---
title: What was the principal reason for the hostility of the nephews towar… — The Heroes, Theseus, part 3: Theseus l… · tree and pragmatics
description: What was the principal reason for the hostility of the nephews toward Theseus upon his arrival? Exam question 4 of lesson 2044 «The Heroes, Theseus, part 3: Theseus lifts the great stone, finds his father's sword and sandals, and sets out for Athens» of the books course of Mova's primary school, wit
---

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# Exam question 4 · The Heroes, Theseus, part 3: Theseus lifts the great stone…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What was the principal reason for the hostility of the nephews toward Theseus upon his arrival?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 1 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Theseus · **What happens:** be, arrive · **To what, where:** principal reason

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 2044 «The Heroes, Theseus, part 3: Theseus lifts the great stone, finds his father's sword and sandals, and sets out for Athens» 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/2044-pg976-part3/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2044-pg976-part3:e4:1
# text = What was the principal reason for the hostility of the nephews toward Theseus upon his arrival?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	5	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	principal	principal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	hostility	hostility	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	nephews	nephew	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nmod	_	_
12	toward	toward	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	Theseus	Theseus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	nmod	_	_
14	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	16	nmod:poss	_	_
16	arrival	arrival	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past |  | the principal reason |  |  |  | for the hostility of the nephews toward Theseus; upon Theseus's arrival | tree rules |
| 2 | **arrive** |  | Theseus |  |  |  |  |  | nom arrival «act intransitive»: 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 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They feared he would seize the crown and sceptre

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2044-pg976-part3:e4:o1:1
# text = They feared he would seize the crown and sceptre
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	feared	fear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
4	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	seize	seize	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	ccomp	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	crown	crown	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	sceptre	sceptre	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fear** | past | They |  |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 2 | **seize** | would | he | the crown and sceptre |  |  |  |  | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent crown=Theme |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They had heard he would outshine them and take the throne by force of arms

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2044-pg976-part3:e4:o2:1
# text = They had heard he would outshine them and take the throne by force of arms
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	heard	hear	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
5	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	outshine	outshine	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
7	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
9	take	take	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	conj	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	throne	throne	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
12	by	by	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	force	force	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	arms	arm	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hear** | past · perfect | They |  |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 2 | **outshine** | would | he | them *= they* |  |  |  |  | vn exceed-90 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot they=Theme |
| 3 | **take** | infinitive | he *not said here* | the throne |  |  |  | by force of arms | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent throne=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They were jealous of his famous deeds

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2044-pg976-part3:e4:o3:1
# text = They were jealous of his famous deeds
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	cop	_	_
3	jealous	jealous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
6	famous	famous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	deeds	deed	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | They |  |  |  |  | of his famous deeds; jealous *property* | tree rules |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They hated his grandfather Pittheus

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2044-pg976-part3:e4:o4:1
# text = They hated his grandfather Pittheus
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	hated	hate	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	grandfather	grandfather	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	Pittheus	Pittheus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	appos	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hate** | past | They | his grandfather |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer grandfather=Stimulus |

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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.

<!-- /div -->

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- ← previous: [The Heroes, Theseus, part 3: Theseus l…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/2044-pg976-part3/e3/)
- next →: [A Wonder-Book, The Minotaur, part 4: M…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/2045-pg976-part4/t1/)
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