---
title: By what means did the witch threaten to reduce the young man to a st… — Fairy Book, The Two Brothers, part 38:… · tree and pragmatics
description: By what means did the witch threaten to reduce the young man to a state of stone? Exam question 2 of lesson 1649 «Fairy Book, The Two Brothers, part 38: a false slave steals the credit, then a brother rescues the other from a witch» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency t
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1649-pg5615-part38/e2/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [questions](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/) / [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/) / [Fairy Book, The Two Brothers, part 38:…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1649-pg5615-part38/) / e2

# Exam question 2 · Fairy Book, The Two Brothers, part 38: a false slave steal…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By what means did the witch threaten to reduce the young man to a state of stone?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **What happens:** mean, do, threaten, reduce · **To what, where:** witch, young man, state · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 1649 «Fairy Book, The Two Brothers, part 38: a false slave steals the credit, then a brother rescues the other from a witch» 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/1649-pg5615-part38/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1649-pg5615-part38:e2:1
# text = By what means did the witch threaten to reduce the young man to a state of stone?
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	witch	witch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	threaten	threaten	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	xcomp	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	reduce	reduce	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	xcomp	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
13	to	to	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	state	state	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
16	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	stone	stone	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	?	?	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 witch |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **threaten** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **reduce** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | the young man |  |  |  | to a state of stone *goal* | vn limit-76 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Causer man=Patient to state=Goal |

<!-- .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 -->
By a potion poured from her silver flask

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1649-pg5615-part38:e2:o1:1
# text = By a potion poured from her silver flask
1	By	by	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	potion	potion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	poured	pour	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
6	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
7	silver	silver	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	flask	flask	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pour** | participle |  | a potion *not said here* |  | her silver flask |  |  | vn substance\_emission-43.4-1 «NP.theme V PP.source»: agent=Theme from flask=Source |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By a single hair plucked from her head and cast upon him

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1649-pg5615-part38:e2:o2:1
# text = By a single hair plucked from her head and cast upon him
1	By	by	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	single	single	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	hair	hair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
5	plucked	pluck	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
6	from	from	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
10	cast	cast	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pluck** | participle |  | a single hair *not said here* |  | hair's head |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent from head=Source |
| 2 | **cast** | past | a single hair |  |  |  |  | upon him *= he* | vn throw-17.1 «NP V NP PP.destinations»: agent=Agent upon he=Destination |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By a single hair plucked from her head

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1649-pg5615-part38:e2:o3:1
# text = By a single hair plucked from her head
1	By	by	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	single	single	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	hair	hair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	plucked	pluck	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
6	from	from	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pluck** | participle |  | a single hair *not said here* |  | her head |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent from head=Source |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By a single hair plucked from her head, after she had cursed him three times in the dark

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1649-pg5615-part38:e2:o4:1
# text = By a single hair plucked from her head, after she had cursed him three times in the dark
1	By	by	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
2	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
3	single	single	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	hair	hair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	plucked	pluck	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
6	from	from	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
10	after	after	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
11	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj:pass	_	_
12	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
13	cursed	curse	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	conj	_	_
14	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	obj	_	_
15	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	16	nummod	_	_
16	times	time	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	obl:unmarked	_	_
17	in	in	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	dark	dark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pluck** | participle |  | a single hair *not said here* |  | her head |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent from head=Source |
| 2 | **curse** | past · perfect · passive |  | she |  | the dark | time |  | tree rules |

<!-- 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [Fairy Book, The Two Brothers, part 38:…, exam 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1649-pg5615-part38/e1/)
- next →: [Fairy Book, The Two Brothers, part 38:…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1649-pg5615-part38/e3/)
- ↑ back to [Fairy Book, The Two Brothers, part 38: a false slave steals the credit, then a brother rescues the other from a witch](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1649-pg5615-part38/)