---
title: What does the sea's changing colour signify in relation to the floun… — Grimm's Household Tales, The Fisherman… · tree and pragmatics
description: What does the sea's changing colour signify in relation to the flounder's compliance with the wishes, as recorded in the passage? Exam question 3 of lesson 1937 «Grimm's Household Tales, The Fisherman and His Wife, part 1: a greedy wife keeps asking the flounder for more» of the books course of Mova
---

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# Exam question 3 · Grimm's Household Tales, The Fisherman and His Wife, part…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What does the sea's changing colour signify in relation to the flounder's compliance with the wishes, as recorded in the passage?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** changing colour, flounder · **What happens:** change, signify, record, comply · **To what, where:** passage

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 1937 «Grimm's Household Tales, The Fisherman and His Wife, part 1: a greedy wife keeps asking the flounder for more» 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/1937-pg7277-part74/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1937-pg7277-part74:e3:1
# text = What does the sea's changing colour signify in relation to the flounder's compliance with the wishes, as recorded in the passage?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	8	obj	_	_
2	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	changing	change	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	amod	_	_
7	colour	colour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
8	signify	signify	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	relation	relation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
11	to	to	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	flounder	flounder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	's	's	PART	POS	_	13	case	_	_
15	compliance	compliance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
16	with	with	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	wishes	wish	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	15	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
20	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	21	mark	_	_
21	recorded	record	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	parataxis	_	_
22	in	in	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
23	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
24	passage	passage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **change** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **signify** | present · do-support | the sea's changing colour |  |  |  |  | to the flounder's compliance with the wishes; in relation | vn representation-110.1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Pivot what=Theme in relation=Attribute |
| 3 | **record** | participle |  |  |  | the passage |  |  | vn scribble-25.2-1 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent in passage=Destination |
| 4 | **comply** |  | the flounder |  |  |  |  | with the wishes | nom compliance «act intransitive»: poss=agent with=obl |

<!-- .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 -->
It marks the fisherman's growing fear, as the sea turns grey and the wind rises at each wish.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1937-pg7277-part74:e3:o1:1
# text = It marks the fisherman's growing fear, as the sea turns grey and the wind rises at each wish.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	marks	mark	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	fisherman	fisherman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	growing	grow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	7	amod	_	_
7	fear	fear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
9	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
12	turns	turn	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	parataxis	_	_
13	grey	grey	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	xcomp	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	wind	wind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nsubj	_	_
17	rises	rise	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	12	conj	_	_
18	at	at	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	20	det	_	_
20	wish	wish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mark** | present | It | the fisherman's growing fear |  |  |  |  | vn image\_impression-25.1 «NP V NP.destination»: agent=Agent fear=Destination |
| 2 | **grow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **turn** | present | the sea |  |  |  |  | grey *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **rise** | present | the wind |  |  | each wish |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent at wish=Location |
| 5 | **fear** |  | the fisherman |  |  |  |  |  | nom fear «feeling transitive»: poss=agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The changing colour marks the flounder's response, as the sea turns violet, dark-grey and heaving with each request, while the fisherman stands weeping on the cold wet sand and wonders why.

<!-- fold The tree, 33 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1937-pg7277-part74:e3:o2:1
# text = The changing colour marks the flounder's response, as the sea turns violet, dark-grey and heaving with each request, while the fisherman stands weeping on the cold wet sand and wonders why.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	changing	change	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	amod	_	_
3	colour	colour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	marks	mark	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	flounder	flounder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	response	response	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
10	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
13	turns	turn	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	parataxis	_	_
14	violet	violet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
16	dark	dark	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	grey	grey	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	parataxis	_	_
19	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	heaving	heave	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	18	conj	_	_
21	with	with	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
22	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	23	det	_	_
23	request	request	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	28	punct	_	_
25	while	while	SCONJ	IN	_	28	mark	_	_
26	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	27	det	_	_
27	fisherman	fisherman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	28	nsubj	_	_
28	stands	stand	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	conj	_	_
29	weeping	weep	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	28	xcomp	_	_
30	on	on	ADP	IN	_	34	case	_	_
31	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	34	det	_	_
32	cold	cold	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	34	amod	_	_
33	wet	wet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	34	amod	_	_
34	sand	sand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	29	obl	_	_
35	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	36	cc	_	_
36	wonders	wonder	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	conj	_	_
37	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	36	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
38	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **change** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **mark** | present | the changing colour | the flounder's response |  |  |  |  | vn image\_impression-25.1 «NP V NP.destination»: agent=Agent response=Destination |
| 3 | **turn** | present | the sea |  |  |  |  | violet *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **heave** | gerund | the sea *not said here* |  |  |  |  | with each request | vn push-12 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 5 | **stand** | present | the fisherman |  |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 6 | **weep** | gerund | the fisherman *not said here* |  |  | the cold wet sand |  |  | vn breathe-40.1.2 «NP V PP.destination»: agent=Agent on sand=Destination |
| 7 | **wonder** *speech: ask* | present | the sea *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn care-88.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
It warns the fisherman that the flounder will soon be angry and wants him to leave the shore.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1937-pg7277-part74:e3:o3:1
# text = It warns the fisherman that the flounder will soon be angry and wants him to leave the shore.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	warns	warn	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	fisherman	fisherman	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	flounder	flounder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
8	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
9	soon	soon	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	11	advmod	_	_
10	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	cop	_	_
11	angry	angry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	advcl	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
13	wants	want	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
14	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	obj	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	leave	leave	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	xcomp	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	shore	shore	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **warn** *speech: warn* | present | It | the fisherman |  |  |  |  | vn advise-37.9-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent fisherman=Recipient |
| 2 | **is** | future | the flounder |  |  |  |  | angry, soon *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **want** | present |  | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **leave** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | him *= he* *not said here* | the shore |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent shore=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The changing colour marks the flounder's response, as the sea turns violet, dark-grey and heaving with each request.

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1937-pg7277-part74:e3:o4:1
# text = The changing colour marks the flounder's response, as the sea turns violet, dark-grey and heaving with each request.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	changing	change	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	amod	_	_
3	colour	colour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	marks	mark	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	flounder	flounder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	response	response	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
10	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
13	turns	turn	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
14	violet	violet	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
16	dark	dark	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	16	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	grey	grey	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	parataxis	_	_
19	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
20	heaving	heave	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	18	conj	_	_
21	with	with	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
22	each	each	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	23	det	_	_
23	request	request	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **change** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn dress-41.1.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **mark** | present | the changing colour | the flounder's response |  |  |  |  | vn image\_impression-25.1 «NP V NP.destination»: agent=Agent response=Destination |
| 3 | **turn** | present | the sea |  |  |  |  | violet *property* | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **heave** | gerund | the sea *not said here* |  |  |  |  | with each request | vn push-12 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |

<!-- 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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- ↑ back to [Grimm's Household Tales, The Fisherman and His Wife, part 1: a greedy wife keeps asking the flounder for more](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/1937-pg7277-part74/)