---
title: What reason did the king of Erin give for requiring proof of the cow… — Celtic Fairy Tales, The Story-Teller a… · tree and pragmatics
description: What reason did the king of Erin give for requiring proof of the cowboy's deeds? Exam question 3 of lesson 2005 «Celtic Fairy Tales, The Story-Teller at Fault, part 1: the story-teller loses everything at dice and is turned into a hare» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependen
---

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# Exam question 3 · Celtic Fairy Tales, The Story-Teller at Fault, part 1: the…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What reason did the king of Erin give for requiring proof of the cowboy's deeds?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** reason, king · **What happens:** do, give, require, proof · **To what, where:** proof, deeds

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 2005 «Celtic Fairy Tales, The Story-Teller at Fault, part 1: the story-teller loses everything at dice and is turned into a hare» 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/2005-pg7885-part24/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2005-pg7885-part24:e3:1
# text = What reason did the king of Erin give for requiring proof of the cowboy's deeds?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	3	obj	_	_
2	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	Erin	Erin	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
8	give	give	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
9	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
10	requiring	require	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	8	advcl	_	_
11	proof	proof	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
12	of	of	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	cowboy	cowboy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	's	's	PART	POS	_	14	case	_	_
16	deeds	deed	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | past | reason |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent what=Eventuality |
| 2 | **give** | present | the king of Erin |  |  |  |  |  | vn break\_down-45.8 «NP V»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **require** | gerund | the king of Erin *not said here* | proof of the cowboy's deeds |  |  |  |  | vn require-103-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme proof=Precondition |
| 4 | **proof** |  |  | the cowboy's deeds |  |  |  |  | nom proof «cognition transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .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 -->
He wanted to verify every single claim the cowboy made before granting the hand of his daughter to any man at all

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2005-pg7885-part24:e3:o1:1
# text = He wanted to verify every single claim the cowboy made before granting the hand of his daughter to any man at all
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wanted	want	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	verify	verify	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	7	det	_	_
6	single	single	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	claim	claim	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	cowboy	cowboy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
10	made	make	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	9	acl	_	_
11	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
12	granting	grant	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	advcl	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	hand	hand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	_
15	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	17	nmod:poss	_	_
17	daughter	daughter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	_
18	to	to	ADP	IN	_	20	case	_	_
19	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	20	det	_	_
20	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	_
21	at	at	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
22	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **want** | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 2 | **verify** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | every single claim |  | all |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **make** | participle |  | the cowboy *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset |
| 4 | **grant** | gerund |  | the hand of cowboy's daughter | any man |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP PP.goal»: agent=Agent hand=Theme to man=Goal |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He wished to verify the claim in full before granting the hand of his daughter and his kingdom

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2005-pg7885-part24:e3:o2:1
# text = He wished to verify the claim in full before granting the hand of his daughter and his kingdom
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wished	wish	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	verify	verify	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	claim	claim	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	obl	_	_
9	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
10	granting	grant	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	advcl	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	hand	hand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
15	daughter	daughter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
17	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	18	nmod:poss	_	_
18	kingdom	kingdom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wish** | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn wish-62 «NP V for NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 2 | **verify** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | the claim |  | full |  |  | vn indicate-78-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot claim=Topic |
| 3 | **grant** | gerund | He *not said here* | the hand of his daughter |  |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent hand=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He wanted to check the story before giving his daughter away

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2005-pg7885-part24:e3:o3:1
# text = He wanted to check the story before giving his daughter away
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wanted	want	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	check	check	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
8	giving	give	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	advcl	_	_
9	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	daughter	daughter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	iobj	_	_
11	away	away	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **want** | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 2 | **check** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | the story |  |  |  |  | vn assessment-34.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent story=Theme |
| 3 | **give away** | gerund | He *not said here* |  | his daughter |  |  | away *property* | vn contribute-13.2 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent daughter=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He wished to verify the claim before granting the hand of his daughter

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2005-pg7885-part24:e3:o4:1
# text = He wished to verify the claim before granting the hand of his daughter
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wished	wish	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	verify	verify	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	claim	claim	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
8	granting	grant	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	advcl	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	hand	hand	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	daughter	daughter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wish** | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn wish-62 «NP V for NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 2 | **verify** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | the claim |  |  |  |  | vn indicate-78-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot claim=Topic |
| 3 | **grant** | gerund | He *not said here* | the hand of his daughter |  |  |  |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent hand=Theme |

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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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- ← previous: [Celtic Fairy Tales, The Story-Teller a…, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/2005-pg7885-part24/e2/)
- next →: [Celtic Fairy Tales, The Story-Teller a…, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/2005-pg7885-part24/e4/)
- ↑ back to [Celtic Fairy Tales, The Story-Teller at Fault, part 1: the story-teller loses everything at dice and is turned into a hare](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/2005-pg7885-part24/)