---
title: Why does the girl let Toad talk so much about himself? — The Wind in the Willows, chapter VIII,… · tree and pragmatics
description: Why does the girl let Toad talk so much about himself? Test 9 · ★ of lesson 52 «The Wind in the Willows, chapter VIII, part 1: Toad's Adventures (the gaoler's daughter and the buttered toast)» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and o
---

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# Test 9 · ★ · The Wind in the Willows, chapter VIII, part 1: Toad's Adve…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Why does the girl let Toad talk so much about himself?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 2 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** girl, Toad · **What happens:** let, talk · **To what, where:** Toad

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 9 · ★ of lesson 52 «The Wind in the Willows, chapter VIII, part 1: Toad's Adventures (the gaoler's daughter and the buttered toast)» 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/52-willows-ch8-part1-the-gaolers-daughter/#t9).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:52-willows-ch8-part1-the-gaolers-daughter:t9:1
# text = Why does the girl let Toad talk so much about himself?
1	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	5	advmod	_	_
2	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	girl	girl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	let	let	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
6	Toad	Toad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
7	talk	talk	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	xcomp	_	_
8	so	so	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	much	much	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
10	about	about	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	himself	himself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **let** | present · do-support | the girl | Toad |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **talk** | infinitive | Toad *not said here* |  |  |  |  | about Toad | vn talk-37.5 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent about himself=Topic |

<!-- .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 -->
She knows his talk comforts him, and she encourages it as part of the care that cures his despair

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:52-willows-ch8-part1-the-gaolers-daughter:t9:o1:1
# text = She knows his talk comforts him, and she encourages it as part of the care that cures his despair
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	knows	know	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	4	nmod:poss	_	_
4	talk	talk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	comforts	comfort	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
6	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	she	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	encourages	encourage	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
11	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	obj	_	_
12	as	as	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	part	part	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	care	care	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	_
17	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	18	nsubj	_	_
18	cures	cure	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	16	acl:relcl	_	_
19	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	20	nmod:poss	_	_
20	despair	despair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **know** | present | She |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 2 | **comfort** | present | his talk | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus he=Experiencer |
| 3 | **encourage** | present | talk | it |  |  |  | as part of the care | vn accept-77.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |
| 4 | **cure** | present | the care | his despair |  |  |  |  | vn free-10.6.3-1-1 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Causer despair=Source |
| 5 | **talk** |  | his *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom talk «communication intransitive»: poss=agent |
| 6 | **despair** |  | his *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom despair «state intransitive»: poss=agent |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She sees it does him as much good as the tea

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:52-willows-ch8-part1-the-gaolers-daughter:t9:o2:1
# text = She sees it does him as much good as the tea
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	sees	see	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
4	does	do	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
5	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obj	_	_
6	as	as	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
7	much	much	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	_
9	as	as	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	tea	tea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **see** | present | She |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 2 | **do** | present | it | him *= he* |  |  |  | good *property* | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Eventuality |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He talks because the girl has ordered him to talk about himself for her amusement every single day

<!-- fold The tree, 18 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:52-willows-ch8-part1-the-gaolers-daughter:t9:o3:1
# text = He talks because the girl has ordered him to talk about himself for her amusement every single day
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	talks	talk	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	girl	girl	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj:pass	_	_
6	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	ordered	order	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	advcl	_	_
8	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	obj	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	talk	talk	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	xcomp	_	_
11	about	about	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	himself	himself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	10	obl	_	_
13	for	for	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
15	amusement	amusement	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
16	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	18	det	_	_
17	single	single	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	_
18	day	day	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl:unmarked	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **talk** | present | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **order** | present · perfect · passive |  | the girl | him *= he* |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **talk** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the girl *not said here* |  |  |  | day | about himself *= he*; for girl's amusement | vn talk-37.5 «NP V PP.topic»: agent=Agent about himself=Topic |
| 4 | **amuse** |  | girl |  |  |  |  |  | nom amusement «feeling transitive»: poss=agent |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
She wants him to tell her his secrets

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:52-willows-ch8-part1-the-gaolers-daughter:t9:o4:1
# text = She wants him to tell her his secrets
1	She	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wants	want	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	tell	tell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
6	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	iobj	_	_
7	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	secrets	secret	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **want** | present | She | him *= he* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | him *= he* *not said here* | his secrets | her *= she* |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent she=Recipient secret=Topic |

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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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- ↑ back to [The Wind in the Willows, chapter VIII, part 1: Toad's Adventures (the gaoler's daughter and the buttered toast)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/52-willows-ch8-part1-the-gaolers-daughter/)