---
title: ★★★ «But we don't want to teach 'em. We want to learn 'em.» Why is B… — The Wind in the Willows, chapter XI, p… · tree and pragmatics
description: ★★★ «But we don't want to teach 'em. We want to learn 'em.» Why is Badger's answer a joke? Test 18 · ★★★ of lesson 68 «The Wind in the Willows, chapter XI, part 4: «Like Summer Tempests Came His Tears» (the secret passage, the birthday banquet and «learn 'em»)» of the books course of Mova's primary 
---

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# Test 18 · ★★★ · The Wind in the Willows, chapter XI, part 4: «Like Summer…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
★★★ «But we don't want to teach 'em. We want to learn 'em.» Why is Badger's answer a joke?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 2 · **The right answer:** option 1 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** we, answer, Badger · **What happens:** not want, teach, want, learn, be, answer · **To what, where:** 'em

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 18 · ★★★ of lesson 68 «The Wind in the Willows, chapter XI, part 4: «Like Summer Tempests Came His Tears» (the secret passage, the birthday banquet and «learn 'em»)» 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/68-willows-ch11-part4-the-secret-passage/#t18).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* ★★★ «But we don't want to teach 'em.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:68-willows-ch11-part4-the-secret-passage:t18:1
# text = ★★★ «But we don't want to teach 'em.
1	★	★	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	★	★	X	FW	Foreign=Yes	1	dep	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	★	★	X	FW	Foreign=Yes	1	dep	_	_
4	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	But	but	CCONJ	CC	_	9	cc	_	_
6	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	9	nsubj	_	_
7	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	9	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	9	advmod	_	_
9	want	want	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	1	conj	_	_
10	to	to	PART	TO	_	11	mark	_	_
11	teach	teach	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	9	xcomp	_	_
12	'em	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	11	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **want** *in a quote* | present · do-support | we |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 2 | **teach** *speech: other* *not said to happen, in a quote* | to-infinitive | we *not said here* |  | 'em *= they* |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent they=Recipient |

<!-- .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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* We want to learn 'em.»

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:68-willows-ch11-part4-the-secret-passage:t18:2
# text = We want to learn 'em.»
1	We	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	want	want	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	learn	learn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	'em	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **want** | present | We |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 2 | **learn** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | We *not said here* | 'em *= they* |  |  |  |  | vn learn-14-2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=Topic |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 3:* Why is Badger's answer a joke?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:68-willows-ch11-part4-the-secret-passage:t18:3
# text = Why is Badger's answer a joke?
1	Why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	0	root	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	cop	_	_
3	Badger	Badger	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	's	's	PART	POS	_	3	case	_	_
5	answer	answer	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nsubj	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	joke	joke	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Badger's answer |  |  |  |  | why *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **answer** |  | Badger |  |  |  |  |  | nom answer «communication transitive»: poss=agent |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He pretends the two words mean different things

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:68-willows-ch11-part4-the-secret-passage:t18:o1:1
# text = He pretends the two words mean different things
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	pretends	pretend	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
6	mean	mean	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
7	different	different	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pretend** | present | He |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **mean** | present | the two words | different things |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent thing=Topic |

### Option 2 · ← Mova's choice {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He pretends the two words mean different things, and then he laughs at Toad for believing him

<!-- fold The tree, 17 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:68-willows-ch11-part4-the-secret-passage:t18:o2:1
# text = He pretends the two words mean different things, and then he laughs at Toad for believing him
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	pretends	pretend	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nummod	_	_
5	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nsubj	_	_
6	mean	mean	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
7	different	different	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	13	cc	_	_
11	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	13	advmod	_	_
12	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
13	laughs	laugh	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
14	at	at	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	Toad	Toad	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	13	obl	_	_
16	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	17	mark	_	_
17	believing	believe	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	13	advcl	_	_
18	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	17	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pretend** | present | He |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **mean** | present | the two words | different things |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent thing=Topic |
| 3 | **laugh** | present | he |  |  |  | then | at Toad | vn nonverbal\_expression-40.2 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **believe** | gerund | he *not said here* | Toad |  |  |  |  | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer he=Stimulus |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He is pretending he did not hear right

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:68-willows-ch11-part4-the-secret-passage:t18:o3:1
# text = He is pretending he did not hear right
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	3	aux	_	_
3	pretending	pretend	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
5	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
6	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	7	advmod	_	_
7	hear	hear	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	ccomp	_	_
8	right	right	ADV	RB	_	7	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **pretend** | present · progressive | He |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **not** **hear** | past · do-support | he |  |  |  |  | right *property* | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V PP.stimulus»: agent=Experiencer |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Badger is simply being silly today

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:68-willows-ch11-part4-the-secret-passage:t18:o4:1
# text = Badger is simply being silly today
1	Badger	Badger	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
2	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
3	simply	simply	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
4	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	cop	_	_
5	silly	silly	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	today	today	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl:unmarked	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | Badger |  |  |  | today | silly, simply *property* | tree rules |

<!-- 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 -->

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- next →: [The Wind in the Willows, chapter XI, p…, exam 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/68-willows-ch11-part4-the-secret-passage/e1/)
- ↑ back to [The Wind in the Willows, chapter XI, part 4: «Like Summer Tempests Came His Tears» (the secret passage, the birthday banquet and «learn 'em»)](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/68-willows-ch11-part4-the-secret-passage/)