---
title: By what means did the Duchess's beating fail to injure the Princess? — Blue Fairy Book, Princess Graciosa and… · tree and pragmatics
description: By what means did the Duchess's beating fail to injure the Princess? Exam question 3 of lesson 1542 «Blue Fairy Book, Princess Graciosa and Prince Percinet, part 39: feathers instead of rods, a forest, and a crystal palace» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and p
---

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# Exam question 3 · Blue Fairy Book, Princess Graciosa and Prince Percinet, pa…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By what means did the Duchess's beating fail to injure the Princess?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **What happens:** mean, do, injure · **To what, where:** beating fail, Princess · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 1542 «Blue Fairy Book, Princess Graciosa and Prince Percinet, part 39: feathers instead of rods, a forest, and a crystal palace» 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/1542-pg540-part39/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1542-pg540-part39:e3:1
# text = By what means did the Duchess's beating fail to injure the Princess?
1	By	by	SCONJ	IN	_	3	mark	_	_
2	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	3	nsubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	Duchess	Duchess	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	beating	beating	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	fail	fail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	injure	injure	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	acl	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	Princess	princess	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	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 clause=Topic |
| 2 | **do** | past |  | the Duchess's beating fail |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fail=Eventuality |
| 3 | **injure** | to-infinitive |  | the Princess |  |  |  |  | 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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
the rods were transformed into peacock's feathers by Percinet's magic before they could touch her skin

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1542-pg540-part39:e3:o1:1
# text = the rods were transformed into peacock's feathers by Percinet's magic before they could touch her skin
1	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	rods	rod	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	transformed	transform	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	into	into	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	peacock	peacock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	feathers	feather	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
9	by	by	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	Percinet	Percinet	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	's	's	PART	POS	_	10	case	_	_
12	magic	magic	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
13	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
14	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
15	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	16	aux	_	_
16	touch	touch	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	advcl	_	_
17	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	18	nmod:poss	_	_
18	skin	skin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **transform** | past · passive | Percinet's magic | the rods |  |  |  | into peacock's feathers *result* | vn turn-26.6.1 «NP V NP.patient PP.result»: agent=Agent subject=Patient into feather=Result |
| 2 | **touch** | could | rods *= rod* | Percinet's skin |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme skin=Co-Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
the rods were transformed into peacock's feathers

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1542-pg540-part39:e3:o2:1
# text = the rods were transformed into peacock's feathers
1	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	rods	rod	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	transformed	transform	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	into	into	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	peacock	peacock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	feathers	feather	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **transform** | past · passive |  | the rods |  |  |  | into peacock's feathers *result* | vn turn-26.6.1 «NP V NP.patient PP.result»: subject=Patient into feather=Result |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
the rods were transformed into peacock's feathers, and the Duchess's women fainted from fright at the sight

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1542-pg540-part39:e3:o3:1
# text = the rods were transformed into peacock's feathers, and the Duchess's women fainted from fright at the sight
1	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	rods	rod	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	transformed	transform	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	into	into	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	peacock	peacock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	feathers	feather	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	Duchess	Duchess	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	14	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	's	's	PART	POS	_	12	case	_	_
14	women	woman	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	nsubj	_	_
15	fainted	faint	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
16	from	from	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	fright	fright	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obl	_	_
18	at	at	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	sight	sight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **transform** | past · passive |  | the rods |  |  |  | into peacock's feathers *result* | vn turn-26.6.1 «NP V NP.patient PP.result»: subject=Patient into feather=Result |
| 2 | **faint** | past | the Duchess's women |  |  |  |  | at the sight; from fright | vn change\_bodily\_state-40.8.4 «NP V PP.stimulus»: agent=Experiencer from fright=Stimulus |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
the women refused to strike her at all

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1542-pg540-part39:e3:o4:1
# text = the women refused to strike her at all
1	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	women	woman	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	refused	refuse	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	strike	strike	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	_
7	at	at	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **refuse** | past | the women |  |  |  |  |  | vn reject-77.2 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **not** **strike** | to-infinitive | the women *not said here* | her *= she* |  | all |  |  | 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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- ← previous: [Blue Fairy Book, Princess Graciosa and…, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1542-pg540-part39/e2/)
- next →: [Blue Fairy Book, Princess Graciosa and…, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1542-pg540-part39/e4/)
- ↑ back to [Blue Fairy Book, Princess Graciosa and Prince Percinet, part 39: feathers instead of rods, a forest, and a crystal palace](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1542-pg540-part39/)