---
title: Did the intendant tell them about their birth before he snuffed it? — Arabian Nights, The Princess Parizade,… · tree and pragmatics
description: Did the intendant tell them about their birth before he snuffed it? Test 9 · ★ of lesson 228 «Arabian Nights, The Princess Parizade, part 68: the three foundlings grow up, and a pilgrim names three wonders the princess must have» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/228-pg128-part68/t9/)

<!-- 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, The Princess Parizade,…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/228-pg128-part68/) / t9

# Test 9 · ★ · Arabian Nights, The Princess Parizade, part 68: the three…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Did the intendant tell them about their birth before he snuffed it?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 4 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** intendant · **What happens:** tell, snuff · **To what, where:** them, birth · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 9 · ★ of lesson 228 «Arabian Nights, The Princess Parizade, part 68: the three foundlings grow up, and a pilgrim names three wonders the princess must have» 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/228-pg128-part68/#t9).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:228-pg128-part68:t9:1
# text = Did the intendant tell them about their birth before he snuffed it?
1	Did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	intendant	intendant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	tell	tell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	iobj	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	birth	birth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
9	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
10	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	snuffed	snuff	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
12	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past · do-support | the intendant |  | them *= they* |  |  | about their birth | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent they=Recipient about birth=Topic |
| 2 | **snuff** | past | intendant | birth |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- .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 died before he told them, rip, and the Sultan made sure nobody else would say a word

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:228-pg128-part68:t9:o1:1
# text = Nah, he died before he told them, rip, and the Sultan made sure nobody else would say a word
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	died	die	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	20	advcl	_	_
5	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	told	tell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
8	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	iobj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	rip	rip	INTJ	UH	_	7	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	Sultan	Sultan	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	15	nsubj	_	_
15	made	make	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
16	sure	sure	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	xcomp	_	_
17	nobody	nobody	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	15	obj	_	_
18	else	else	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
19	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	20	aux	_	_
20	say	say	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
21	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	word	word	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **die** | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past | he |  | them *= they* |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent they=Recipient |
| 3 | **make** | past | the Sultan | nobody |  |  |  | sure *property* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent nobody=Product |
| 4 | **say** *speech: assert* | would |  | a word |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent word=Topic |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yeah, he told them about the box, mate

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:228-pg128-part68:t9:o2:1
# text = Yeah, he told them about the box, mate
1	Yeah	yeah	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	told	tell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	iobj	_	_
6	about	about	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	box	box	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	mate	mate	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past | he |  | them *= they* |  |  | about the box and mate | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent they=Recipient about box=Topic |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nah, he died before he told them, rip, so they still don't know who their real parents are

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:228-pg128-part68:t9:o3:1
# text = Nah, he died before he told them, rip, so they still don't know who their real parents are
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	died	die	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	told	tell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
8	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	iobj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
10	rip	rip	INTJ	UH	_	7	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	17	punct	_	_
12	so	so	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
13	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
14	still	still	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
15	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	17	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	17	advmod	_	_
17	know	know	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	conj	_	_
18	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	17	ccomp	_	_
19	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	21	nmod:poss	_	_
20	real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	21	amod	_	_
21	parents	parent	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	18	nsubj	_	_
22	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	18	cop	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **die** | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past | he |  | them *= they* |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent they=Recipient |
| 3 | **not** **know** | present · do-support | they |  |  |  | still |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 4 | **is a** | present | their real parents |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nah, he died before he told them, rip

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:228-pg128-part68:t9:o4:1
# text = Nah, he died before he told them, rip
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	died	die	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
7	told	tell	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
8	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	iobj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
10	rip	rip	INTJ	UH	_	4	discourse	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **die** | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past | he |  | them *= they* |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent they=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: [Arabian Nights, The Princess Parizade,…, test 8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/228-pg128-part68/t8/)
- next →: [Arabian Nights, The Princess Parizade,…, test 10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/228-pg128-part68/t10/)
- ↑ back to [Arabian Nights, The Princess Parizade, part 68: the three foundlings grow up, and a pilgrim names three wonders the princess must have](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/228-pg128-part68/)