---
title: Describe the situation of the old woman's dwelling and the consequen… — Popular Tales from the Norse, Soria Mo… · tree and pragmatics
description: Describe the situation of the old woman's dwelling and the consequence of this situation for the travellers' prospects, as stated in the text. Exam question 4 of lesson 1512 «Popular Tales from the Norse, Soria Moria Castle, part 9: Halvor's parents know him, then the Princesses vanish and he sets o
---

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# Exam question 4 · Popular Tales from the Norse, Soria Moria Castle, part 9:…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Describe the situation of the old woman's dwelling and the consequence of this situation for the travellers' prospects, as stated in the text.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 1 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, travellers · **What happens:** describe, state, prospect · **To what, where:** situation, text

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 1512 «Popular Tales from the Norse, Soria Moria Castle, part 9: Halvor's parents know him, then the Princesses vanish and he sets out again» 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/1512-pg540-part9/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1512-pg540-part9:e4:1
# text = Describe the situation of the old woman's dwelling and the consequence of this situation for the travellers' prospects, as stated in the text.
1	Describe	describe	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	situation	situation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	woman	woman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	's	's	PART	POS	_	7	case	_	_
9	dwelling	dwelling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	consequence	consequence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	this	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	15	det	_	_
15	situation	situation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	_
16	for	for	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	travellers	traveller	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	20	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	'	's	PART	POS	_	18	case	_	_
20	prospects	prospect	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	23	punct	_	_
22	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	23	mark	_	_
23	stated	state	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	1	advcl	_	_
24	in	in	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
25	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	26	det	_	_
26	text	text	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **describe** | imperative | you *not said here* | the situation of the old woman's dwelling and the consequence of this situation |  |  |  | for the travellers's prospects | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent situation=Theme |
| 2 | **state** *speech: other* | participle | you *not said here* |  |  | the text |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **prospect** |  | the travellers |  |  |  |  |  | nom prospect «state transitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- .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 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cottage was isolated, no Christian folk having come there for over a hundred years, so the travellers could expect no ready guidance.

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1512-pg540-part9:e4:o1:1
# text = The cottage was isolated, no Christian folk having come there for over a hundred years, so the travellers could expect no ready guidance.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cottage	cottage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	isolated	isolated	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
6	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	8	det	_	_
7	Christian	Christian	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	folk	folk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
9	having	have	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	acl	_	_
10	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	_
11	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	10	advmod	_	_
12	for	for	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
13	over	over	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	hundred	hundred	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	16	nummod	_	_
16	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
18	so	so	ADV	RB	_	22	advmod	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	travellers	traveller	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	22	nsubj	_	_
21	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	22	aux	_	_
22	expect	expect	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	parataxis	_	_
23	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	25	det	_	_
24	ready	ready	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	25	amod	_	_
25	guidance	guidance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the cottage |  |  |  |  | no Christian folk *obl*; isolated *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **have** | gerund | no Christian folk *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **come** | infinitive | no Christian folk *not said here* |  |  | there | year |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **expect** | could | the travellers | no ready guidance |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent guidance=Theme |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cottage was isolated deep in the forest beyond the pond and the hills, no Christian folk having come there for over a hundred years, so the travellers, weary and lost, could expect no ready guidance whatsoever from anyone they met.

