---
title: The Rat asks «There, what did I tell you?» and the Mole says «Absolu… — The Wind in the Willows, chapter III,… · tree and pragmatics
description: The Rat asks «There, what did I tell you?» and the Mole says «Absolutely nothing whatever». Why is the Mole right, in a way? Test 3 · ★★★ of lesson 36 «The Wind in the Willows, chapter III, part 4: The Wild Wood (the door-scraper, the door-mat, and a green door)» of the books course of Mova's primar
---

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# Test 3 · ★★★ · The Wind in the Willows, chapter III, part 4: The Wild Woo…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Rat asks «There, what did I tell you?» and the Mole says «Absolutely nothing whatever». Why is the Mole right, in a way?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Rat, Mole · **What happens:** ask, tell, say, be · **To what, where:** you, nothing, Mole · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 3 · ★★★ of lesson 36 «The Wind in the Willows, chapter III, part 4: The Wild Wood (the door-scraper, the door-mat, and a green door)» 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/36-willows-ch3-part4-the-door-scraper/#t3).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* The Rat asks «There, what did I tell you?» and the Mole says «Absolutely nothing whatever».

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:36-willows-ch3-part4-the-door-scraper:t3:1
# text = The Rat asks «There, what did I tell you?» and the Mole says «Absolutely nothing whatever».
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Rat	Rat	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
3	asks	ask	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	There	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	10	expl	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
7	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	10	obj	_	_
8	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
9	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	tell	tell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
11	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	10	iobj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	10	punct	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	Mole	mole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nsubj	_	_
17	says	say	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
18	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	20	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	Absolutely	absolutely	ADV	RB	_	20	advmod	_	_
20	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	17	obj	_	_
21	whatever	whatever	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	20	appos	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	21	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ask** *speech: ask* | present | the Rat |  |  |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | past · do-support | the Rat *= rat* |  | you | there |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent you=Recipient what=Topic |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* | present | the Mole | nothing |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent nothing=Topic |

<!-- .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:* Why is the Mole right, in a way?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:36-willows-ch3-part4-the-door-scraper:t3:2
# text = Why is the Mole right, in a way?
1	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	4	advmod	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	Mole	mole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	right	right	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
7	in	in	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	way	way	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present |  | the Mole and a way |  |  |  | right *property* | tree rules |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Rat had shouted about it too loudly

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:36-willows-ch3-part4-the-door-scraper:t3:o1:1
# text = The Rat had shouted about it too loudly
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Rat	Rat	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
4	shouted	shout	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
5	about	about	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obl	_	_
7	too	too	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	loudly	loudly	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **shout** *speech: express* | past · perfect | the Rat |  |  |  |  | about it; loudly *property* | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent about it=Topic |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Mole had really seen the whole thing but still pretended not to understand it at all

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:36-willows-ch3-part4-the-door-scraper:t3:o2:1
# text = The Mole had really seen the whole thing but still pretended not to understand it at all
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Mole	mole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	really	really	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	seen	see	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
9	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
10	still	still	ADV	RB	_	11	advmod	_	_
11	pretended	pretend	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
12	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	14	advmod	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	understand	understand	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	xcomp	_	_
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	obj	_	_
16	at	at	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	14	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **see** | past · perfect · passive |  | the Mole |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **pretend** | past |  |  |  |  | still |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **not** **understand** | to-infinitive |  | thing |  | all |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer it=Stimulus |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Rat hadn't explained his idea at all

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:36-willows-ch3-part4-the-door-scraper:t3:o3:1
# text = The Rat hadn't explained his idea at all
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Rat	Rat	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	explained	explain	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	at	at	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **explain** *speech: assert* | past · perfect | the Rat | Rat's idea |  | all |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent idea=Topic |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Rat hadn't explained his idea, so the Mole could not see the plan yet

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:36-willows-ch3-part4-the-door-scraper:t3:o4:1
# text = The Rat hadn't explained his idea, so the Mole could not see the plan yet
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Rat	Rat	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	explained	explain	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
6	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	idea	idea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	14	punct	_	_
9	so	so	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	Mole	mole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nsubj	_	_
12	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
13	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	14	advmod	_	_
14	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	plan	plan	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	_
17	yet	yet	ADV	RB	_	14	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **explain** *speech: assert* | past · perfect | the Rat | Rat's idea |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent idea=Topic |
| 2 | **not** **see** | could | the Mole | the plan |  |  | yet |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer plan=Stimulus |

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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.

<!-- /div -->

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- ↑ back to [The Wind in the Willows, chapter III, part 4: The Wild Wood (the door-scraper, the door-mat, and a green door)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/36-willows-ch3-part4-the-door-scraper/)