---
title: So the merchant just said he never touched it, right? — Arabian Nights, Ali Cogia, part 60: th… · tree and pragmatics
description: So the merchant just said he never touched it, right? Test 2 · ★ of lesson 220 «Arabian Nights, Ali Cogia, part 60: the Cadi's trial is replayed by children, and a clever boy spots the trick» 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/220-pg128-part60/t2/)

<!-- 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/) / [Arabian Nights, Ali Cogia, part 60: th…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/220-pg128-part60/) / t2

# Test 2 · ★ · Arabian Nights, Ali Cogia, part 60: the Cadi's trial is re…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
So the merchant just said he never touched it, right?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** merchant · **What happens:** say, not touch · **To what, where:** it · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 2 · ★ of lesson 220 «Arabian Nights, Ali Cogia, part 60: the Cadi's trial is replayed by children, and a clever boy spots the trick» 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/220-pg128-part60/#t2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:220-pg128-part60:t2:1
# text = So the merchant just said he never touched it, right?
1	So	so	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	merchant	merchant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	just	just	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
7	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	8	advmod	_	_
8	touched	touch	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	ccomp	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
11	right	right	INTJ	UH	_	5	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | the merchant |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **not** **touch** | past | merchant | it |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme it=Co-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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nah, he said he opened it at the inn

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:220-pg128-part60:t2:o1:1
# text = Nah, he said he opened it at the inn
1	Nah	nah	INTJ	UH	_	4	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	opened	open	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	ccomp	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	at	at	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	inn	inn	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **open** | past | he | it |  | the inn |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «NP V NP.theme PP»: agent=Agent it=Theme at inn=Location |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Not exactly, he admitted touching it later but swore he never opened it

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:220-pg128-part60:t2:o2:1
# text = Not exactly, he admitted touching it later but swore he never opened it
1	Not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
2	exactly	exactly	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	admitted	admit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	touching	touch	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	advcl	_	_
7	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	obj	_	_
8	later	late	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	6	advmod	_	_
9	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	swore	swear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
11	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
12	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	13	advmod	_	_
13	opened	open	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	ccomp	_	_
14	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **admit** *speech: other* | past | he |  |  |  |  | exactly *property* | vn confess-37.10 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **touch** | gerund | he *not said here* | it |  |  |  | late *property* | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme it=Co-Theme |
| 3 | **swear** | past | he *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 4 | **not** **open** | past | he | it |  |  |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location it=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yeah, he claimed someone else had moved it

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:220-pg128-part60:t2:o3:1
# text = Yeah, he claimed someone else had moved it
1	Yeah	yeah	INTJ	UH	_	4	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
3	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	claimed	claim	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	8	nsubj	_	_
6	else	else	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
7	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	moved	move	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	4	ccomp	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **claim** *speech: other* | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **move** | past · perfect | someone | it |  |  |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent it=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yeah, he swore he never touched it

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:220-pg128-part60:t2:o4:1
# text = Yeah, he swore he never touched it
1	Yeah	yeah	INTJ	UH	_	4	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
3	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	swore	swear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
6	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	7	advmod	_	_
7	touched	touch	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	ccomp	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **swear** | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **not** **touch** | past | he | it |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme it=Co-Theme |

<!-- 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: [Arabian Nights, Ali Cogia, part 60: th…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/220-pg128-part60/t1/)
- next →: [Arabian Nights, Ali Cogia, part 60: th…, test 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/220-pg128-part60/t3/)
- ↑ back to [Arabian Nights, Ali Cogia, part 60: the Cadi's trial is replayed by children, and a clever boy spots the trick](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/220-pg128-part60/)