---
title: Oi, the cat nabbed the cock, innit, so what was his excuse? — Aesop's Fables, The Cat and the Cock:… · tree and pragmatics
description: Oi, the cat nabbed the cock, innit, so what was his excuse? Test 1 · ★ 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 pragmatic
---

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# Test 1 · ★ · Aesop's Fables, The Cat and the Cock: a cat invents an exc…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Oi, the cat nabbed the cock, innit, so what was his excuse?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Oi, cock · **What happens:** nab, innit, be · **To what, where:** cock, excuse

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 1 · ★ 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. 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/#t1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:386-pg21-part7:t1:1
# text = Oi, the cat nabbed the cock, innit, so what was his excuse?
1	Oi	oi	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	cat	cat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	nabbed	nab	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	cock	cock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
9	innit	innit	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
11	so	so	ADV	RB	_	15	advmod	_	_
12	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	15	nsubj	_	_
13	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
14	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
15	excuse	excuse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **nab** | past | Oi | the cock |  |  |  |  | vn prosecute-33.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cock=Patient |
| 2 | **innit** | infinitive | the cock *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **is a** | past |  | cat's excuse |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- .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 said he crows at night so the men wake up early for their daily work

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:386-pg21-part7:t1:o1:1
# text = He said he crows at night so the men wake up early for their daily work
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	crows	crow	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
7	so	so	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	men	man	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	nsubj	_	_
10	wake	wake	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
11	up	up	ADP	RP	_	10	compound:prt	_	_
12	early	early	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	10	advmod	_	_
13	for	for	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
14	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	16	nmod:poss	_	_
15	daily	daily	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	work	work	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **crow** | present | he |  |  |  | night |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **wake up** | present | the men |  |  |  |  | for men's daily work; early *property* | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 4 | **work** |  | men *= man* |  |  |  |  |  | nom work «act intransitive»: poss=agent |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Cock was crowing all night long and keeping everyone awake in the village

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:386-pg21-part7:t1:o2:1
# text = Cock was crowing all night long and keeping everyone awake in the village
1	Cock	cock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	crowing	crow	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	5	det	_	_
5	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl:unmarked	_	_
6	long	long	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	3	advmod	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	keeping	keep	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	conj	_	_
9	everyone	everyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	8	obj	_	_
10	awake	awake	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	xcomp	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	village	village	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **crow** | past · progressive | Cock |  |  |  | night | long *property* | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **keep** | gerund | Cock *not said here* | everyone |  | the village |  | awake *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent everyone=Theme in village=Location |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Cock keeps everyone up crowing at night

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:386-pg21-part7:t1:o3:1
# text = Cock keeps everyone up crowing at night
1	Cock	cock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	keeps	keep	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	everyone	everyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Tot	2	obj	_	_
4	up	up	ADP	RP	_	2	compound:prt	_	_
5	crowing	crow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	xcomp	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **keep up** | present | Cock | everyone |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **crow** | gerund | everyone *not said here* |  |  |  | night |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Cock wakes folks with his crowing

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:386-pg21-part7:t1:o4:1
# text = Cock wakes folks with his crowing
1	Cock	cock	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wakes	wake	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	folks	folk	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	crowing	crowing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wake** | present | Cock | folks |  |  |  | with Cock's crowing | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent folk=Patient with crowing=Instrument |
| 2 | **crow** |  | Cock |  |  |  |  |  | nom crowing «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |

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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 Farmer and the Sto…, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/385-pg21-part6/e4/)
- next →: [Aesop's Fables, The Cat and the Cock:…, test 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/386-pg21-part7/t2/)
- ↑ back to [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](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/386-pg21-part7/)