<!-- fold The tree, 41 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1512-pg540-part9:e4:o2:1
# text = The cottage was isolated deep in the forest beyond the pond and the hills, no Christian folk having come there for over a hundred years, so the travellers, weary and lost, could expect no ready guidance whatsoever from anyone they met.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cottage	cottage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	isolated	isolate	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	deep	deep	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	forest	forest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
9	beyond	beyond	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	pond	pond	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	hills	hill	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
16	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	18	det	_	_
17	Christian	Christian	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	folk	folk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	_
19	having	have	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	18	acl	_	_
20	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	19	xcomp	_	_
21	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	20	advmod	_	_
22	for	for	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
23	over	over	ADV	RB	_	25	advmod	_	_
24	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	25	det	_	_
25	hundred	hundred	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	26	nummod	_	_
26	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	20	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	37	punct	_	_
28	so	so	ADV	RB	_	37	advmod	_	_
29	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	30	det	_	_
30	travellers	traveller	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	37	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
31	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	32	punct	_	_
32	weary	weary	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	30	amod	_	_
33	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	34	cc	_	_
34	lost	lose	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	32	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
35	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	30	punct	_	_
36	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	37	aux	_	_
37	expect	expect	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	parataxis	_	_
38	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	40	det	_	_
39	ready	ready	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	40	amod	_	_
40	guidance	guidance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	37	obj	_	_
41	whatsoever	whatsoever	ADV	RB	_	37	advmod	_	_
42	from	from	ADP	IN	_	43	case	_	_
43	anyone	anyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	37	obl	_	_
44	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	45	nsubj	_	_
45	met	meet	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	43	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
46	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **isolate** | past · passive |  | the cottage |  |  |  | in the forest beyond the pond and the hills and no Christian folk *goal*; deep *property* | vn classify-29.10 «NP V NP PP.goal»: subject=Theme in forest=Goal |
| 2 | **have** | gerund | no Christian folk *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **come** | infinitive | no Christian folk *not said here* |  |  | there | year |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **lose** | participle | the travellers *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 5 | **expect** | could | the travellers | no ready guidance |  | anyone |  | whatsoever *property* | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent guidance=Theme |
| 6 | **meet** | past | travellers *= traveller* |  |  |  |  |  | vn meet-36.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The house stood alone in the woods, and the old folk there had seen no visitors for many seasons, so the party had little hope of help.

<!-- fold The tree, 27 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1512-pg540-part9:e4:o3:1
# text = The house stood alone in the woods, and the old folk there had seen no visitors for many seasons, so the party had little hope of help.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	house	house	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	stood	stand	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	alone	alone	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	woods	wood	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	folk	folk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nsubj:pass	_	_
13	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	12	advmod	_	_
14	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	aux	_	_
15	seen	see	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	advcl	_	_
16	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	17	det	_	_
17	visitors	visitor	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	obj	_	_
18	for	for	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	amod	_	_
20	seasons	season	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	17	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	25	punct	_	_
22	so	so	ADV	RB	_	25	advmod	_	_
23	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
24	party	party	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	nsubj	_	_
25	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
26	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	27	amod	_	_
27	hope	hope	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	obj	_	_
28	of	of	ADP	IN	_	29	case	_	_
29	help	help	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	27	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stand** | past | the house |  |  | the woods |  | alone *property* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent in wood=Location |
| 2 | **see** | past · perfect · passive |  | the old folk |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **have** | past | the party | little hope of help |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent hope=Patient |
| 4 | **hope** |  | help |  |  |  |  |  | nom hope «feeling intransitive»: of=agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The cottage stood far from any road or village, no Christian folk having come there for over a hundred years, so the travellers could expect no ready guidance from anyone at all in that wild country.

<!-- fold The tree, 36 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1512-pg540-part9:e4:o4:1
# text = The cottage stood far from any road or village, no Christian folk having come there for over a hundred years, so the travellers could expect no ready guidance from anyone at all in that wild country.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	cottage	cottage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	stood	stand	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	far	far	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	3	advmod	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	7	det	_	_
7	road	road	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	village	village	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
11	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	13	det	_	_
12	Christian	Christian	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	folk	folk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	_
14	having	have	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	13	acl	_	_
15	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	14	xcomp	_	_
16	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	15	advmod	_	_
17	for	for	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
18	over	over	ADV	RB	_	20	advmod	_	_
19	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	hundred	hundred	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	21	nummod	_	_
21	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	27	punct	_	_
23	so	so	ADV	RB	_	27	advmod	_	_
24	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	25	det	_	_
25	travellers	traveller	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	27	nsubj	_	_
26	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	27	aux	_	_
27	expect	expect	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	parataxis	_	_
28	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	30	det	_	_
29	ready	ready	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	30	amod	_	_
30	guidance	guidance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	27	obj	_	_
31	from	from	ADP	IN	_	32	case	_	_
32	anyone	anyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	27	obl	_	_
33	at	at	ADP	IN	_	34	case	_	_
34	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	32	nmod	_	_
35	in	in	ADP	IN	_	38	case	_	_
36	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	38	det	_	_
37	wild	wild	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	38	amod	_	_
38	country	country	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	34	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
39	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stand** | past | the cottage |  |  | any road or village and no Christian folk |  | far *property* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **have** | gerund | no Christian folk *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **come** | infinitive | no Christian folk *not said here* |  |  | there | year |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **expect** | could | the travellers | no ready guidance |  | anyone |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent guidance=Theme |

<!-- 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 -->

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