---
title: ★★★ Careful reading: who asks his neighbour how to spell «stupid»? — Alice in Wonderland, chapter XI, part… · tree and pragmatics
description: ★★★ Careful reading: who asks his neighbour how to spell «stupid»? Test 19 · ★★ of lesson 21 «Alice in Wonderland, chapter XI, part 1: Who Stole the Tarts? (the court and the first witness)» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of 
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/21-alice-who-stole-the-tarts-1/t19/)

<!-- 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/) / [Alice in Wonderland, chapter XI, part…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/21-alice-who-stole-the-tarts-1/) / t19

# Test 19 · ★★ · Alice in Wonderland, chapter XI, part 1: Who Stole the Tar…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
★★★ Careful reading: who asks his neighbour how to spell «stupid»?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** ★ · **What happens:** ask, spell · **To what, where:** neighbour, stupid · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 19 · ★★ of lesson 21 «Alice in Wonderland, chapter XI, part 1: Who Stole the Tarts? (the court and the first witness)» of the books course of Mova's primary school. 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/21-alice-who-stole-the-tarts-1/#t19).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:21-alice-who-stole-the-tarts-1:t19:1
# text = ★★★ Careful reading: who asks his neighbour how to spell «stupid»?
1	★	★	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	★	★	X	FW	Foreign=Yes	1	dep	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	★	★	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	Careful	careful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
5	reading	reading	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	8	punct	_	_
7	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
8	asks	ask	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	neighbour	neighbour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	13	advmod	_	_
12	to	to	PART	TO	_	13	mark	_	_
13	spell	spell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	ccomp	_	_
14	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	stupid	stupid	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ask** *speech: ask* | present | ★ ★ Careful reading | ★'s neighbour |  |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP whether S\_INF»: agent=Agent neighbour=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **spell** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | stupid |  |  |  |  | vn pronounce-29.3.1 «NP V NP ADVP»: agent=Agent stupid=Theme |

<!-- .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 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
One of the jurors (the book doesn't say which)

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:21-alice-who-stole-the-tarts-1:t19:o1:1
# text = One of the jurors (the book doesn't say which)
1	One	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	0	root	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	jurors	juror	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	1	nmod	_	_
5	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	book	book	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
8	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	10	advmod	_	_
10	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	parataxis	_	_
11	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **say** *speech: assert* | present · do-support | the book | the jurors |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent which=Topic |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Alice, who asks the Dormouse next to her how to spell it, but the book does not say so

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:21-alice-who-stole-the-tarts-1:t19:o2:1
# text = Alice, who asks the Dormouse next to her how to spell it, but the book does not say so
1	Alice	Alice	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
3	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
4	asks	ask	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	Dormouse	Dormouse	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	next	next	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
8	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obl	_	_
10	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	12	advmod	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	spell	spell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	ccomp	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
15	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	book	book	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nsubj	_	_
18	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	20	aux	_	_
19	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	20	advmod	_	_
20	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
21	so	so	ADV	RB	_	20	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ask** *speech: ask* | present | Alice |  | the Dormouse |  |  | to her *= she*; next *property* | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP whether S\_INF»: agent=Agent dormouse=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **spell** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | Dormouse |  |  |  |  | vn pronounce-29.3.1 «NP V NP ADVP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |
| 3 | **not** **say** *speech: assert* | present · do-support | the book |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Dormouse, who is seated at the end

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:21-alice-who-stole-the-tarts-1:t19:o3:1
# text = The Dormouse, who is seated at the end
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Dormouse	Dormouse	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
4	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	6	nsubj	_	_
5	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux:pass	_	_
6	seated	seat	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
7	at	at	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	end	end	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **seat** | present · passive |  | the Dormouse |  |  | at the end |  | vn fit-54.3 «NP.location V NP»: subject=Value |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Hatter, who sits in the box for witnesses and asks the Dormouse next to him

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:21-alice-who-stole-the-tarts-1:t19:o4:1
# text = The Hatter, who sits in the box for witnesses and asks the Dormouse next to him
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Hatter	Hatter	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
4	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	5	nsubj	_	_
5	sits	sit	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	box	box	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	for	for	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	witnesses	witness	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nmod	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
12	asks	ask	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	Dormouse	Dormouse	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	_
15	next	next	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
16	to	to	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sit** | present | the Hatter |  |  | the box for witnesses |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent in box=Location |
| 2 | **ask** *speech: ask* | present | the Hatter |  | the Dormouse |  |  | next *property* | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent dormouse=Recipient |

<!-- 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: [Alice in Wonderland, chapter XI, part…, test 18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/21-alice-who-stole-the-tarts-1/t18/)
- next →: [Alice in Wonderland, chapter XI, part…, exam 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/21-alice-who-stole-the-tarts-1/e1/)
- ↑ back to [Alice in Wonderland, chapter XI, part 1: Who Stole the Tarts? (the court and the first witness)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/21-alice-who-stole-the-tarts-1/)