---
title: Bro, why did the boatmen look so lost when he talked? — Andersen's Tales, The Counsellor's Eve… · tree and pragmatics
description: Bro, why did the boatmen look so lost when he talked? Test 2 · ★ of lesson 837 «Andersen's Tales, The Counsellor's Evening Walk, part 48: a lost counsellor wanders strange old streets and thinks he is ill» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the q
---

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# Test 2 · ★ · Andersen's Tales, The Counsellor's Evening Walk, part 48:…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Bro, why did the boatmen look so lost when he talked?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 1 · right ✓ · **Who acts:** Bro · **What happens:** do, look, lose, talk · **To what, where:** boatmen

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 2 · ★ of lesson 837 «Andersen's Tales, The Counsellor's Evening Walk, part 48: a lost counsellor wanders strange old streets and thinks he is ill» 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/837-pg27200-part48/#t2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:837-pg27200-part48:t2:1
# text = Bro, why did the boatmen look so lost when he talked?
1	Bro	bro	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	4	punct	_	_
3	why	why	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	4	advmod	_	_
4	did	do	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	1	acl:relcl	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	boatmen	boatman	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
7	look	look	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	so	so	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	lost	lose	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	12	advcl	_	_
10	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	12	advmod	_	_
11	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
12	talked	talk	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	7	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **do** | past |  | the boatmen |  |  |  |  | vn act-114-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent boatman=Eventuality |
| 2 | **look** | present | Bro |  |  |  |  |  | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus |
| 3 | **lose** | participle | Bro *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn succeed-74-3-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **talk** | past | Bro |  |  |  |  |  | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: 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 · ✓ the right answer {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They couldn't get what he was saying

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:837-pg27200-part48:t2:o1:1
# text = They couldn't get what he was saying
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	get	get	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	8	obj	_	_
6	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
7	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux	_	_
8	saying	say	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	ccomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **get** | could | They |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past · progressive | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He spoke too quietly for them to hear.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:837-pg27200-part48:t2:o2:1
# text = He spoke too quietly for them to hear.
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	spoke	speak	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	too	too	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	quietly	quietly	ADV	RB	_	2	advmod	_	_
5	for	for	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
6	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	hear	hear	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **speak** *speech: other* | past | He |  |  |  |  | quietly *property* | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **hear** | to-infinitive | them *= they* |  |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V PP.stimulus»: agent=Experiencer |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They didn't understand the words he used.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:837-pg27200-part48:t2:o3:1
# text = They didn't understand the words he used.
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	understand	understand	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	words	word	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	used	use	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **understand** | past · do-support | They | the words |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: agent=Experiencer word=Stimulus |
| 2 | **use** | past | he | the words *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent word=Patient |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
They didn't speak the language he used.

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:837-pg27200-part48:t2:o4:1
# text = They didn't speak the language he used.
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	n't	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	speak	speak	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	language	language	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
8	used	use	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **speak** *speech: other* | past · do-support | They | the language |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **use** | past | he | the language *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn eat-39.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent language=Patient |

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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.

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- ← previous: [Andersen's Tales, The Counsellor's Eve…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/837-pg27200-part48/t1/)
- next →: [Andersen's Tales, The Counsellor's Eve…, test 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/837-pg27200-part48/t3/)
- ↑ back to [Andersen's Tales, The Counsellor's Evening Walk, part 48: a lost counsellor wanders strange old streets and thinks he is ill](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/837-pg27200-part48/)