---
title: Examine the events by which the protagonist, Tom Thumb, is swallowed… — English Fairy Tales, Tom Thumb: the ti… · tree and pragmatics
description: Examine the events by which the protagonist, Tom Thumb, is swallowed by a cow and subsequently delivered by his mother. Exam question 1 of lesson 1964 «English Fairy Tales, Tom Thumb: the tinker takes the pudding, a cow swallows Tom, a fish and a raven carry him far, and his last journey ends with a
---

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# Exam question 1 · English Fairy Tales, Tom Thumb: the tinker takes the puddi…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Examine the events by which the protagonist, Tom Thumb, is swallowed by a cow and subsequently delivered by his mother.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you · **What happens:** examine, swallow, deliver · **To what, where:** events, protagonist

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 1964 «English Fairy Tales, Tom Thumb: the tinker takes the pudding, a cow swallows Tom, a fish and a raven carry him far, and his last journey ends with a spider» 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/1964-pg7439-part23/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1964-pg7439-part23:e1:1
# text = Examine the events by which the protagonist, Tom Thumb, is swallowed by a cow and subsequently delivered by his mother.
1	Examine	examine	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	events	event	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	obj	_	_
4	by	by	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	13	obl	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	protagonist	protagonist	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
9	Tom	Tom	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	appos	_	_
10	Thumb	Thumb	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
12	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	13	aux:pass	_	_
13	swallowed	swallow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	1	parataxis	_	_
14	by	by	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	cow	cow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
18	subsequently	subsequently	ADV	RB	_	19	advmod	_	_
19	delivered	deliver	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	13	conj	_	_
20	by	by	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
21	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	22	nmod:poss	_	_
22	mother	mother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **examine** | imperative | you *not said here* | the events |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent event=Theme |
| 2 | **swallow** | present · passive |  | the protagonist |  |  |  | by a cow | vn gobble-39.3 «NP V NP»: subject=Patient |
| 3 | **deliver** | participle |  |  |  |  |  | by protagonist's mother; subsequently *property* | vn birth-28.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=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 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The mother catches the child in her apron as he falls out of the cow's mouth after the thistle bites his tongue and the cow sneezes him out.

<!-- fold The tree, 29 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1964-pg7439-part23:e1:o1:1
# text = The mother catches the child in her apron as he falls out of the cow's mouth after the thistle bites his tongue and the cow sneezes him out.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	mother	mother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	catches	catch	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	child	child	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	apron	apron	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
9	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
10	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	falls	fall	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
12	out	out	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	cow	cow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	's	's	PART	POS	_	15	case	_	_
17	mouth	mouth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
18	after	after	SCONJ	IN	_	21	mark	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	thistle	thistle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	nsubj	_	_
21	bites	bite	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	advcl	_	_
22	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	23	nmod:poss	_	_
23	tongue	tongue	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	obj	_	_
24	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	27	cc	_	_
25	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	26	det	_	_
26	cow	cow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	27	nsubj	_	_
27	sneezes	sneeze	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	21	conj	_	_
28	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	27	obj	_	_
29	out	out	ADP	RP	_	27	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **catch** | present | the mother | the child |  | mother's apron |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent child=Theme |
| 2 | **fall** | present | child |  |  | the cow's mouth |  |  | vn occur-48.3 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme out mouth=Location |
| 3 | **bite** | present | the thistle | thistle's tongue |  |  |  |  | vn swat-18.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tongue=Patient |
| 4 | **sneeze out** | present | the cow | thistle |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The mother catches the child in her apron as he falls from the cow's mouth.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1964-pg7439-part23:e1:o2:1
# text = The mother catches the child in her apron as he falls from the cow's mouth.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	mother	mother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	catches	catch	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	child	child	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	apron	apron	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
9	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
10	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	falls	fall	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
12	from	from	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	cow	cow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	's	's	PART	POS	_	14	case	_	_
16	mouth	mouth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **catch** | present | the mother | the child |  | mother's apron |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent child=Theme |
| 2 | **fall** | present | child |  |  | the cow's mouth |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme from mouth=Initial\_Location |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She catches him in her apron.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1964-pg7439-part23:e1:o3:1
# text = She catches him in her apron.
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	catches	catch	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	in	in	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	apron	apron	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **catch** | present | She | him *= he* |  | her apron |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The farmer's wife rescues the boy with a sheet as he drops from the beast's jaws.

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:1964-pg7439-part23:e1:o4:1
# text = The farmer's wife rescues the boy with a sheet as he drops from the beast's jaws.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	farmer	farmer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	rescues	rescue	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	with	with	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	sheet	sheet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
11	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
12	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
13	drops	drop	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	_
14	from	from	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	beast	beast	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	's	's	PART	POS	_	16	case	_	_
18	jaws	jaw	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **rescue** | present | the farmer's wife | the boy |  |  |  | with a sheet | vn steal-10.5 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent boy=Theme |
| 2 | **drop** | present | boy |  |  | the beast's jaws |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V PP.trajectory»: agent=Theme from jaw=Trajectory |

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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.

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