---
title: Explain by what means the goblin first obtained knowledge of the stu… — Andersen's Tales, The Goblin and the G… · tree and pragmatics
description: Explain by what means the goblin first obtained knowledge of the student's poetry, and identify the object which first gave voice to its opinion. Exam question 3 of lesson 1614 «Andersen's Tales, The Goblin and the Grocer: the goblin borrows a tongue and saves a book from fire» of the books course o
---

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# Exam question 3 · Andersen's Tales, The Goblin and the Grocer: the goblin bo…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Explain by what means the goblin first obtained knowledge of the student's poetry, and identify the object which first gave voice to its opinion.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, goblin, object, voice · **What happens:** explain, mean, obtain, identify, give, opine · **To what, where:** goblin, knowledge, object, voice, opinion · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 1614 «Andersen's Tales, The Goblin and the Grocer: the goblin borrows a tongue and saves a book from fire» 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/1614-pg5615-part3/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1614-pg5615-part3:e3:1
# text = Explain by what means the goblin first obtained knowledge of the student's poetry, and identify the object which first gave voice to its opinion.
1	Explain	explain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	4	mark	_	_
3	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	nsubj	_	_
4	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	ccomp	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	goblin	goblin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	8	advmod	_	_
8	obtained	obtain	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
9	knowledge	knowledge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	student	student	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	's	's	PART	POS	_	12	case	_	_
14	poetry	poetry	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
17	identify	identify	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	advcl	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	object	object	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	_
20	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	22	nsubj	_	_
21	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	22	advmod	_	_
22	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	19	acl:relcl	_	_
23	voice	voice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obj	_	_
24	to	to	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
25	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	26	nmod:poss	_	_
26	opinion	opinion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
27	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **explain** *speech: assert* | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  | the goblin |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent goblin=Topic |
| 3 | **obtain** | past | the goblin *not said here* | knowledge of the student's poetry |  |  |  | first *property* | vn obtain-13.5.2-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset knowledge=Theme |
| 4 | **identify** | infinitive | you *not said here* | the object |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent object=Theme |
| 5 | **give** | past | the object | voice | voice's opinion |  |  | first *property* | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent voice=Theme to opinion=Recipient |
| 6 | **opine** |  | voice |  |  |  |  |  | nom opinion «cognition 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 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He heard the student read aloud, and the tub spoke before the wife did

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1614-pg5615-part3:e3:o1:1
# text = He heard the student read aloud, and the tub spoke before the wife did
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	heard	hear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	student	student	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	read	read	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
6	aloud	aloud	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	tub	tub	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
11	spoke	speak	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	parataxis	_	_
12	before	before	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
15	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hear** | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 2 | **read** | past | the student |  |  |  |  | aloud *property* | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **speak** *speech: other* | past | the tub |  |  |  | before the wife |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **do** | past | He *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He first borrowed the grocer's wife's tongue from the cellar drawer, and then the waste-paper tub spoke first of all

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1614-pg5615-part3:e3:o2:1
# text = He first borrowed the grocer's wife's tongue from the cellar drawer, and then the waste-paper tub spoke first of all
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	3	advmod	_	_
3	borrowed	borrow	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	grocer	grocer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	's	's	PART	POS	_	5	case	_	_
7	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	's	's	PART	POS	_	7	case	_	_
9	tongue	tongue	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
10	from	from	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	cellar	cellar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	_
13	drawer	drawer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	22	cc	_	_
16	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	22	advmod	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
18	waste	waste	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	paper	paper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	compound	_	_
21	tub	tub	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	nsubj	_	_
22	spoke	speak	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
23	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	22	advmod	_	_
24	of	of	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
25	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	22	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **borrow** | past | He | the grocer's wife's tongue |  | the cellar drawer |  | first *property* | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent tongue=Theme from drawer=Source |
| 2 | **speak** *speech: other* | past | the paper tub |  |  |  | then | of all; first *property* | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He borrowed the wife's tongue, and the waste-paper tub spoke first

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1614-pg5615-part3:e3:o3:1
# text = He borrowed the wife's tongue, and the waste-paper tub spoke first
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	borrowed	borrow	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	tongue	tongue	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
10	waste	waste	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	paper	paper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	_
13	tub	tub	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj	_	_
14	spoke	speak	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	parataxis	_	_
15	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	14	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **borrow** | past | He | the wife's tongue |  |  |  |  | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tongue=Theme |
| 2 | **speak** *speech: other* | past | the paper tub |  |  |  |  | first *property* | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He found a book, and the till spoke first

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1614-pg5615-part3:e3:o4:1
# text = He found a book, and the till spoke first
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	found	find	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	book	book	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	till	till	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
9	spoke	speak	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	parataxis	_	_
10	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	9	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **find** | past | He | a book |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent book=Topic |
| 2 | **speak** *speech: other* | past | the till |  |  |  |  | first *property* | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: 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.

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