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title: Explain why Proserpina was unable to obtain assistance from her moth… — Tanglewood Tales, The Pomegranate Seed… · tree and pragmatics
description: Explain why Proserpina was unable to obtain assistance from her mother during her abduction. Exam question 4 of lesson 2069 «Tanglewood Tales, The Pomegranate Seeds, part 28: Proserpina pulls up a strange shrub and is carried off by Pluto» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the depen
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# Exam question 4 · Tanglewood Tales, The Pomegranate Seeds, part 28: Proserpi…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Explain why Proserpina was unable to obtain assistance from her mother during her abduction.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 3 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** you, Proserpina · **What happens:** explain, be, obtain, abduct · **To what, where:** assistance · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 2069 «Tanglewood Tales, The Pomegranate Seeds, part 28: Proserpina pulls up a strange shrub and is carried off by Pluto» 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/2069-pg976-part28/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2069-pg976-part28:e4:1
# text = Explain why Proserpina was unable to obtain assistance from her mother during her abduction.
1	Explain	explain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	5	advmod	_	_
3	Proserpina	Proserpina	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	unable	unable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	ccomp	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
7	obtain	obtain	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	_
8	assistance	assistance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
9	from	from	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	mother	mother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
12	during	during	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	14	nmod:poss	_	_
14	abduction	abduction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **explain** *speech: assert* | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | past | Proserpina |  |  |  |  | unable *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **obtain** | to-infinitive | Proserpina *not said here* | assistance |  |  | during Proserpina's abduction | from Proserpina's mother | vn obtain-13.5.2-1 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent assistance=Theme from mother=Source |
| 4 | **abduct** |  | Proserpina |  |  |  |  |  | nom abduction «act transitive»: 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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Her mother was too far off to hear anything

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2069-pg976-part28:e4:o1:1
# text = Her mother was too far off to hear anything
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	mother	mother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
4	too	too	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	far	far	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	6	advmod	_	_
6	off	off	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	hear	hear	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
9	anything	anything	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	8	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | Her mother |  |  |  |  | hear, off *property* | tree rules |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ceres was out of reach and had no way to know

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2069-pg976-part28:e4:o2:1
# text = Ceres was out of reach and had no way to know
1	Ceres	Ceres	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	out	out	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	reach	reach	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
8	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	9	det	_	_
9	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	know	know	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	acl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | Ceres |  |  | reach |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **have** | past | Ceres *not said here* | no way |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent way=Patient |
| 3 | **know** | to-infinitive | Ceres *not said here* | no way *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ceres was far distant and could not hear her cries

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2069-pg976-part28:e4:o3:1
# text = Ceres was far distant and could not hear her cries
1	Ceres	Ceres	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	far	far	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	4	advmod	_	_
4	distant	distant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
6	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
7	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	8	advmod	_	_
8	hear	hear	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
9	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	cries	cry	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | Ceres |  |  |  |  | distant, far *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **hear** | could | Ceres *not said here* | Ceres's cries |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer cry=Stimulus |
| 3 | **cry** |  | Ceres |  |  |  |  |  | nom cry «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ceres was far distant and the stranger's chariot was too fast and dark for any voice to reach her in time

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:2069-pg976-part28:e4:o4:1
# text = Ceres was far distant and the stranger's chariot was too fast and dark for any voice to reach her in time
1	Ceres	Ceres	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	far	far	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	4	advmod	_	_
4	distant	distant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	stranger	stranger	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	's	's	PART	POS	_	7	case	_	_
9	chariot	chariot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
10	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
11	too	too	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
12	fast	fast	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
14	dark	dark	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	conj	_	_
15	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	19	mark	_	_
16	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	17	det	_	_
17	voice	voice	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	nsubj	_	_
18	to	to	PART	TO	_	19	mark	_	_
19	reach	reach	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	advcl	_	_
20	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	19	obj	_	_
21	in	in	ADP	IN	_	22	case	_	_
22	time	time	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | Ceres |  |  |  |  | distant, far *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | past | the stranger's chariot |  |  |  |  | fast *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **be** |  | the stranger's chariot *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **reach** | to-infinitive | any voice | Ceres |  |  | time |  | vn body\_motion-49.2-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Agent she=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: [Tanglewood Tales, The Pomegranate Seed…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/2069-pg976-part28/e3/)
- next →: [Wonder-Book, The Pomegranate Seeds, pa…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/2070-pg976-part29/t1/)
- ↑ back to [Tanglewood Tales, The Pomegranate Seeds, part 28: Proserpina pulls up a strange shrub and is carried off by Pluto](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/2069-pg976-part28/)