---
title: In what manner did the chief of police respond to the merchant's cla… — Arabian Nights, The Story of the Hunch… · tree and pragmatics
description: In what manner did the chief of police respond to the merchant's claim that he had been attacked by a thief? Exam question 2 of lesson 192 «Arabian Nights, The Story of the Hunchback, part 32: a dead hunchback is passed from house to house, and three innocent men nearly hang» of the books course of 
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/192-pg128-part32/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 Story of the Hunch…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/192-pg128-part32/) / e2

# Exam question 2 · Arabian Nights, The Story of the Hunchback, part 32: a dea…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In what manner did the chief of police respond to the merchant's claim that he had been attacked by a thief?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 2 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** police, thief, merchant · **What happens:** do, respond, attack, claim · **To what, where:** chief, manner, claim, he

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 192 «Arabian Nights, The Story of the Hunchback, part 32: a dead hunchback is passed from house to house, and three innocent men nearly hang» 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/192-pg128-part32/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:192-pg128-part32:e2:1
# text = In what manner did the chief of police respond to the merchant's claim that he had been attacked by a thief?
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	what	what	DET	WDT	PronType=Int	3	det	_	_
3	manner	manner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
4	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	chief	chief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	nsubj	_	_
9	respond	respond	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	_
10	to	to	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	merchant	merchant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	's	's	PART	POS	_	12	case	_	_
14	claim	claim	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
15	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	19	mark	_	_
16	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	19	nsubj:pass	_	_
17	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	19	aux	_	_
18	been	be	AUX	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	19	aux:pass	_	_
19	attacked	attack	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	14	acl	_	_
20	by	by	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
21	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	thief	thief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | past |  | the chief |  | what manner |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent chief=Eventuality |
| 2 | **respond** *speech: other* | present | police | the chief *not said here* | the merchant's claim |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent chief=Topic to claim=Recipient |
| 3 | **attack** | past · perfect · passive | a thief | he |  |  |  |  | vn attack-60.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Patient |
| 4 | **claim** |  | the merchant |  |  |  |  |  | nom claim «communication 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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He laughed and dismissed the merchant's claim

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:192-pg128-part32:e2:o1:1
# text = He laughed and dismissed the merchant's claim
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	laughed	laugh	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	dismissed	dismiss	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	merchant	merchant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	claim	claim	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **laugh** | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **dismiss** | past | He *not said here* | the merchant's claim |  |  |  |  | vn banish-10.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent claim=Theme |
| 3 | **claim** |  | the merchant |  |  |  |  |  | nom claim «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He arrested the merchant and held him until the judge could attend

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:192-pg128-part32:e2:o2:1
# text = He arrested the merchant and held him until the judge could attend
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	arrested	arrest	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	merchant	merchant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
6	held	hold	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
7	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	until	until	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	judge	judge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
11	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	12	aux	_	_
12	attend	attend	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **arrest** | past | He | the merchant |  |  |  |  | vn prosecute-33.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent merchant=Patient |
| 2 | **hold** | past | He *not said here* | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |
| 3 | **attend** | could | the judge |  |  |  |  |  | vn caring-75.2-1-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He asked the merchant for proof of the attack

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:192-pg128-part32:e2:o3:1
# text = He asked the merchant for proof of the attack
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	asked	ask	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	merchant	merchant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	proof	proof	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	attack	attack	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | He | the merchant |  |  |  | for proof of the attack | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent merchant=Recipient |
| 2 | **proof** |  |  | the attack |  |  |  |  | nom proof «cognition transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He demanded a full confession from the merchant

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:192-pg128-part32:e2:o4:1
# text = He demanded a full confession from the merchant
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	demanded	demand	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	confession	confession	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	from	from	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	merchant	merchant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **demand** *speech: request* | past | He | a full confession |  | the merchant |  |  | vn require-103-1 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Theme confession=Precondition from merchant=Source |

<!-- 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 Story of the Hunch…, exam 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/192-pg128-part32/e1/)
- next →: [Arabian Nights, The Story of the Hunch…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/192-pg128-part32/e3/)
- ↑ back to [Arabian Nights, The Story of the Hunchback, part 32: a dead hunchback is passed from house to house, and three innocent men nearly hang](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/192-pg128-part32/)