---
title: Specify the action which the eldest brother required Jack to perform… — Celtic Fairy Tales, Jack and the Golde… · tree and pragmatics
description: Specify the action which the eldest brother required Jack to perform at the well. Exam question 4 of lesson 255 «Celtic Fairy Tales, Jack and the Golden Apples, part 22: Jack sneaks past the sleeping monsters, steals the apples, and heads home» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the 
---

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# Exam question 4 · Celtic Fairy Tales, Jack and the Golden Apples, part 22: J…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Specify the action which the eldest brother required Jack to perform at the well.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, action, eldest brother · **What happens:** specify, brother, require, perform · **To what, where:** action, Jack, well

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 255 «Celtic Fairy Tales, Jack and the Golden Apples, part 22: Jack sneaks past the sleeping monsters, steals the apples, and heads home» 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/255-pg14241-part22/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:255-pg14241-part22:e4:1
# text = Specify the action which the eldest brother required Jack to perform at the well.
1	Specify	specify	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	action	action	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	7	nsubj	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	eldest	eld	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	7	amod	_	_
7	brother	brother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
8	required	require	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	7	acl	_	_
9	Jack	Jack	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	perform	perform	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	xcomp	_	_
12	at	at	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	well	well	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **specify** | imperative | you *not said here* | the action |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent action=Theme |
| 2 | **brother** |  | the action |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **require** | participle | the eldest brother *not said here* | Jack |  |  |  |  | vn order-58.3-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent jack=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 4 | **perform** | to-infinitive | the eldest brother *not said here* |  |  | the well |  |  | vn performance-26.7 «NP V»: agent=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 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He ordered Jack to cut the old man's throat

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:255-pg14241-part22:e4:o1:1
# text = He ordered Jack to cut the old man's throat
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	ordered	order	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	Jack	Jack	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	cut	cut	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	's	PART	POS	_	8	case	_	_
10	throat	throat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **order** | past | He |  | Jack |  |  |  | vn order-58.3-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent jack=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **cut** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | the old man's throat |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset throat=Product |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He required Jack to sever the old man's head and carry it home

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:255-pg14241-part22:e4:o2:1
# text = He required Jack to sever the old man's head and carry it home
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	required	require	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	Jack	Jack	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	sever	sever	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	's	PART	POS	_	8	case	_	_
10	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	carry	carry	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	_
14	home	home	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **require** | past | He | Jack |  |  |  |  | vn order-58.3-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent jack=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **sever** | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | the old man's head |  |  |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent head=Theme |
| 3 | **carry** | infinitive | He *not said here* | head |  |  |  | home *property* | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He required Jack to sever the old man's head and throw it into the well

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:255-pg14241-part22:e4:o3:1
# text = He required Jack to sever the old man's head and throw it into the well
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	required	require	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	Jack	Jack	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	sever	sever	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	's	PART	POS	_	8	case	_	_
10	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	throw	throw	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
13	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	_
14	into	into	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	well	well	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **require** | past | He | Jack |  |  |  |  | vn order-58.3-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent jack=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **sever** | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | the old man's head |  |  |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent head=Theme |
| 3 | **throw** | infinitive | He *not said here* | head |  |  |  | into the well *result* | vn throw-17.1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.result»: agent=Causer it=Theme into well=Result |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He required Jack to sever the old man's head

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:255-pg14241-part22:e4:o4:1
# text = He required Jack to sever the old man's head
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	required	require	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	Jack	Jack	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	sever	sever	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	's	PART	POS	_	8	case	_	_
10	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **require** | past | He | Jack |  |  |  |  | vn order-58.3-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent jack=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **sever** | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | the old man's head |  |  |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent head=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: [Celtic Fairy Tales, Jack and the Golde…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/255-pg14241-part22/e3/)
- next →: [Fairy Tales, The Youngest Prince and t…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/256-pg14241-part23/t1/)
- ↑ back to [Celtic Fairy Tales, Jack and the Golden Apples, part 22: Jack sneaks past the sleeping monsters, steals the apples, and heads home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/255-pg14241-part22/)