---
title: Looking back: earlier in the book, the Mock Turtle kept Alice waitin… — Alice in Wonderland, chapter XII, part… · tree and pragmatics
description: Looking back: earlier in the book, the Mock Turtle kept Alice waiting. What did Alice think then that fits the King's «Begin at the beginning»? Test 14 · ★★★ of lesson 23 «Alice in Wonderland, chapter XII, part 1: Alice's Evidence (Rule Forty-two and the unsigned letter)» of the books course of Mova
---

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# Test 14 · ★★★ · Alice in Wonderland, chapter XII, part 1: Alice's Evidence…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Looking back: earlier in the book, the Mock Turtle kept Alice waiting. What did Alice think then that fits the King's «Begin at the beginning»?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Mock Turtle, Alice, that · **What happens:** look back, keep, wait, think, fit, begin · **To what, where:** Alice, King, beginning · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 14 · ★★★ of lesson 23 «Alice in Wonderland, chapter XII, part 1: Alice's Evidence (Rule Forty-two and the unsigned letter)» 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/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/#t14).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Looking back: earlier in the book, the Mock Turtle kept Alice waiting.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:23-alice-alices-evidence-1:t14:1
# text = Looking back: earlier in the book, the Mock Turtle kept Alice waiting.
1	Looking	look	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	12	advcl	_	_
2	back	back	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	4	punct	_	_
4	earlier	early	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	1	advmod	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	book	book	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	Mock	Mock	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	Turtle	Turtle	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
12	kept	keep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
13	Alice	Alice	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	_
14	waiting	wait	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	12	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **look back** | gerund | the Mock Turtle *not said here* |  |  |  |  | early *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |
| 2 | **keep** | past | the Mock Turtle | Alice |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **wait** | gerund | Alice *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* What did Alice think then that fits the King's «Begin at the beginning»?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:23-alice-alices-evidence-1:t14:2
# text = What did Alice think then that fits the King's «Begin at the beginning»?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	obj	_	_
2	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	Alice	Alice	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
4	think	think	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	7	advmod	_	_
6	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
7	fits	fit	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	ccomp	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	King	King	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	's	's	PART	POS	_	9	case	_	_
11	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	Begin	begin	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	7	parataxis	_	_
13	at	at	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	beginning	beginning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **think** *speech: other* | past · do-support | Alice |  |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V NP ADJ»: agent=Agent what=Attribute clause=Theme |
| 2 | **fit** | present | that | the King |  |  | then |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **begin** *in a quote* | infinitive |  |  |  |  | at the beginning |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«I don't see how he can ever finish, if he doesn't begin, and he never seems to begin at all»

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:23-alice-alices-evidence-1:t14:o1:1
# text = «I don't see how he can ever finish, if he doesn't begin, and he never seems to begin at all»
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
3	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	10	advmod	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
8	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
9	ever	ever	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	10	advmod	_	_
10	finish	finish	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
12	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
13	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
14	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	16	advmod	_	_
16	begin	begin	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
18	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
19	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	21	nsubj	_	_
20	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	21	advmod	_	_
21	seems	seem	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
22	to	to	PART	TO	_	23	mark	_	_
23	begin	begin	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	21	xcomp	_	_
24	at	at	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
25	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	23	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **see** *in a quote* | present · do-support | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **finish** *in a quote* | can | he |  |  |  | ever |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 3 | **not** **begin** *a condition, not said to happen, in a quote* | present · do-support | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 4 | **not** **seem** *in a quote* | present | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn seem-109-1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Theme clause=Attribute |
| 5 | **begin** *in a quote* | to-infinitive | he *not said here* |  |  | all |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«I don't see how he can ever finish, if he doesn't begin, so I shall simply wait for ever»

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:23-alice-alices-evidence-1:t14:o2:1
# text = «I don't see how he can ever finish, if he doesn't begin, so I shall simply wait for ever»
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
3	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	10	advmod	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
8	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
9	ever	ever	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	10	advmod	_	_
10	finish	finish	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
12	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
13	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
14	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	16	advmod	_	_
16	begin	begin	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
18	so	so	ADV	RB	_	22	advmod	_	_
19	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	22	nsubj	_	_
20	shall	shall	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	22	aux	_	_
21	simply	simply	ADV	RB	_	22	advmod	_	_
22	wait	wait	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
23	for	for	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
24	ever	ever	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	22	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **see** *in a quote* | present · do-support | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **finish** *in a quote* | can | he |  |  |  | ever |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 3 | **not** **begin** *a condition, not said to happen, in a quote* | present · do-support | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 4 | **wait** *in a quote* | shall | I |  |  |  |  | simply *property* | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«I don't see how he can ever finish, if he doesn't begin»

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:23-alice-alices-evidence-1:t14:o3:1
# text = «I don't see how he can ever finish, if he doesn't begin»
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
3	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	10	advmod	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
8	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
9	ever	ever	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	10	advmod	_	_
10	finish	finish	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
12	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
13	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
14	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	16	advmod	_	_
16	begin	begin	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **see** *in a quote* | present · do-support | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **finish** *in a quote* | can | he |  |  |  | ever |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 3 | **not** **begin** *a condition, not said to happen, in a quote* | present · do-support | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
«I don't see how he can start, if he doesn't finish»

<!-- fold The tree, 13 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:23-alice-alices-evidence-1:t14:o4:1
# text = «I don't see how he can start, if he doesn't finish»
1	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
3	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	9	advmod	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
8	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	_
9	start	start	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
11	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
12	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nsubj	_	_
13	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	15	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	15	advmod	_	_
15	finish	finish	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **see** *in a quote* | present · do-support | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **start** *in a quote* | can | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 3 | **not** **finish** *a condition, not said to happen, in a quote* | present · do-support | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |

<!-- 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 -->

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- ← previous: [Alice in Wonderland, chapter XII, part…, test 13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/t13/)
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- ↑ back to [Alice in Wonderland, chapter XII, part 1: Alice's Evidence (Rule Forty-two and the unsigned letter)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/23-alice-alices-evidence-1/)