---
title: that circle thing with the knife, was it just a joke or did it actua… — Russian Folk-Tales, The Soldier's Midn… · tree and pragmatics
description: that circle thing with the knife, was it just a joke or did it actually work? Test 4 · ★ of lesson 469 «Russian Folk-Tales, The Soldier's Midnight Watch, part 1: a priest's son outwits a witch princess, then a soldier is warned about a merchant's daughter» of the books course of Mova's primary schoo
---

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# Test 4 · ★ · Russian Folk-Tales, The Soldier's Midnight Watch, part 1:…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
that circle thing with the knife, was it just a joke or did it actually work?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** circle thing, thing · **What happens:** be, work · **To what, where:** joke

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 4 · ★ of lesson 469 «Russian Folk-Tales, The Soldier's Midnight Watch, part 1: a priest's son outwits a witch princess, then a soldier is warned about a merchant's daughter» 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/469-pg22373-part61/#t4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:469-pg22373-part61:t4:1
# text = that circle thing with the knife, was it just a joke or did it actually work?
1	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	3	det	_	_
2	circle	circle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	compound	_	_
3	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
4	with	with	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	knife	knife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
8	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
10	just	just	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
11	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	joke	joke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
13	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	17	cc	_	_
14	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	17	aux	_	_
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
16	actually	actually	ADV	RB	_	17	advmod	_	_
17	work	work	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	12	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | that circle thing with the knife | a joke |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **work** | past · do-support | thing |  |  |  |  | actually *property* | vn employment-95.3 «NP V»: agent=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 -->
it totally worked, the witch got nowhere

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:469-pg22373-part61:t4:o1:1
# text = it totally worked, the witch got nowhere
1	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	totally	totally	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	worked	work	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	7	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	witch	witch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	got	get	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
8	nowhere	nowhere	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	7	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | past | it |  |  |  |  | totally *property* | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **get** | past | the witch |  |  |  |  | nowhere *property* | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
it was a joke at first but then it worked, the witch couldn't break in, wild stuff

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:469-pg22373-part61:t4:o2:1
# text = it was a joke at first but then it worked, the witch couldn't break in, wild stuff
1	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	joke	joke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	at	at	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	4	nmod	_	_
7	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
8	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	10	advmod	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	worked	work	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	witch	witch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	nsubj	_	_
14	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	16	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	16	advmod	_	_
16	break	break	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	ccomp	_	_
17	in	in	ADP	RP	_	16	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
19	wild	wild	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	amod	_	_
20	stuff	stuff	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | it | a joke and wild stuff |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **work** | past | it |  |  |  | then |  | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 3 | **not** **break in** | could | the witch |  |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
it actually worked, the witch couldn't break in

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:469-pg22373-part61:t4:o3:1
# text = it actually worked, the witch couldn't break in
1	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	actually	actually	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	worked	work	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	witch	witch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
7	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	break	break	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	RP	_	9	compound:prt	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | past | it |  |  |  |  | actually *property* | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **not** **break in** | could | the witch |  |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
it actually worked, the witch couldn't break in and the priest's son was totally safe, no cap

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:469-pg22373-part61:t4:o4:1
# text = it actually worked, the witch couldn't break in and the priest's son was totally safe, no cap
1	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	actually	actually	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	worked	work	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	9	punct	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	witch	witch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nsubj	_	_
7	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	break	break	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
10	in	in	ADP	RP	_	9	compound:prt	_	_
11	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	priest	priest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	's	's	PART	POS	_	13	case	_	_
15	son	son	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nsubj	_	_
16	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	18	cop	_	_
17	totally	totally	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
18	safe	safe	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
20	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	21	det	_	_
21	cap	cap	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **work** | past | it | no cap |  |  |  | actually *property* | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **not** **break in** | could | the witch |  |  |  |  |  | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient |
| 3 | **is** | past | the priest's son |  |  |  |  | safe, totally *property* | tree rules |

<!-- div src -->

**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: [Russian Folk-Tales, The Soldier's Midn…, test 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/469-pg22373-part61/t3/)
- next →: [Russian Folk-Tales, The Soldier's Midn…, test 5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/469-pg22373-part61/t5/)
- ↑ back to [Russian Folk-Tales, The Soldier's Midnight Watch, part 1: a priest's son outwits a witch princess, then a soldier is warned about a merchant's daughter](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/469-pg22373-part61/)