---
title: ★★★ «I know some animals who would give their ears to be sitting dow… — The Wind in the Willows, chapter V, pa… · tree and pragmatics
description: ★★★ «I know some animals who would give their ears to be sitting down to supper with us.» Does he mean they'd really cut off their ears? Test 17 · ★★★ of lesson 43 «The Wind in the Willows, chapter V, part 3: Dulce Domum (a dusty home, a sardine supper, and voices outside)» of the books course of Mo
---

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# Test 17 · ★★★ · The Wind in the Willows, chapter V, part 3: Dulce Domum (a…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
★★★ «I know some animals who would give their ears to be sitting down to supper with us.» Does he mean they'd really cut off their ears?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** I, animals, he · **What happens:** know, give, sit down, supper, mean, cut off · **To what, where:** ★ ★ ★, ears · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 17 · ★★★ of lesson 43 «The Wind in the Willows, chapter V, part 3: Dulce Domum (a dusty home, a sardine supper, and voices outside)» 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/43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers/#t17).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* ★★★ «I know some animals who would give their ears to be sitting down to supper with us.»

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers:t17:1
# text = ★★★ «I know some animals who would give their ears to be sitting down to supper with us.»
1	★	★	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	★	★	X	FW	_	3	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	★	★	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod:desc	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	know	know	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	8	det	_	_
8	animals	animal	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
9	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
10	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	11	aux	_	_
11	give	give	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	acl:relcl	_	_
12	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	ears	ear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obj	_	_
14	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
15	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	aux	_	_
16	sitting	sit	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	11	advcl	_	_
17	down	down	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	_
18	to	to	PART	TO	_	19	mark	_	_
19	supper	supper	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	advcl	_	_
20	with	with	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
21	us	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	19	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **know** *in a quote* | present | I | ★ ★ ★ |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer animal=Stimulus |
| 2 | **give** *in a quote* | would | some animals | animals's ears |  |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent ear=Theme |
| 3 | **sit down** *in a quote* | to-infinitive · progressive | some animals *not said here* |  |  |  |  | down *property* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **supper** *in a quote* | to-infinitive | some animals *not said here* |  |  |  |  | with us | 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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* Does he mean they'd really cut off their ears?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers:t17:2
# text = Does he mean they'd really cut off their ears?
1	Does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
2	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	mean	mean	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
4	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	'd	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
6	really	really	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	cut	cut	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
8	off	off	ADP	RP	_	7	compound:prt	_	_
9	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	ears	ear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present · do-support | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **cut off** | would | animals *= animal* | animals's ears |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Affector ear=Eventuality |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yes, they would cut them off gladly

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers:t17:o1:1
# text = Yes, they would cut them off gladly
1	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	5	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
4	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	cut	cut	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	_
7	off	off	ADP	RP	_	5	compound:prt	_	_
8	gladly	gladly	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cut off** | would | they | them *= they* |  |  |  | gladly *property* | vn stop-55.4-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Affector they=Eventuality |

### Option 2 · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No — it means they'd want it very much

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers:t17:o2:1
# text = No — it means they'd want it very much
1	No	no	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Neg	4	discourse	_	_
2	—	-	PUNCT	:	_	4	punct	_	_
3	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	'd	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	want	want	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	ccomp	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	_
9	very	very	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
10	much	much	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | it |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **want** | would | they | it |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot it=Theme |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Yes, he means they would really cut off their ears to be at supper with them

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers:t17:o3:1
# text = Yes, he means they would really cut off their ears to be at supper with them
1	Yes	yes	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Pos	4	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
6	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
7	really	really	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	cut	cut	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	4	ccomp	_	_
9	off	off	ADP	RP	_	8	compound:prt	_	_
10	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	11	nmod:poss	_	_
11	ears	ear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	_
12	to	to	PART	TO	_	15	mark	_	_
13	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	15	cop	_	_
14	at	at	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	supper	supper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	advcl	_	_
16	with	with	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
17	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **cut off** | would | they | their ears |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Affector ear=Eventuality |
| 3 | **is** | to-infinitive | they *not said here* |  |  | supper |  | with ears *= ear* | tree rules |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
No, he means they admire the Mole's hearing and his lovely sharp ears

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:43-willows-ch5-part3-sardines-and-carol-singers:t17:o4:1
# text = No, he means they admire the Mole's hearing and his lovely sharp ears
1	No	no	INTJ	UH	Polarity=Neg	4	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
3	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	6	nsubj	_	_
6	admire	admire	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	ccomp	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	Mole	mole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	's	PART	POS	_	8	case	_	_
10	hearing	hearing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
12	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
13	lovely	lovely	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
14	sharp	sharp	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	ears	ear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **admire** | present | they | the Mole's hearing and his lovely sharp ears |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer hearing=Stimulus |
| 3 | **hear** |  | the Mole |  |  |  |  |  | nom hearing «act 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.

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