---
title: With reference to the text, what was the outcome of King Canute's co… — Stories of Old England, King Canute on… · tree and pragmatics
description: With reference to the text, what was the outcome of King Canute's command to the sea? Exam question 1 of lesson 342 «Stories of Old England, King Canute on the Seashore: Canute orders the sea to stop and gets soaked» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmati
---

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# Exam question 1 · Stories of Old England, King Canute on the Seashore: Canut…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
With reference to the text, what was the outcome of King Canute's command to the sea?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** reference, King · **What happens:** be, command · **To what, where:** outcome · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 342 «Stories of Old England, King Canute on the Seashore: Canute orders the sea to stop and gets soaked» 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/342-pg18442-part2/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:342-pg18442-part2:e1:1
# text = With reference to the text, what was the outcome of King Canute's command to the sea?
1	With	with	ADP	IN	_	2	case	_	_
2	reference	reference	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	text	text	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
7	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	10	nsubj	_	_
8	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	outcome	outcome	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
12	King	King	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	15	nmod:poss	_	_
13	Canute	Canute	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	12	flat	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	's	's	PART	POS	_	12	case	_	_
15	command	command	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	_
16	to	to	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | reference to the text and the outcome | the outcome |  |  |  | of King's command to the sea | tree rules |
| 2 | **command** |  | King |  |  |  |  | to the sea | nom command «communication transitive»: poss=agent to=obl |

<!-- .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 -->
The sea obeyed at first, but then rose far above the king and drowned his entire court

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:342-pg18442-part2:e1:o1:1
# text = The sea obeyed at first, but then rose far above the king and drowned his entire court
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	obeyed	obey	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	at	at	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
7	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
8	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	9	advmod	_	_
9	rose	rise	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
10	far	far	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	9	advmod	_	_
11	above	above	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
15	drowned	drown	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
16	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	18	nmod:poss	_	_
17	entire	entire	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	court	court	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **obey** | past | the sea |  |  |  |  |  | vn abide\_by-93.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **rise** | past | the sea *not said here* |  |  |  | then | above the king; far *property* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent above king=Location |
| 3 | **drown** | past | the sea *not said here* | sea's entire court |  |  |  |  | vn poison-42.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent court=Patient |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The tide stopped for a moment, then rose higher and soaked the king's robe

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:342-pg18442-part2:e1:o2:1
# text = The tide stopped for a moment, then rose higher and soaked the king's robe
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	tide	tide	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	stopped	stop	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
8	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	9	advmod	_	_
9	rose	rise	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
10	higher	high	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	9	xcomp	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
12	soaked	soak	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	9	conj	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	's	's	PART	POS	_	14	case	_	_
16	robe	robe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stop** | past | the tide |  |  |  | moment |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 2 | **rise** | past | the tide *not said here* |  |  |  | then | high *property* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **soak** | participle | the tide *not said here* | the king's robe |  |  |  |  | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent robe=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The sea ignored the king's words

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:342-pg18442-part2:e1:o3:1
# text = The sea ignored the king's words
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	ignored	ignore	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	's	's	PART	POS	_	5	case	_	_
7	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ignore** | past | the sea | the king's words |  |  |  |  | vn neglect-75.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent word=Theme |
| 2 | **word** |  | the king |  |  |  |  |  | nom word «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The tide continued to rise and wetted the king's robe

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:342-pg18442-part2:e1:o4:1
# text = The tide continued to rise and wetted the king's robe
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	tide	tide	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	continued	continue	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	rise	rise	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	wetted	wett	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	king	king	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	's	's	PART	POS	_	9	case	_	_
11	robe	robe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **continue** | past | the tide |  |  |  |  |  | vn continue-55.3 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **rise** | to-infinitive | the tide *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **wett** | past | the tide *not said here* | the king's robe |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- 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: [Stories of Old England, King Canute on…, test 13](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/342-pg18442-part2/t13/)
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