---
title: Mate, what was that snuff-box thing for? — Irish Fairy Tales, Seven Inches, part… · tree and pragmatics
description: Mate, what was that snuff-box thing for? Test 2 · ★ of lesson 1293 «Irish Fairy Tales, Seven Inches, part 18: the sisters go down the well, and the prince forges three crowns» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mo
---

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# Test 2 · ★ · Irish Fairy Tales, Seven Inches, part 18: the sisters go d…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mate, what was that snuff-box thing for?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Mate · **What happens:** be · **To what, where:** box thing

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 2 · ★ of lesson 1293 «Irish Fairy Tales, Seven Inches, part 18: the sisters go down the well, and the prince forges three crowns» 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/1293-pg3454-part18/#t2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1293-pg3454-part18:t2:1
# text = Mate, what was that snuff-box thing for?
1	Mate	mate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
3	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	9	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	cop	_	_
5	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
6	snuff	snuff	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	box	box	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	conj	_	_
10	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | Mate and box thing | box thing |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- .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 call Seven Inches whenever the prince needed help, as it had been made for that very purpose

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1293-pg3454-part18:t2:o1:1
# text = To call Seven Inches whenever the prince needed help, as it had been made for that very purpose
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	call	call	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	advcl	_	_
3	Seven	seven	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	4	nummod	_	_
4	Inches	inch	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	whenever	whenever	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	8	advmod	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	prince	prince	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	needed	need	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	help	help	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
11	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
12	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj:pass	_	_
13	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	aux	_	_
14	been	be	AUX	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	15	aux:pass	_	_
15	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	conj	_	_
16	for	for	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
17	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	19	det	_	_
18	very	very	ADV	RB	_	19	advmod	_	_
19	purpose	purpose	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | to-infinitive | the prince *not said here* | Seven Inches |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent inch=Recipient |
| 2 | **need** | past | the prince | help |  |  |  | whenever *property* | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot help=Theme |
| 3 | **make** | past · perfect · passive |  | help |  |  |  | for that purpose | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: subject=Material for purpose=Beneficiary |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To keep snuff for the king's guards at night

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1293-pg3454-part18:t2:o2:1
# text = To keep snuff for the king's guards at night
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	keep	keep	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	snuff	snuff	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	guards	guard	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
9	at	at	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep** | to-infinitive |  | snuff |  |  | night | for the king's guards | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent snuff=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To call Seven Inches when he needed help

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1293-pg3454-part18:t2:o3:1
# text = To call Seven Inches when he needed help
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	call	call	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	_
3	Seven	seven	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	4	nummod	_	_
4	Inches	inch	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	7	advmod	_	_
6	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	needed	need	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	help	help	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | to-infinitive | he *not said here* | Seven Inches |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent inch=Recipient |
| 2 | **need** | past | he | help |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot help=Theme |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To call Seven Inches when he needed help, and to shrink him back down

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1293-pg3454-part18:t2:o4:1
# text = To call Seven Inches when he needed help, and to shrink him back down
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	call	call	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	Seven	seven	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	4	nummod	_	_
4	Inches	inch	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	7	advmod	_	_
6	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	needed	need	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	advcl	_	_
8	help	help	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	shrink	shrink	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
13	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	_
14	back	back	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
15	down	down	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | to-infinitive |  | Seven Inches |  |  |  |  | vn initiate\_communication-37.4.2-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent inch=Recipient |
| 2 | **need** | past | he | help |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot help=Theme |
| 3 | **shrink** | to-infinitive |  | him *= he* |  |  |  | down *property* | vn bend-45.2 «NP V NP.patient»: agent=Agent he=Patient |

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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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- ← previous: [Irish Fairy Tales, Seven Inches, part…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1293-pg3454-part18/t1/)
- next →: [Irish Fairy Tales, Seven Inches, part…, test 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1293-pg3454-part18/t3/)
- ↑ back to [Irish Fairy Tales, Seven Inches, part 18: the sisters go down the well, and the prince forges three crowns](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1293-pg3454-part18/)