---
title: ★★★ Taffy's name means «Small-person-without-any-manners...». Her mo… — Just So Stories, How the First Letter… · tree and pragmatics
description: ★★★ Taffy's name means «Small-person-without-any-manners...». Her mother's means «Lady-who-asks-a-very-many-questions». Which of these is shown in THIS part? Test 16 · ★ 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 
---

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# Test 16 · ★ · Just So Stories, How the First Letter Was Written, part 1:…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
★★★ Taffy's name means «Small-person-without-any-manners...». Her mother's means «Lady-who-asks-a-very-many-questions». Which of these is shown in THIS part?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 3 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** ★, Taffy, mother, Lady · **What happens:** mean, name, ask, show · **To what, where:** Small person, Lady, many questions · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 16 · ★ 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. 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/#t16).

## The question {#question}

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 1:* ★★★ Taffy's name means «Small-person-without-any-manners...».

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear:t16:1
# text = ★★★ Taffy's name means «Small-person-without-any-manners...».
1	★	★	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	★	★	X	FW	Foreign=Yes	1	dep	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	★	★	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
4	Taffy	Taffy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	's	's	PART	POS	_	4	case	_	_
6	name	name	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
7	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
8	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	Small	small	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	9	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	person	person	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	17	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	without	without	ADP	IN	_	17	case	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	17	det	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	manners	manners	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	11	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	...	...	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | ★ | Small person |  |  |  | without any manners | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent person=Topic |
| 2 | **name** |  | Taffy |  |  |  |  |  | nom name «communication transitive»: poss=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.

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 2:* Her mother's means «Lady-who-asks-a-very-many-questions».

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear:t16:2
# text = Her mother's means «Lady-who-asks-a-very-many-questions».
1	Her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	2	nmod:poss	_	_
2	mother	mother	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	's	's	PART	POS	_	2	case	_	_
4	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	«	«	PUNCT	``	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	Lady	Lady	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	6	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	8	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
10	asks	ask	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	6	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	12	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	very	very	ADV	RB	_	16	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	14	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	amod	_	SpaceAfter=No
17	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	questions	question	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	»	»	PUNCT	''	_	18	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **mean** | present | ★'s mother | Lady |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent lady=Topic |
| 2 | **ask** *speech: ask* *in a quote* | present | Lady | a many questions |  |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent question=Recipient |

<!-- .note -->
*Sentence 3:* Which of these is shown in THIS part?

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear:t16:3
# text = Which of these is shown in THIS part?
1	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	5	nsubj	_	_
2	of	of	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
3	these	this	PRON	DT	Number=Plur|PronType=Dem	1	nmod	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
5	shown	show	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	in	in	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	THIS	this	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	8	det	_	_
8	part	part	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **show** | present · passive |  |  |  |  |  | in this part | vn crane-40.3.2 «NP V NP PP.recipient PP.theme»: subject=Patient in part=Topic |

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Stranger-man gives Taffy birch-bark

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear:t16:o1:1
# text = The Stranger-man gives Taffy birch-bark
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	Stranger	stranger	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
4	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
5	gives	give	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	Taffy	Taffy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
7	birch	birch	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	bark	bark	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **give** | present | the Stranger man | birch bark | Taffy |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent taffy=Recipient bark=Theme |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Mummy scolds Taffy for being rude

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear:t16:o2:1
# text = Mummy scolds Taffy for being rude
1	Mummy	mummy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	scolds	scold	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	Taffy	Taffy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
4	for	for	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	6	cop	_	_
6	rude	rude	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **scold** | present | Mummy | Taffy |  |  |  |  | vn judgment-33.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent taffy=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | rude *property* | tree rules |

### Option 3 · ← Mova's choice {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Taffy asks many questions of the Stranger-man

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear:t16:o3:1
# text = Taffy asks many questions of the Stranger-man
1	Taffy	Taffy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	asks	ask	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
4	questions	question	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	obj	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
7	Stranger	stranger	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	7	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ask** *speech: ask* | present | Taffy | many questions of the Stranger man |  |  |  |  | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent question=Recipient |
| 2 | **question** |  |  | the Stranger man |  |  |  |  | nom question «communication transitive»: of=patient |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Taffy takes the Stranger-man's magic tooth without leave

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear:t16:o4:1
# text = Taffy takes the Stranger-man's magic tooth without leave
1	Taffy	Taffy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	takes	take	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
4	Stranger	stranger	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	4	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	magic	magic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	tooth	tooth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obj	_	_
10	without	without	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	leave	leave	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **take** | present | Taffy | the Stranger man's magic tooth |  |  |  | without leave | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tooth=Theme |

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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.

<!-- /div -->

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- ← previous: [Just So Stories, How the First Letter…, test 15](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear/t15/)
- next →: [Just So Stories, How the First Letter…, test 17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/84-justso-first-letter-1-a-broken-spear/t17/)
- ↑ 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/)