---
title: By what means did the herd-boy finally secure the hand of his master… — Yellow Fairy Book, The Giants and the… · tree and pragmatics
description: By what means did the herd-boy finally secure the hand of his master's daughter in marriage? Exam question 2 of lesson 1695 «Yellow Fairy Book, The Giants and the Herd-boy: a poor herd-boy helps a wounded giant, gets a magic loaf and an invisible belt, and wins his master's daughter» of the books co
---

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# Exam question 2 · Yellow Fairy Book, The Giants and the Herd-boy: a poor her…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By what means did the herd-boy finally secure the hand of his master's daughter in marriage?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** herd boy · **What happens:** mean, do, secure · **To what, where:** herd boy, hand · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 1695 «Yellow Fairy Book, The Giants and the Herd-boy: a poor herd-boy helps a wounded giant, gets a magic loaf and an invisible belt, and wins his master's daughter» 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/1695-pg640-part19/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1695-pg640-part19:e2:1
# text = By what means did the herd-boy finally secure the hand of his master's daughter in marriage?
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	8	det	_	_
6	herd	herd	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
9	finally	finally	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	secure	secure	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	hand	hand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
14	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
15	master	master	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	's	's	PART	POS	_	15	case	_	_
17	daughter	daughter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	_
18	in	in	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
19	marriage	marriage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	?	?	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 herd boy |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent boy=Eventuality |
| 3 | **secure** | past | the herd boy *not said here* | the hand of boy's master's daughter in marriage |  |  |  | finally *property* | vn ensure-99 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition hand=Theme |

<!-- .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 -->
He returned with a fine coach and requested her hand from his master

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1695-pg640-part19:e2:o1:1
# text = He returned with a fine coach and requested her hand from his master
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	returned	return	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	with	with	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	fine	fine	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	coach	coach	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	requested	request	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
9	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	hand	hand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	from	from	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	master	master	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **return** | past | He |  |  |  |  | with a fine coach | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **request** | past | He *not said here* | her hand |  | his master |  |  | vn beg-58.2 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent hand=Recipient |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He brought the giant along as a witness and asked the lord for permission to marry the girl at the feast

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1695-pg640-part19:e2:o2:1
# text = He brought the giant along as a witness and asked the lord for permission to marry the girl at the feast
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	brought	bring	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	giant	giant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	along	along	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
6	as	as	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	witness	witness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	asked	ask	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	lord	lord	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
13	for	for	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	permission	permission	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	marry	marry	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	xcomp	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	girl	girl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obj	_	_
19	at	at	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
20	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
21	feast	feast	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bring** | past | He |  | the giant |  |  | as a witness; along *property* | vn bring-11.3-1 «NP V NP ADVP»: agent=Instrument giant=Destination |
| 2 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | He *not said here* |  | the lord |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP whether S\_INF»: agent=Agent lord=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 3 | **marry** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | the girl |  | the feast |  |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent girl=Patient |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He returned with a fine coach, a chest of gold, and asked the lord formally for her hand in front of all the court

<!-- fold The tree, 24 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1695-pg640-part19:e2:o3:1
# text = He returned with a fine coach, a chest of gold, and asked the lord formally for her hand in front of all the court
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	returned	return	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	with	with	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
4	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
5	fine	fine	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	6	amod	_	_
6	coach	coach	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	chest	chest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	conj	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	gold	gold	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	asked	ask	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	lord	lord	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	_
17	formally	formally	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
18	for	for	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	20	nmod:poss	_	_
20	hand	hand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	_
21	in	in	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
22	front	front	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	_
23	of	of	ADP	IN	_	26	case	_	_
24	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	26	det:predet	_	_
25	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	26	det	_	_
26	court	court	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **return** | past | He |  |  |  |  | with a fine coach and a chest of gold | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | He *not said here* |  | the lord | front of all court |  | for her hand; formally *property* | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent lord=Recipient |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He sold the gold and then asked the lord for her hand in marriage

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1695-pg640-part19:e2:o4:1
# text = He sold the gold and then asked the lord for her hand in marriage
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sold	sell	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	gold	gold	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
6	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	7	advmod	_	_
7	asked	ask	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	lord	lord	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	for	for	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	hand	hand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
14	marriage	marriage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sell** | past | He | the gold |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent gold=Theme |
| 2 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | He *not said here* |  | the lord | marriage | then | for her hand | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent lord=Recipient |

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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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