---
title: What was the principal motive of the uncle upon discovering the bodi… — Arabian Nights, The Three Calenders, p… · tree and pragmatics
description: What was the principal motive of the uncle upon discovering the bodies in the chamber? Exam question 2 of lesson 172 «Arabian Nights, The Three Calenders, part 12: the prince loses his eye, his father's throne is taken, and the lovers' tomb is found» of the books course of Mova's primary school, wit
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/172-pg128-part12/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/) / [Arabian Nights, The Three Calenders, p…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/172-pg128-part12/) / e2

# Exam question 2 · Arabian Nights, The Three Calenders, part 12: the prince l…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What was the principal motive of the uncle upon discovering the bodies in the chamber?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** principal motive, uncle · **What happens:** be, discover · **To what, where:** bodies, chamber

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 172 «Arabian Nights, The Three Calenders, part 12: the prince loses his eye, his father's throne is taken, and the lovers' tomb is found» 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/172-pg128-part12/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:172-pg128-part12:e2:1
# text = What was the principal motive of the uncle upon discovering the bodies in the chamber?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	0	root	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	1	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	motive	motive	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nsubj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	uncle	uncle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
9	upon	upon	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
10	discovering	discover	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	acl	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	bodies	body	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	chamber	chamber	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | the principal motive of the uncle |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **discover** | gerund | the uncle *not said here* | the bodies |  | the chamber |  |  | vn discover-84-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent body=Topic |

<!-- .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 -->
Fury that his son had broken a sacred oath to the crown and the gods

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:172-pg128-part12:e2:o1:1
# text = Fury that his son had broken a sacred oath to the crown and the gods
1	Fury	fury	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	6	obj	_	_
3	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	son	son	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj:pass	_	_
5	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	broken	break	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	1	acl:relcl	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	sacred	sacred	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	oath	oath	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
10	to	to	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	crown	crown	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	gods	god	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	12	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **break** | past · perfect · passive |  | his son |  |  |  | to the crown and the gods | tree rules |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Sorrow at the loss of the prince's favourite horse

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:172-pg128-part12:e2:o2:1
# text = Sorrow at the loss of the prince's favourite horse
1	Sorrow	sorrow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	at	at	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	loss	loss	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	prince	prince	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	's	's	PART	POS	_	7	case	_	_
9	favourite	favourite	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	horse	horse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
```

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

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Disgust at the lady's low birth and the foreign customs she had brought to court

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:172-pg128-part12:e2:o3:1
# text = Disgust at the lady's low birth and the foreign customs she had brought to court
1	Disgust	disgust	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	lady	lady	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	low	low	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	birth	birth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	foreign	foreign	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	customs	custom	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	conj	_	_
12	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nsubj	_	_
13	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
14	brought	bring	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	1	acl:relcl	_	_
15	to	to	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	court	court	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bring** | past · perfect | she | Disgust at the lady's low birth and the foreign customs *not said here* |  | court |  |  | vn bring-11.3-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent disgust=Theme to court=Destination |

### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Anger at his son's attachment to a woman he could not wed

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:172-pg128-part12:e2:o4:1
# text = Anger at his son's attachment to a woman he could not wed
1	Anger	anger	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
3	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	son	son	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	attachment	attachment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	_
7	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	woman	woman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
10	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
11	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
12	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	13	advmod	_	_
13	wed	wed	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	acl:relcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **wed** | could | he | a woman *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn amalgamate-22.2-3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent woman=Patient |
| 2 | **attach** |  | his son |  |  |  |  | to a woman | nom attachment «feeling transitive»: poss=agent to=obl |

<!-- 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: [Arabian Nights, The Three Calenders, p…, exam 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/172-pg128-part12/e1/)
- next →: [Arabian Nights, The Three Calenders, p…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/172-pg128-part12/e3/)
- ↑ back to [Arabian Nights, The Three Calenders, part 12: the prince loses his eye, his father's throne is taken, and the lovers' tomb is found](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/172-pg128-part12/)