---
title: What did Sea Vitch's reply to Kotick's request for information consi… — The Jungle Book, The White Seal, part… · tree and pragmatics
description: What did Sea Vitch's reply to Kotick's request for information consist of? Exam question 1 of lesson 618 «The Jungle Book, The White Seal, part 19: Kotick mocks Sea Vitch, then searches the seas for a quiet island and finds men had been there first» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with
---

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# Exam question 1 · The Jungle Book, The White Seal, part 19: Kotick mocks Sea…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What did Sea Vitch's reply to Kotick's request for information consist of?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 4 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** Sea Vitch, Kotick · **What happens:** do, reply, request · **To what, where:** reply

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 618 «The Jungle Book, The White Seal, part 19: Kotick mocks Sea Vitch, then searches the seas for a quiet island and finds men had been there first» 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/618-pg236-part19/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:618-pg236-part19:e1:1
# text = What did Sea Vitch's reply to Kotick's request for information consist of?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	2	nsubj	_	_
2	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	Sea	Sea	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	Vitch	Vitch	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	reply	reply	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
7	to	to	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	Kotick	Kotick	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	10	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	's	PART	POS	_	8	case	_	_
10	request	request	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
11	for	for	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	information	information	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	compound	_	_
13	consist	consist	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | past |  | Sea Vitch's reply |  |  |  | to Kotick's request for information consist | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent reply=Eventuality |
| 2 | **reply** |  | Sea Vitch |  |  |  |  |  | nom reply «communication transitive»: poss=agent |
| 3 | **request** |  | Kotick |  |  |  |  | for information consist | nom request «communication transitive»: poss=agent for=obl |

<!-- .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 -->
A long and detailed account of the sea cow's habits, given without any direction to seek him out.

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:618-pg236-part19:e1:o1:1
# text = A long and detailed account of the sea cow's habits, given without any direction to seek him out.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
2	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	amod	_	_
3	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
4	detailed	detailed	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	conj	_	_
5	account	account	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	cow	cow	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	's	's	PART	POS	_	9	case	_	_
11	habits	habit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
13	given	give	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	11	acl	_	_
14	without	without	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	16	det	_	_
16	direction	direction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	_
17	to	to	PART	TO	_	18	mark	_	_
18	seek	seek	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	advcl	_	_
19	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	obj	_	_
20	out	out	ADP	RP	_	18	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	11	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | participle |  | the sea cow's habits *not said here* |  |  |  | without any direction | vn break\_down-45.8 «NP V»: agent=Patient |
| 2 | **seek out** | to-infinitive |  | account |  |  |  |  | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A promise that Sea Cow would answer, though the reply itself gave no real information at all.

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:618-pg236-part19:e1:o2:1
# text = A promise that Sea Cow would answer, though the reply itself gave no real information at all.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	promise	promise	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	7	obj	_	_
4	Sea	Sea	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	compound	_	_
5	Cow	Cow	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
6	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	answer	answer	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
9	though	though	SCONJ	IN	_	13	mark	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	reply	reply	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
12	itself	itself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Emp|Reflex=Yes	11	nmod:unmarked	_	_
13	gave	give	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	conj	_	_
14	no	no	DET	DT	PronType=Neg	16	det	_	_
15	real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	amod	_	_
16	information	information	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obj	_	_
17	at	at	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	16	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **answer** *speech: assert* | would | Sea Cow | a promise |  |  |  |  | vn reciprocate-112-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent that=Eventuality |
| 2 | **give** | past | the reply  reply | no real information |  | all |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.asset»: agent=Agent information=Theme at all=Asset |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A refusal to answer, followed by a vague wish that Kotick should ask the gulls and puffins instead of anyone else.

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:618-pg236-part19:e1:o3:1
# text = A refusal to answer, followed by a vague wish that Kotick should ask the gulls and puffins instead of anyone else.
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	refusal	refusal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	answer	answer	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	6	punct	_	_
6	followed	follow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
7	by	by	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	vague	vague	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	wish	wish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
11	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	14	nsubj	_	_
12	Kotick	Kotick	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	14	nsubj	_	_
13	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	14	aux	_	_
14	ask	ask	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	10	acl:relcl	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	gulls	gull	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	14	obj	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
18	puffins	puffin	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	conj	_	_
19	instead	instead	ADV	RB	ExtPos=ADP	21	case	_	_
20	of	of	ADP	IN	_	19	fixed	_	_
21	anyone	anyone	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Ind	14	obl	_	_
22	else	else	ADV	RB	_	21	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **answer** *speech: assert* | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn reciprocate-112-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **follow** | participle |  | a refusal *not said here* |  |  |  | by a vague wish | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme by wish=Location |
| 3 | **ask** *speech: ask* | should | a vague wish | the gulls and puffins |  |  |  | instead anyone | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent gull=Recipient |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
An instruction to seek out Sea Cow, the reply having been given without any real answer.

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:618-pg236-part19:e1:o4:1
# text = An instruction to seek out Sea Cow, the reply having been given without any real answer.
1	An	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	instruction	instruction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	seek	seek	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	out	out	ADP	RP	_	4	compound:prt	_	_
6	Sea	Sea	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	compound	_	_
7	Cow	Cow	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	reply	reply	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	appos	_	_
11	having	have	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	13	aux	_	_
12	been	be	AUX	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	13	aux:pass	_	_
13	given	give	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	acl	_	_
14	without	without	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
15	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	17	det	_	_
16	real	real	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	17	amod	_	_
17	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **seek out** | to-infinitive | a instruction | Sea Cow |  |  |  |  | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent cow=Theme |
| 2 | **give** | gerund · perfect · passive |  | the reply *not said here* |  |  |  | without any real answer | vn break\_down-45.8 «NP V» |

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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 Jungle Book, The White Seal, part 19: Kotick mocks Sea Vitch, then searches the seas for a quiet island and finds men had been there first](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/618-pg236-part19/)