---
title: Monkeys were proper dancing till someone chucked nuts. What happened? — Aesop's Fables, The Cat and the Mice,… · tree and pragmatics
description: Monkeys were proper dancing till someone chucked nuts. What happened? Test 9 · ★ of lesson 394 «Aesop's Fables, The Cat and the Mice, part 15: a Cat hangs from a peg, pretends to be dead, and fails to lure the Mice out» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragm
---

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# Test 9 · ★ · Aesop's Fables, The Cat and the Mice, part 15: a Cat hangs…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Monkeys were proper dancing till someone chucked nuts. What happened?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 3 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** Monkeys, someone · **What happens:** be, chuck, happen · **To what, where:** proper dancing, nuts

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This is test 9 · ★ of lesson 394 «Aesop's Fables, The Cat and the Mice, part 15: a Cat hangs from a peg, pretends to be dead, and fails to lure the Mice out» 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/394-pg21-part15/#t9).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* Monkeys were proper dancing till someone chucked nuts.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:394-pg21-part15:t9:1
# text = Monkeys were proper dancing till someone chucked nuts.
1	Monkeys	monkey	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
2	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	proper	proper	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	dancing	dancing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	till	till	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	someone	someone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	7	nsubj	_	_
7	chucked	chuck	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	acl:relcl	_	_
8	nuts	nut	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | Monkeys | proper dancing |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **chuck** | past | someone | nuts |  |  |  |  | vn throw-17.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent nut=Theme |

<!-- .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:* What happened?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:394-pg21-part15:t9:2
# text = What happened?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	2	nsubj	_	_
2	happened	happen	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **happen** | past |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
they stopped dancing and fought over the nuts thrown at them

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:394-pg21-part15:t9:o1:1
# text = they stopped dancing and fought over the nuts thrown at them
1	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	stopped	stop	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	dancing	dance	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	xcomp	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	5	cc	_	_
5	fought	fight	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
6	over	over	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	nuts	nut	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
9	thrown	throw	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	8	acl	_	_
10	at	at	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	9	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **stop** | past | they |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Affector clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **dance** | gerund | they *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 3 | **fight** | past | they *not said here* |  |  |  |  | over the nuts | vn battle-36.4-1 «NP V PP.theme NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent over nut=Theme |
| 4 | **throw** | participle |  | the nuts *not said here* |  |  |  | at nuts *= nut* | vn throw-17.1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.destinations»: agent=Agent at they=Destination |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
they ran off the stage

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:394-pg21-part15:t9:o2:1
# text = they ran off the stage
1	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	ran	run	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	off	off	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	stage	stage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **run off** | past | they | the stage |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme stage=Trajectory |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
they fought over the nuts

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:394-pg21-part15:t9:o3:1
# text = they fought over the nuts
1	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	fought	fight	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	over	over	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	nuts	nut	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **fight** | past | they |  |  |  |  | over the nuts | vn battle-36.4-1 «NP V PP.theme NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent over nut=Theme |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
they tumbled off the stage and grabbed at the nuts on the floor

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:394-pg21-part15:t9:o4:1
# text = they tumbled off the stage and grabbed at the nuts on the floor
1	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	tumbled	tumble	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	off	off	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	stage	stage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	grabbed	grab	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	conj	_	_
8	at	at	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	nuts	nut	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
11	on	on	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	floor	floor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tumble** | past | they |  |  | the stage |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme off stage=Initial\_Location |
| 2 | **grab** | participle | they *not said here* |  |  | the nuts |  | on the floor | vn steal-10.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=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.

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- ← previous: [Aesop's Fables, The Cat and the Mice,…, test 8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/394-pg21-part15/t8/)
- next →: [Aesop's Fables, The Cat and the Mice,…, test 10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/394-pg21-part15/t10/)
- ↑ back to [Aesop's Fables, The Cat and the Mice, part 15: a Cat hangs from a peg, pretends to be dead, and fails to lure the Mice out](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/394-pg21-part15/)