---
title: It is stated that the three sisters «lived on treacle». Ascertain th… — Alice in Wonderland, chapter VII, part… · tree and pragmatics
description: It is stated that the three sisters «lived on treacle». Ascertain the condition in which they were consequently said to be. Exam question 2 of lesson 14 «Alice in Wonderland, chapter VII, part 2: A Mad Tea-Party (the treacle-well and the garden at last)» of the books course of Mova's primary school,
---

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# Exam question 2 · Alice in Wonderland, chapter VII, part 2: A Mad Tea-Party…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It is stated that the three sisters «lived on treacle». Ascertain the condition in which they were consequently said to be.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** three sisters, you · **What happens:** state, live, ascertain, say, be · **To what, where:** It, treacle, condition, sisters · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 14 «Alice in Wonderland, chapter VII, part 2: A Mad Tea-Party (the treacle-well and the garden at last)» 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/14-alice-a-mad-tea-party-2/#e2).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* It is stated that the three sisters «lived on treacle».

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:14-alice-a-mad-tea-party-2:e2:1
# text = It is stated that the three sisters «lived on treacle».
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	stated	state	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	7	nummod	_	_
7	sisters	sister	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
8	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	lived	live	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
10	on	on	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	treacle	treacle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **state** *speech: other* | present · passive |  | It |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: subject=Topic |
| 2 | **live** *in a quote* | past | the three sisters |  |  | treacle |  |  | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on treacle=Location |

<!-- .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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* Ascertain the condition in which they were consequently said to be.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:14-alice-a-mad-tea-party-2:e2:2
# text = Ascertain the condition in which they were consequently said to be.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	condition	condition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	obl	_	_
6	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
7	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux:pass	_	_
8	consequently	consequently	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	said	say	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl:relcl	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	be	be	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* | the condition |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent condition=Topic |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past · passive |  | sisters *= sister* |  | the condition |  | consequently *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **be** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Very ill

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:14-alice-a-mad-tea-party-2:e2:o1:1
# text = Very ill
1	Very	very	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	ill	ill	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sick

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:14-alice-a-mad-tea-party-2:e2:o2:1
# text = Sick
1	Sick	sick	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ill

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:14-alice-a-mad-tea-party-2:e2:o3:1
# text = Ill
1	Ill	ill	ADV	RB	_	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Quite cross

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:14-alice-a-mad-tea-party-2:e2:o4:1
# text = Quite cross
1	Quite	quite	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
2	cross	cross	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cross** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V»: agent=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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