ghost there couldn't be seen

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1276-pg3454-part1:t12:o3:1
# text = He figured a ghost there couldn't be seen
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	figured	figure	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	ghost	ghost	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	2	advmod	_	_
6	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
8	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	aux:pass	_	_
9	seen	see	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **figure** | past | He | a ghost |  | there |  |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ghost=Patient |
| 2 | **not** **see** | could · passive | He *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V» |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He reckoned the dark was just empty air

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1276-pg3454-part1:t12:o4:1
# text = He reckoned the dark was just empty air
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	reckoned	reckon	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	dark	dark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
6	just	just	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
7	empty	empty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	ccomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **reckon** | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is a** | past | the dark | empty air |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

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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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