---
title: Ascertain the error which the narrator attributes to the occupants o… — The Wind in the Willows, chapter X, pa… · tree and pragmatics
description: Ascertain the error which the narrator attributes to the occupants of the motor-car. Exam question 2 of lesson 64 «The Wind in the Willows, chapter X, part 4: The Further Adventures of Toad (the horse-pond, the chase and a face in the bank)» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dep
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/64-willows-ch10-part4-into-the-horse-pond/e2/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [questions](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/) / [Books](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/) / [The Wind in the Willows, chapter X, pa…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/64-willows-ch10-part4-into-the-horse-pond/) / e2

# Exam question 2 · The Wind in the Willows, chapter X, part 4: The Further Ad…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ascertain the error which the narrator attributes to the occupants of the motor-car.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, narrator · **What happens:** ascertain, attribute · **To what, where:** error

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 64 «The Wind in the Willows, chapter X, part 4: The Further Adventures of Toad (the horse-pond, the chase and a face in the bank)» 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/64-willows-ch10-part4-into-the-horse-pond/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:64-willows-ch10-part4-into-the-horse-pond:e2:1
# text = Ascertain the error which the narrator attributes to the occupants of the motor-car.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	error	error	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	7	obj	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	narrator	narrator	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	attributes	attribute	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	acl:relcl	_	_
8	to	to	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	occupants	occupant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
13	motor	motor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* | the error |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent error=Topic |
| 2 | **attribute** | present | the narrator | the error |  |  |  | to the occupants of the motor car | 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.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
That they omitted to warn Toad of the danger and then attempted to restrain him before stopping the vehicle

<!-- fold The tree, 19 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:64-willows-ch10-part4-into-the-horse-pond:e2:o1:1
# text = That they omitted to warn Toad of the danger and then attempted to restrain him before stopping the vehicle
1	That	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	3	nsubj	_	_
2	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	omitted	omit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	warn	warn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	Toad	Toad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	danger	danger	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
11	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	12	advmod	_	_
12	attempted	attempt	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
13	to	to	PART	TO	_	14	mark	_	_
14	restrain	restrain	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	12	xcomp	_	_
15	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	obj	_	_
16	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	17	mark	_	_
17	stopping	stop	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	14	advcl	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	vehicle	vehicle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **omit** | past | That |  |  |  |  |  | vn neglect-75.1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **warn** *speech: warn* | to-infinitive | That *not said here* |  | Toad |  |  | of the danger | vn advise-37.9-1 «NP V NP PP.topic»: agent=Agent toad=Recipient of danger=Topic |
| 3 | **attempt** | past | That *not said here* |  |  |  | then |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 4 | **restrain** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | That *not said here* | Toad |  |  |  |  | vn discourage-64.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer he=Eventuality |
| 5 | **stop** | gerund | That *not said here* | the vehicle |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Subeventuality vehicle=Eventuality |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
That they shouted too loudly at him

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:64-willows-ch10-part4-into-the-horse-pond:e2:o2:1
# text = That they shouted too loudly at him
1	That	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	3	nsubj	_	_
2	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	shouted	shout	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	too	too	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	loudly	loudly	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
6	at	at	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **shout** *speech: express* | past | That |  |  |  |  | at him *= he*; loudly *property* | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
That they should have called the police at once and then waited quietly by the car until the chauffeur arrived

<!-- fold The tree, 20 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:64-willows-ch10-part4-into-the-horse-pond:e2:o3:1
# text = That they should have called the police at once and then waited quietly by the car until the chauffeur arrived
1	That	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
4	have	have	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	aux	_	_
5	called	call	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	police	police	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
8	at	at	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	once	once	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Mult	5	obl	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
11	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	12	advmod	_	_
12	waited	wait	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
13	quietly	quietly	ADV	RB	_	12	advmod	_	_
14	by	by	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	car	car	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obl	_	_
17	until	until	SCONJ	IN	_	20	mark	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	chauffeur	chauffeur	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nsubj	_	_
20	arrived	arrive	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **call** | should · perfect · passive |  | That |  |  |  |  | vn dub-29.3.2 «NP V NP NP»: subject=Theme police=Result |
| 2 | **wait** | past |  |  |  |  | then | by the car; quietly *property* | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme by car=Location |
| 3 | **arrive** | past | the chauffeur |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
That they omitted to stop the vehicle before attempting to restrain Toad

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:64-willows-ch10-part4-into-the-horse-pond:e2:o4:1
# text = That they omitted to stop the vehicle before attempting to restrain Toad
1	That	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	3	nsubj	_	_
2	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	omitted	omit	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	stop	stop	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	vehicle	vehicle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	9	mark	_	_
9	attempting	attempt	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	advcl	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	restrain	restrain	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	_
12	Toad	Toad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **omit** | past | That |  |  |  |  |  | vn neglect-75.1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **stop** | to-infinitive | That *not said here* | the vehicle |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP V NP.eventuality»: agent=Subeventuality vehicle=Eventuality |
| 3 | **attempt** | gerund | That *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 4 | **restrain** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | That *not said here* | Toad |  |  |  |  | vn discourage-64.5-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Causer toad=Eventuality |

<!-- 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [The Wind in the Willows, chapter X, pa…, exam 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/64-willows-ch10-part4-into-the-horse-pond/e1/)
- next →: [The Wind in the Willows, chapter X, pa…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/64-willows-ch10-part4-into-the-horse-pond/e3/)
- ↑ back to [The Wind in the Willows, chapter X, part 4: The Further Adventures of Toad (the horse-pond, the chase and a face in the bank)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/64-willows-ch10-part4-into-the-horse-pond/)