---
title: Ascertain the circumstance which first compelled the Kangaroo to pro… — Just So Stories (Rudyard Kipling), 6:… · tree and pragmatics
description: Ascertain the circumstance which first compelled the Kangaroo to proceed upon his hind legs alone. Exam question 2 of lesson 81 «Just So Stories (Rudyard Kipling), 6: The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the quest
---

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# Exam question 2 · Just So Stories (Rudyard Kipling), 6: The Sing-Song of Old…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ascertain the circumstance which first compelled the Kangaroo to proceed upon his hind legs alone.

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

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 81 «Just So Stories (Rudyard Kipling), 6: The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo» 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/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:81-justso-old-man-kangaroo:e2:1
# text = Ascertain the circumstance which first compelled the Kangaroo to proceed upon his hind legs alone.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	circumstance	circumstance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	6	nsubj	_	_
5	first	first	ADV	RB	NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord	6	advmod	_	_
6	compelled	compel	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	acl:relcl	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	Kangaroo	Kangaroo	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	_
9	to	to	PART	TO	_	10	mark	_	_
10	proceed	proceed	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	_
11	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
12	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	14	nmod:poss	_	_
13	hind	hind	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	legs	leg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obl	_	_
15	alone	alone	ADV	RB	_	10	advmod	_	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 circumstance |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent circumstance=Topic |
| 2 | **compel** | past | the circumstance | the Kangaroo |  |  |  | first *property* | vn compel-59.1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent kangaroo=Patient clause=Result |
| 3 | **proceed** | to-infinitive | the circumstance *not said here* |  |  |  |  | upon Kangaroo's hind legs; alone *property* | vn begin-55.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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 -->
A dog that bit him on the back legs at dusk

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:81-justso-old-man-kangaroo:e2:o1:1
# text = A dog that bit him on the back legs at dusk
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	dog	dog	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	4	nsubj	_	_
4	bit	bite	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	acl:relcl	_	_
5	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obj	_	_
6	on	on	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
8	back	back	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	_
9	legs	leg	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
10	at	at	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	dusk	dusk	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bite** | past | a dog | dog |  | the back legs | dusk |  | vn swat-18.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent he=Patient on leg=Location |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Nqong's wish that he should hop across the Wollgong River

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:81-justso-old-man-kangaroo:e2:o2:1
# text = Nqong's wish that he should hop across the Wollgong River
1	Nqong	Nqong	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	's	's	PART	POS	_	1	case	_	_
3	wish	wish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	7	mark	_	_
5	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	7	nsubj	_	_
6	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	hop	hop	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	acl	_	_
8	across	across	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	Wollgong	Wollgong	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	River	River	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hop** | should | Nqong | Nqong's wish *not said here* |  | the Wollgong River |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme wish=Trajectory |
| 2 | **wish** |  | Nqong |  |  |  |  |  | nom wish «feeling intransitive»: poss=agent |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The river was too deep and wide for any animal to cross, so he had to hop along the bank forever

<!-- fold The tree, 21 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:81-justso-old-man-kangaroo:e2:o3:1
# text = The river was too deep and wide for any animal to cross, so he had to hop along the bank forever
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	river	river	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	too	too	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	deep	deep	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	wide	wide	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	conj	_	_
8	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	12	mark	_	_
9	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	10	det	_	_
10	animal	animal	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
11	to	to	PART	TO	_	12	mark	_	_
12	cross	cross	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
14	so	so	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	_
15	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	16	nsubj	_	_
16	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
17	to	to	PART	TO	_	18	mark	_	_
18	hop	hop	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	xcomp	_	_
19	along	along	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
20	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
21	bank	bank	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obl	_	_
22	forever	forever	ADV	RB	_	18	advmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the river |  |  |  |  | deep *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **be** |  | the river *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **cross** | to-infinitive | any animal |  |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **have** | past | animal |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **hop** | to-infinitive | animal *not said here* |  |  | the bank |  | forever *property* | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme along bank=Trajectory |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The absence of any bridge or ferry across the Wollgong River

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:81-justso-old-man-kangaroo:e2:o4:1
# text = The absence of any bridge or ferry across the Wollgong River
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	absence	absence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	5	det	_	_
5	bridge	bridge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	7	cc	_	_
7	ferry	ferry	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	conj	_	_
8	across	across	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
10	Wollgong	Wollgong	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	11	compound	_	_
11	River	River	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **absent** |  |  | any bridge or ferry |  | the Wollgong River |  |  | nom absence «state transitive»: of=patient across=place |

<!-- 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.

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- ← previous: [Just So Stories (Rudyard Kipling), 6:…, exam 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/e1/)
- next →: [Just So Stories (Rudyard Kipling), 6:…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/e3/)
- ↑ back to [Just So Stories (Rudyard Kipling), 6: The Sing-Song of Old Man Kangaroo](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/81-justso-old-man-kangaroo/)