---
title: Which natural body is the narrator's informant in the extract, and b… — Picture-Book without Pictures, The Moo… · tree and pragmatics
description: Which natural body is the narrator's informant in the extract, and by what means does he communicate his observations? Exam question 1 of lesson 903 «Picture-Book without Pictures, The Moon's Tales, part 114: Greenland, the old maid's coffin, Pompeii» of the books course of Mova's primary school, wi
---

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# Exam question 1 · Picture-Book without Pictures, The Moon's Tales, part 114:…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which natural body is the narrator's informant in the extract, and by what means does he communicate his observations?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** he, his · **What happens:** be, mean, communicate, observe · **To what, where:** extract, observations

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 1 of lesson 903 «Picture-Book without Pictures, The Moon's Tales, part 114: Greenland, the old maid's coffin, Pompeii» 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/903-pg27200-part114/#e1).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:903-pg27200-part114:e1:1
# text = Which natural body is the narrator's informant in the extract, and by what means does he communicate his observations?
1	Which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	8	nsubj	_	_
2	natural	natural	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	body	body	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
4	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	narrator	narrator	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	's	's	PART	POS	_	6	case	_	_
8	informant	informant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	extract	extract	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
14	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	16	mark	_	_
15	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	16	nsubj	_	_
16	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	19	advcl	_	_
17	does	do	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	19	aux	_	_
18	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	19	nsubj	_	_
19	communicate	communicate	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	conj	_	_
20	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	21	nmod:poss	_	_
21	observations	observation	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	19	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	8	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present |  |  |  | the extract |  | informant *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **mean** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **communicate** | present · do-support | he | his observations |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent observation=Topic |
| 4 | **observe** |  | his *= he* |  |  |  |  |  | nom observation «act 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.

## The options {#options}

### Option 1 · ← Mova's choice {#o1}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The sea, by whispering tales of the old hunters

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:903-pg27200-part114:e1:o1:1
# text = The sea, by whispering tales of the old hunters
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
4	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
5	whispering	whisper	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
6	tales	tale	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	hunters	hunter	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **whisper** *speech: assert* | gerund | the sea | tales of the old hunters |  |  |  |  | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tale=Topic |
| 2 | **tell** |  | the old hunters |  |  |  |  |  | nom tale «communication intransitive»: of=agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Moon, by telling tales and describing scenes of human life in every town he passes

<!-- fold The tree, 16 words -->
```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:903-pg27200-part114:e1:o2:1
# text = The Moon, by telling tales and describing scenes of human life in every town he passes
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Moon	Moon	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
4	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
5	telling	tell	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
6	tales	tale	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	describing	describe	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	conj	_	_
9	scenes	scene	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
11	human	human	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	12	amod	_	_
12	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	_
13	in	in	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
14	every	every	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	15	det	_	_
15	town	town	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	_
16	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
17	passes	pass	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	ccomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | gerund | the Moon | tales |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent tale=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **describe** | gerund | the Moon *not said here* | scenes of human life |  | every town |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent scene=Theme |
| 3 | **pass** | present | Moon |  |  |  |  |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The wind, by carrying songs over the hills at night

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:903-pg27200-part114:e1:o3:1
# text = The wind, by carrying songs over the hills at night
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	wind	wind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
4	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
5	carrying	carry	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	2	acl	_	_
6	songs	song	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
7	over	over	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	hills	hill	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
10	at	at	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **carry** | gerund | the wind *not said here* | songs |  | the hills | night |  | vn carry-11.4 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent song=Theme |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Moon, by telling tales and describing scenes

```conllu
# sent_id = question:books:903-pg27200-part114:e1:o4:1
# text = The Moon, by telling tales and describing scenes
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Moon	Moon	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
3	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	5	punct	_	_
4	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
5	telling	tell	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
6	tales	tale	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
7	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
8	describing	describe	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	conj	_	_
9	scenes	scene	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **tell** *speech: assert* | gerund | the Moon | tales |  |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent tale=Recipient |
| 2 | **describe** | gerund | the Moon *not said here* | scenes |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: agent=Agent scene=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: [Picture-Book without Pictures, The Moo…, test 12](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/903-pg27200-part114/t12/)
- next →: [Picture-Book without Pictures, The Moo…, exam 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/903-pg27200-part114/e2/)
- ↑ back to [Picture-Book without Pictures, The Moon's Tales, part 114: Greenland, the old maid's coffin, Pompeii](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/books/903-pg27200-part114/)