---
title: What reason did the narrator give for the loss of hair upon the tail… — Uncle Remus, Possum Has No Hair on His… · tree and pragmatics
description: What reason did the narrator give for the loss of hair upon the tail of the Possum? Exam question 2 of lesson 583 «Uncle Remus, Possum Has No Hair on His Tail: Brer Possum loses his tail hair while stealing Brer Bear's persimmons.» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tr
---

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# Exam question 2 · Uncle Remus, Possum Has No Hair on His Tail: Brer Possum l…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What reason did the narrator give for the loss of hair upon the tail of the Possum?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** narrator · **What happens:** give

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 583 «Uncle Remus, Possum Has No Hair on His Tail: Brer Possum loses his tail hair while stealing Brer Bear's persimmons.» of the books course of Mova's primary school, asked in stiff, formal language. 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/583-pg2306-part19/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:583-pg2306-part19:e2:1
# text = What reason did the narrator give for the loss of hair upon the tail of the Possum?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	6	obl	_	_
2	reason	reason	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nsubj	_	_
3	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	aux	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	narrator	narrator	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	give	give	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	loss	loss	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	hair	hair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	_
12	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
15	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	Possum	Possum	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past · do-support | the narrator |  |  |  |  | for the loss of hair; upon the tail of the Possum | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.asset»: agent=Agent for loss=Asset |

<!-- .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 -->
Brer Bear's grip as the Possum fled through the fence rails

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:583-pg2306-part19:e2:o1:1
# text = Brer Bear's grip as the Possum fled through the fence rails
1	Brer	Brer	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	Bear	Bear	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	grip	grip	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
5	as	as	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	Possum	Possum	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	fled	flee	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	through	through	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
11	fence	fence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	_
12	rails	rail	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **flee** | past | Brer Bear's grip as the Possum |  |  | the fence rails |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme through rail=Initial\_Location |
| 2 | **grip** |  | Brer Bear |  |  |  |  | as the Possum | nom grip «act transitive»: poss=agent as=obl |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
the Possum's tail catching on the fence while he fled in fear

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:583-pg2306-part19:e2:o2:1
# text = the Possum's tail catching on the fence while he fled in fear
1	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Possum	Possum	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	catching	catch	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	fence	fence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	while	while	SCONJ	IN	_	11	mark	_	_
10	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	nsubj	_	_
11	fled	flee	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	advcl	_	_
12	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
13	fear	fear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **catch** | gerund | the Possum's tail |  |  | the fence |  |  | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **flee** | past | tail |  |  | fear |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
the bees stinging his tail as he ran

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:583-pg2306-part19:e2:o3:1
# text = the bees stinging his tail as he ran
1	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	bees	bee	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	3	nsubj	_	_
3	stinging	sting	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	5	nmod:poss	_	_
5	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obj	_	_
6	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	ran	run	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **sting** | gerund | the bees | his tail |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus tail=Experiencer |
| 2 | **run** | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Brer Bear's grip while the Possum fled

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:583-pg2306-part19:e2:o4:1
# text = Brer Bear's grip while the Possum fled
1	Brer	Brer	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	compound	_	_
2	Bear	Bear	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	grip	grip	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
5	while	while	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	Possum	Possum	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
8	fled	flee	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **flee** | past | Brer Bear's grip  the Possum |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **grip** |  | Brer Bear |  |  |  |  |  | nom grip «act transitive»: 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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- ← previous: [Uncle Remus, Possum Has No Hair on His…, exam 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/583-pg2306-part19/e1/)
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- ↑ back to [Uncle Remus, Possum Has No Hair on His Tail: Brer Possum loses his tail hair while stealing Brer Bear's persimmons.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/583-pg2306-part19/)