---
title: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the… — Just So Stories, How the First Letter… · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the Stranger-man's comprehension of the picture? Exam question 3 of lesson 84 «Just So Stories, How the First Letter Was Written, part 1: a broken spear and a picture on birch-bark» of the books course of Mova's primary school, with the
---

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# Exam question 3 · Just So Stories, How the First Letter Was Written, part 1:…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the Stranger-man's comprehension of the picture?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 4 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** Stranger man · **What happens:** follow, characteris, comprehend · **To what, where:** comprehension, picture

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 84 «Just So Stories, How the First Letter Was Written, part 1: a broken spear and a picture on birch-bark» 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/84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear:e3:1
# text = Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the Stranger-man's comprehension of the picture?
1	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
4	following	follow	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	5	amod	_	_
5	statements	statement	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obl	_	_
6	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	7	advmod	_	_
7	accurately	accurately	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	characterises	characteris	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	12	det	_	_
10	Stranger	stranger	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	10	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	's	's	PART	POS	_	12	case	_	_
14	comprehension	comprehension	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
15	of	of	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	picture	picture	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 2 | **characteris** | present |  | the Stranger man's comprehension of the picture |  |  |  | of the following statements; accurately *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **comprehend** |  | the Stranger man | the picture |  |  |  |  | nom comprehension «cognition transitive»: poss=agent of=patient |

<!-- .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 guessed the Chief wanted a new spear

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear:e3:o1:1
# text = He guessed the Chief wanted a new spear
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	guessed	guess	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	Chief	Chief	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	wanted	want	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	ccomp	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	spear	spear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **guess** | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn conjecture-29.5-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme |
| 2 | **want** | past | the Chief | a new spear |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot spear=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He supposed the Chief to be beset by enemies, so he ran off to find weapons and a shield for his new friend

<!-- fold The tree, 23 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear:e3:o2:1
# text = He supposed the Chief to be beset by enemies, so he ran off to find weapons and a shield for his new friend
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	supposed	suppose	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	Chief	Chief	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
6	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	aux:pass	_	_
7	beset	beset	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	xcomp	_	_
8	by	by	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	enemies	enemy	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl:agent	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
11	so	so	ADV	RB	_	13	advmod	_	_
12	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
13	ran	run	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
14	off	off	ADP	RP	_	13	compound:prt	_	_
15	to	to	PART	TO	_	16	mark	_	_
16	find	find	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	advcl	_	_
17	weapons	weapon	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	16	obj	_	_
18	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
19	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	shield	shield	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	conj	_	_
21	for	for	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
22	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	24	nmod:poss	_	_
23	new	new	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	24	amod	_	_
24	friend	friend	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **suppose** | past | He | the Chief |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V NP ADJ»: agent=Agent chief=Attribute clause=Theme |
| 2 | **beset** | to-infinitive · passive | enemies |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **run off** | past | he |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **find** | to-infinitive | he *not said here* | weapons |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent weapon=Topic |

### Option 3 · ✓ the right answer {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He supposed the Chief to be beset by enemies and in need of his tribe

<!-- fold The tree, 15 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear:e3:o3:1
# text = He supposed the Chief to be beset by enemies and in need of his tribe
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	supposed	suppose	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	Chief	Chief	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
6	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	aux:pass	_	_
7	beset	beset	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	xcomp	_	_
8	by	by	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	enemies	enemy	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	need	need	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	conj	_	_
13	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	15	nmod:poss	_	_
15	tribe	tribe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **suppose** | past | He | the Chief |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V NP ADJ»: agent=Agent chief=Attribute clause=Theme |
| 2 | **beset** | to-infinitive · passive | enemies and need of his tribe |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **need** |  |  | his tribe |  |  |  |  | nom need «state transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 4 · ← Mova's choice {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He thought the Chief was hungry for fish

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear:e3:o4:1
# text = He thought the Chief was hungry for fish
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	thought	think	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	Chief	Chief	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	cop	_	_
6	hungry	hungry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	ccomp	_	_
7	for	for	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
8	fish	fish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **think** *speech: other* | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **is** | past | the Chief |  |  |  |  | for fish; hungry *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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- ← previous: [Just So Stories, How the First Letter…, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear/e2/)
- next →: [Just So Stories, How the First Letter…, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear/e4/)
- ↑ back to [Just So Stories, How the First Letter Was Written, part 1: a broken spear and a picture on birch-bark](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear/)