---
title: What was the principal cause of the Velveteen Rabbit's loss of fur a… — Velveteen Rabbit, The Velveteen Rabbit… · tree and pragmatics
description: What was the principal cause of the Velveteen Rabbit's loss of fur and shape? Exam question 3 of lesson 159 «Velveteen Rabbit, The Velveteen Rabbit, part 2: the Rabbit meets two wild rabbits, is called germs, and is thrown out» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree a
---

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# Exam question 3 · Velveteen Rabbit, The Velveteen Rabbit, part 2: the Rabbit…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What was the principal cause of the Velveteen Rabbit's loss of fur and shape?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **What happens:** be · **To what, where:** principal cause

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 159 «Velveteen Rabbit, The Velveteen Rabbit, part 2: the Rabbit meets two wild rabbits, is called germs, and is thrown out» 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/159-pg11757-part2/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:159-pg11757-part2:e3:1
# text = What was the principal cause of the Velveteen Rabbit's loss of fur and shape?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	5	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	cause	cause	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	Velveteen	Velveteen	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	Rabbit	Rabbit	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	's	's	PART	POS	_	9	case	_	_
11	loss	loss	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	fur	fur	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	shape	shape	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past |  | the principal cause |  |  |  | of the Velveteen Rabbit's loss of fur and shape | 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 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The excessive affection of the Boy

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:159-pg11757-part2:e3:o1:1
# text = The excessive affection of the Boy
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	excessive	excessive	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	affection	affection	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	Boy	Boy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
```

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

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The constant washing by the nurse

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:159-pg11757-part2:e3:o2:1
# text = The constant washing by the nurse
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	constant	constant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	washing	washing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	nurse	nurse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wash** |  | the nurse |  |  |  |  |  | nom washing «act transitive»: by=agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Boy's excessive love and cuddling day and night over many months

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:159-pg11757-part2:e3:o3:1
# text = The Boy's excessive love and cuddling day and night over many months
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Boy	Boy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	excessive	excessive	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	love	love	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	cuddling	cuddle	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	conj	_	_
8	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	_
11	over	over	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	months	month	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cuddle** | gerund |  |  |  |  | day; month |  | vn marry-36.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **love** |  | the Boy |  |  |  |  |  | nom love «feeling transitive»: poss=agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The long time spent in the sack and the damp garden grass

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:159-pg11757-part2:e3:o4:1
# text = The long time spent in the sack and the damp garden grass
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	spent	spend	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	3	acl	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	sack	sack	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
10	damp	damp	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
11	garden	garden	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	grass	grass	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **spend** | participle |  | the long time *not said here* |  | the sack and the damp garden grass |  |  | vn consume-66-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

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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: [Velveteen Rabbit, The Velveteen Rabbit…, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/159-pg11757-part2/e2/)
- next →: [Velveteen Rabbit, The Velveteen Rabbit…, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/159-pg11757-part2/e4/)
- ↑ back to [Velveteen Rabbit, The Velveteen Rabbit, part 2: the Rabbit meets two wild rabbits, is called germs, and is thrown out](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/159-pg11757-part2/)