---
title: What was the state of the nest at the moment when the Farmer and his… — Aesop for Children, The Lark and Her Y… · tree and pragmatics
description: What was the state of the nest at the moment when the Farmer and his son began to cut the grain at sunrise? Exam question 3 of lesson 377 «Aesop for Children, The Lark and Her Young Ones: the farmer must cut his wheat himself, so the larks fly away» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with
---

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# Exam question 3 · Aesop for Children, The Lark and Her Young Ones: the farme…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What was the state of the nest at the moment when the Farmer and his son began to cut the grain at sunrise?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Farmer · **What happens:** be, begin, cut · **To what, where:** state, grain

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 377 «Aesop for Children, The Lark and Her Young Ones: the farmer must cut his wheat himself, so the larks fly away» 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/377-pg19994-part16/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:377-pg19994-part16:e3:1
# text = What was the state of the nest at the moment when the Farmer and his son began to cut the grain at sunrise?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	state	state	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	nest	nest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	at	at	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
11	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	17	advmod	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	Farmer	Farmer	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	17	nsubj	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
15	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	16	nmod:poss	_	_
16	son	son	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	conj	_	_
17	began	begin	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	acl:relcl	_	_
18	to	to	PART	TO	_	19	mark	_	_
19	cut	cut	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	17	xcomp	_	_
20	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
21	grain	grain	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obj	_	_
22	at	at	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
23	sunrise	sunrise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	19	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
24	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past |  | the state |  |  | moment | of the nest | tree rules |
| 2 | **begin** | past | the Farmer and his son |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 3 | **cut** | to-infinitive | the Farmer and his son *not said here* | the grain |  |  | sunrise |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset grain=Product |

<!-- .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 -->
The nest was still full of young Larks waiting

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:377-pg19994-part16:e3:o1:1
# text = The nest was still full of young Larks waiting
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	nest	nest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	still	still	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	Larks	lark	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
9	waiting	wait	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	8	acl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the nest |  |  |  | still | of young Larks; full *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **wait** | gerund | young Larks *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The nest held four eggs, still warm from the mother lark's body

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:377-pg19994-part16:e3:o2:1
# text = The nest held four eggs, still warm from the mother lark's body
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	nest	nest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	held	hold	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	four	four	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	eggs	egg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
7	still	still	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	warm	warm	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
9	from	from	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	mother	mother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	lark	lark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	's	's	PART	POS	_	12	case	_	_
14	body	body	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold** | participle | the nest *not said here* | four eggs |  |  |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent egg=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The nest was empty, the young Larks having departed in the night

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:377-pg19994-part16:e3:o3:1
# text = The nest was empty, the young Larks having departed in the night
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	nest	nest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	empty	empty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	Larks	lark	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj:pass	_	_
9	having	have	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	10	aux	_	_
10	departed	depart	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	advcl	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the nest |  |  |  |  | empty *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **depart** | gerund · perfect · passive |  | the young Larks |  |  | night |  | vn escape-51.1-1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Initial\_Location |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The nest was full of young larks still waiting for their mother to return

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:377-pg19994-part16:e3:o4:1
# text = The nest was full of young larks still waiting for their mother to return
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	nest	nest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
4	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	young	young	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	larks	lark	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
8	still	still	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	waiting	wait	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	parataxis	_	_
10	for	for	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
12	mother	mother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	return	return	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the nest |  |  |  |  | of young larks; full *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **wait** | gerund |  |  |  |  | still | for larks's mother | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **return** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=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.

<!-- /div -->

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- ← previous: [Aesop for Children, The Lark and Her Y…, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/377-pg19994-part16/e2/)
- next →: [Aesop for Children, The Lark and Her Y…, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/377-pg19994-part16/e4/)
- ↑ back to [Aesop for Children, The Lark and Her Young Ones: the farmer must cut his wheat himself, so the larks fly away](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/377-pg19994-part16/)