---
title: In the tale, what instructions did the hermit give the old man conce… — Pink Fairy Book, Rose-Leaf and Apple-B… · tree and pragmatics
description: In the tale, what instructions did the hermit give the old man concerning the apple, and how did the old man fail to observe them? Exam question 1 of lesson 675 «Pink Fairy Book, Rose-Leaf and Apple-Blossom, part 15: the prince finds his brothers, and the old man finds a baby girl» of the books cour
---

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# Exam question 1 · Pink Fairy Book, Rose-Leaf and Apple-Blossom, part 15: the…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
In the tale, what instructions did the hermit give the old man concerning the apple, and how did the old man fail to observe them?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 2 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** old man · **What happens:** give, concern, do, observe · **To what, where:** old man, tale, apple, old man fail, instructions

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 675 «Pink Fairy Book, Rose-Leaf and Apple-Blossom, part 15: the prince finds his brothers, and the old man finds a baby girl» 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/675-pg2435-part15/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:675-pg2435-part15:e1:1
# text = In the tale, what instructions did the hermit give the old man concerning the apple, and how did the old man fail to observe them?
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	tale	tale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
5	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	7	obj	_	_
6	instructions	instruction	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	nsubj	_	_
7	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	hermit	hermit	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	give	give	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
12	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
14	concerning	concern	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	13	acl	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	apple	apple	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
18	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
19	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	20	advmod	_	_
20	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	parataxis	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
22	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	24	amod	_	_
23	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	24	compound	_	_
24	fail	fail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obj	_	_
25	to	to	PART	TO	_	26	mark	_	_
26	observe	observe	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	24	acl	_	_
27	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	26	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | past · do-support |  | the old man |  | the tale |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent man=Theme |
| 2 | **concern** | gerund | the old man *not said here* | the apple |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus apple=Experiencer |
| 3 | **do** | past |  | the old man fail |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fail=Eventuality |
| 4 | **observe** | to-infinitive |  | instructions *= instruction* |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent they=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 -->
He was meant to share it, but he gobbled the lot up from thirst

<!-- fold The tree, 14 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:675-pg2435-part15:e1:o1:1
# text = He was meant to share it, but he gobbled the lot up from thirst
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	meant	mean	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	share	share	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
8	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	gobbled	gobble	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
11	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
12	lot	lot	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	_
13	up	up	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	_
14	from	from	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	thirst	thirst	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | past · passive |  | He |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **share** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | it |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **gobble up** | past | he | the lot |  | thirst |  |  | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent lot=Theme |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice · ✓ the right answer {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He was told to eat half and give the rest to his wife, but in his thirst he ate the whole apple

<!-- fold The tree, 22 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:675-pg2435-part15:e1:o2:1
# text = He was told to eat half and give the rest to his wife, but in his thirst he ate the whole apple
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	told	tell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	eat	eat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	half	half	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing|NumForm=Word|NumType=Frac	5	obj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	give	give	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	rest	rest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	to	to	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
15	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
16	in	in	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	18	nmod:poss	_	_
18	thirst	thirst	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obl	_	_
19	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	20	nsubj	_	_
20	ate	eat	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
22	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	23	amod	_	_
23	apple	apple	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past · passive |  | He |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: subject=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **eat** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | half |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent half=Patient |
| 3 | **give** | infinitive | He *not said here* | the rest | his wife |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent rest=Theme to wife=Recipient |
| 4 | **eat** | past | he | the whole apple |  | his thirst |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent apple=Patient |
| 5 | **thirst** |  | his *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom thirst «state intransitive»: poss=agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He was meant to save some for his wife, yet he swallowed all of it because he was thirsty and tired

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:675-pg2435-part15:e1:o3:1
# text = He was meant to save some for his wife, yet he swallowed all of it because he was thirsty and tired
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	meant	mean	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	save	save	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	5	obj	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
11	yet	yet	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
12	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
13	swallowed	swallow	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
14	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	13	obj	_	_
15	of	of	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
16	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	14	nmod	_	_
17	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	20	mark	_	_
18	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	20	nsubj	_	_
19	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	20	cop	_	_
20	thirsty	thirsty	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	advcl	_	_
21	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	22	cc	_	_
22	tired	tired	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | past · passive |  | He |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **save** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive |  | some |  |  |  | for his wife | vn get-13.5.1-1 «NP V NP PP.beneficiary»: agent=Agent some=Theme for wife=Beneficiary |
| 3 | **swallow** | past | he | all |  |  |  |  | vn gobble-39.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent all=Patient |
| 4 | **is** | past | he |  |  |  |  | thirsty *property* | tree rules |
| 5 | **be** |  | he *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He was told to eat half and give the rest to his wife and to keep it secret, but in his thirst he ate the whole apple on the road home

<!-- fold The tree, 31 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:675-pg2435-part15:e1:o4:1
# text = He was told to eat half and give the rest to his wife and to keep it secret, but in his thirst he ate the whole apple on the road home
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux:pass	_	_
3	told	tell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	eat	eat	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	half	half	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing|NumForm=Word|NumType=Frac	5	obj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	give	give	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	rest	rest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	to	to	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	13	nmod:poss	_	_
13	wife	wife	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	keep	keep	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	5	conj	_	_
17	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	obj	_	_
18	secret	secret	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	16	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	25	punct	_	_
20	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	25	cc	_	_
21	in	in	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
22	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	23	nmod:poss	_	_
23	thirst	thirst	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	obl	_	_
24	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	25	nsubj	_	_
25	ate	eat	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	parataxis	_	_
26	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	28	det	_	_
27	whole	whole	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	28	amod	_	_
28	apple	apple	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	obj	_	_
29	on	on	ADP	IN	_	31	case	_	_
30	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	31	det	_	_
31	road	road	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	obl	_	_
32	home	home	ADV	RB	_	25	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | past · passive |  | He |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: subject=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **eat** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | half |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent half=Patient |
| 3 | **give** | infinitive | He *not said here* | the rest | his wife |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent rest=Theme to wife=Recipient |
| 4 | **keep** | to-infinitive | He *not said here* | rest |  |  |  | secret *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Theme |
| 5 | **eat** | past | he | the whole apple |  | his thirst |  | on the road; home *property* | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent apple=Patient |
| 6 | **thirst** |  | his *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom thirst «state intransitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- 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 -->
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