---
title: By what mistake does the shepherd cause the death of the Wolf? — Aesop's Fables, The Cat and the Cock:… · tree and pragmatics
description: By what mistake does the shepherd cause the death of the Wolf? Exam question 3 of lesson 386 «Aesop's Fables, The Cat and the Cock: a cat invents an excuse to eat a cock, and a wolf in sheep's clothing is killed by mistake» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and p
---

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# Exam question 3 · Aesop's Fables, The Cat and the Cock: a cat invents an exc…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By what mistake does the shepherd cause the death of the Wolf?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Wolf · **What happens:** do, cause, die · **To what, where:** shepherd, death

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 386 «Aesop's Fables, The Cat and the Cock: a cat invents an excuse to eat a cock, and a wolf in sheep's clothing is killed by mistake» 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/386-pg21-part7/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:386-pg21-part7:e3:1
# text = By what mistake does the shepherd cause the death of the Wolf?
1	By	by	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	3	nsubj	_	_
3	mistake	mistake	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
4	does	do	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	shepherd	shepherd	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	cause	cause	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	death	death	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	Wolf	Wolf	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | present |  | the shepherd |  |  |  | by mistake | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent shepherd=Eventuality |
| 2 | **cause** | present |  | the death of the Wolf |  |  |  |  | vn engender-27.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition death=Patient |
| 3 | **die** |  | the Wolf |  |  |  |  |  | nom death «event intransitive»: of=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 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He seizes the Wolf in the dark, mistaking him for a sheep, because he could not see clearly

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:386-pg21-part7:e3:o1:1
# text = He seizes the Wolf in the dark, mistaking him for a sheep, because he could not see clearly
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	seizes	seize	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	Wolf	Wolf	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	in	in	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	dark	dark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
9	mistaking	mistake	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	advcl	_	_
10	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obj	_	_
11	for	for	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	sheep	sheep	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
15	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	19	mark	_	_
16	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	19	nsubj	_	_
17	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	19	aux	_	_
18	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	19	advmod	_	_
19	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	parataxis	_	_
20	clearly	clearly	ADV	RB	_	19	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **seize** | present | He | the Wolf |  | the dark |  |  | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent wolf=Theme |
| 2 | **mistake** | gerund | He *not said here* | him *= he* |  |  |  | for a sheep | tree rules |
| 3 | **not** **see** | could | sheep |  |  |  |  | clearly *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He lets the Wolf escape and then accidentally catches a sheep in the dark near the fold

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:386-pg21-part7:e3:o2:1
# text = He lets the Wolf escape and then accidentally catches a sheep in the dark near the fold
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	lets	let	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	Wolf	Wolf	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	escape	escape	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
7	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	9	advmod	_	_
8	accidentally	accidentally	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	catches	catch	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	sheep	sheep	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obj	_	_
12	in	in	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	dark	dark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
15	near	near	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	fold	fold	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **let** | present | He | the Wolf escape |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent escape=Theme |
| 2 | **catch** | present | He *not said here* | a sheep |  | the dark | then | near the fold; accidentally *property* | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sheep=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He grabs the fox instead of the lamb

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:386-pg21-part7:e3:o3:1
# text = He grabs the fox instead of the lamb
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	grabs	grab	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	fox	fox	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	instead	instead	ADV	RB	ExtPos=ADP	8	case	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	fixed	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	lamb	lamb	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **grab** | present | He | the fox |  |  |  | instead the lamb | vn steal-10.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fox=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He seizes the Wolf instead of a sheep

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:386-pg21-part7:e3:o4:1
# text = He seizes the Wolf instead of a sheep
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	seizes	seize	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	Wolf	Wolf	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	instead	instead	ADV	RB	ExtPos=ADP	8	case	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	fixed	_	_
7	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	sheep	sheep	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **seize** | present | He | the Wolf |  |  |  | instead a sheep | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent wolf=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's Fables, The Cat and the Cock:…, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/386-pg21-part7/e2/)
- next →: [Aesop's Fables, The Cat and the Cock:…, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/386-pg21-part7/e4/)
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