---
title: State the reason the guards gave for refusing the soldier entry to t… — fairy tales (pg7277), The Little Soldi… · tree and pragmatics
description: State the reason the guards gave for refusing the soldier entry to the palace. Exam question 2 of lesson 1900 «fairy tales (pg7277), The Little Soldier, part 37: John buys a golden coach, plays cards with the King, and loses his purse and cloak to Ludovine» of the books course of Mova's primary scho
---

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# Exam question 2 · fairy tales (pg7277), The Little Soldier, part 37: John bu…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
State the reason the guards gave for refusing the soldier entry to the palace.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** State reason · **What happens:** give, refuse · **To what, where:** soldier entry

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 1900 «fairy tales (pg7277), The Little Soldier, part 37: John buys a golden coach, plays cards with the King, and loses his purse and cloak to Ludovine» 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/1900-pg7277-part37/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1900-pg7277-part37:e2:1
# text = State the reason the guards gave for refusing the soldier entry to the palace.
1	State	state	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	guards	guard	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
6	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
8	refusing	refuse	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	advcl	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	soldier	soldier	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	entry	entry	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
12	to	to	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	palace	palace	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past | the State reason |  |  |  |  |  | vn break\_down-45.8 «NP V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **refuse** | gerund | the State reason *not said here* | the soldier entry |  |  |  | to the palace | vn reject-77.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent entry=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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They had strict orders from the King to admit no stranger in rags, and so they refused to let him pass the gate

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1900-pg7277-part37:e2:o1:1
# text = They had strict orders from the King to admit no stranger in rags, and so they refused to let him pass the gate
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	strict	strict	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	orders	order	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	from	from	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	King	King	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
8	to	to	PART	TO	_	9	mark	_	_
9	admit	admit	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
10	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	11	det	_	_
11	stranger	stranger	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
12	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	rags	rag	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
16	so	so	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
17	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
18	refused	refuse	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
19	to	to	PART	TO	_	20	mark	_	_
20	let	let	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	18	xcomp	_	_
21	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	20	obj	_	_
22	pass	pass	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	20	xcomp	_	_
23	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
24	gate	gate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | They | strict orders |  |  |  | from the King | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent order=Patient |
| 2 | **admit** *speech: other* | to-infinitive | They *not said here* | no stranger |  | rags |  |  | vn admit-64.3-1 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent stranger=Theme in rag=Location |
| 3 | **refuse** | past | orders *= order* |  |  |  |  |  | vn reject-77.2 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 4 | **not** **let** | to-infinitive | orders *= order* *not said here* | King |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **pass** | infinitive | King *not said here* | the gate |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1-3 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme gate=Trajectory |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They suspected him of lying, and so would not admit him

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1900-pg7277-part37:e2:o2:1
# text = They suspected him of lying, and so would not admit him
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	suspected	suspect	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	of	of	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
5	lying	lie	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
8	so	so	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
9	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
10	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	11	advmod	_	_
11	admit	admit	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	conj	_	_
12	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **suspect** | past | They | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V NP ADJ»: agent=Agent he=Attribute |
| 2 | **lie** | gerund | They *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **not** **admit** *speech: other* | would | They *not said here* | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | vn admit-64.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They judged him to be a thief, and so barred the gate

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1900-pg7277-part37:e2:o3:1
# text = They judged him to be a thief, and so barred the gate
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	judged	judge	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	cop	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	thief	thief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
10	so	so	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	barred	bar	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	gate	gate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **judge** | past | They | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | vn estimate-34.2-1-1 «NP V NP.value»: agent=Agent he=Value |
| 2 | **is a** | to-infinitive | They *not said here* | a thief |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **bar** | past | They *not said here* | the gate |  |  |  |  | vn forbid-64.4-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer gate=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They believed him to be mad, and so refused to let him pass

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1900-pg7277-part37:e2:o4:1
# text = They believed him to be mad, and so refused to let him pass
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	believed	believe	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	6	mark	_	_
5	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	cop	_	_
6	mad	mad	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	so	so	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	refused	refuse	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	let	let	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	xcomp	_	_
13	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	_
14	pass	pass	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **believe** | past | They | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer he=Stimulus |
| 2 | **is** | to-infinitive | They *not said here* |  |  |  |  | mad *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **refuse** | past | They *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn reject-77.2 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 4 | **not** **let** | to-infinitive | They *not said here* | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **pass** | infinitive | him *= he* *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

<!-- 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 -->

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