---
title: To what end did the nephews propose that Theseus present himself as… — A Wonder-Book, The Minotaur, part 4: M… · tree and pragmatics
description: To what end did the nephews propose that Theseus present himself as a stranger? Exam question 1 of lesson 2045 «A Wonder-Book, The Minotaur, part 4: Medea's poisoned wine nearly kills Theseus before his father recognizes him» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/2045-pg976-part4/e1/)

<!-- 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/) / [A Wonder-Book, The Minotaur, part 4: M…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/2045-pg976-part4/) / e1

# Exam question 1 · A Wonder-Book, The Minotaur, part 4: Medea's poisoned wine…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To what end did the nephews propose that Theseus present himself as a stranger?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** end, nephews · **What happens:** do, propose · **To what, where:** present

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 2045 «A Wonder-Book, The Minotaur, part 4: Medea's poisoned wine nearly kills Theseus before his father recognizes him» 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/2045-pg976-part4/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2045-pg976-part4:e1:1
# text = To what end did the nephews propose that Theseus present himself as a stranger?
1	To	to	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	7	obl	_	_
3	end	end	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	nephews	nephew	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
7	propose	propose	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
9	Theseus	theseus	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	present	present	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
11	himself	himself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Emp|Reflex=Yes	10	nmod:unmarked	_	_
12	as	as	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	stranger	stranger	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | past | end |  |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **propose** | present | the nephews | theseus present  end |  |  |  | as a stranger | vn reflexive\_appearance-48.1.2 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent present=Theme to what=Recipient |

<!-- .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 -->
To prevent the king from recognising him so that the nephews could strike first at the feast

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2045-pg976-part4:e1:o1:1
# text = To prevent the king from recognising him so that the nephews could strike first at the feast
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	prevent	prevent	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	from	from	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
6	recognising	recognise	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	2	advcl	_	_
7	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	so	so	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
9	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	nephews	nephew	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	nsubj	_	_
12	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	13	aux	_	_
13	strike	strike	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
14	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	13	advmod	_	_
15	at	at	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	feast	feast	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **prevent** | to-infinitive |  | the king |  |  |  |  | vn forbid-64.4-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer king=Theme |
| 2 | **recognise** | gerund |  | king |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer he=Stimulus |
| 3 | **strike** | could | the nephews |  |  |  |  | at the feast; first *property* | vn hit-18.1-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent at feast=Patient |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To discover if the king would accept him

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2045-pg976-part4:e1:o2:1
# text = To discover if the king would accept him
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	discover	discover	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
6	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	accept	accept	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
8	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **discover** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84-1 «NP V PP.topic S\_ING»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **accept** *a condition, not said to happen* | would | the king | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To ascertain whether Aegeus would recognise him

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2045-pg976-part4:e1:o3:1
# text = To ascertain whether Aegeus would recognise him
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	whether	whether	SCONJ	IN	_	6	mark	_	_
4	Aegeus	Aegeus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
6	recognise	recognise	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	_
7	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ascertain** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **recognise** | would | Aegeus | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer he=Stimulus |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
To learn whether Aegeus knew his face

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2045-pg976-part4:e1:o4:1
# text = To learn whether Aegeus knew his face
1	To	to	PART	TO	_	2	mark	_	_
2	learn	learn	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	whether	whether	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
4	Aegeus	Aegeus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	knew	know	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	face	face	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **learn** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V what S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **know** | past | Aegeus | Aegeus's face |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer face=Stimulus |

<!-- 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: [A Wonder-Book, The Minotaur, part 4: M…, test 15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/2045-pg976-part4/t15/)
- next →: [A Wonder-Book, The Minotaur, part 4: M…, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/2045-pg976-part4/e2/)
- ↑ back to [A Wonder-Book, The Minotaur, part 4: Medea's poisoned wine nearly kills Theseus before his father recognizes him](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/2045-pg976-part4/)