---
title: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the… — Castile, Portugal and the first sea em… · tree and pragmatics
description: Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the knowledge of educated Europeans concerning the shape of the Earth in 1492? Exam question 2 of lesson 33 «Castile, Portugal and the first sea empires» of the geography course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pra
---

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# Exam question 2 · Castile, Portugal and the first sea empires

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the knowledge of educated Europeans concerning the shape of the Earth in 1492?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** knowledge · **What happens:** follow, characteris, concern · **To what, where:** knowledge, shape, 1492

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 33 «Castile, Portugal and the first sea empires» of the geography 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/geography/33-castile-portugal-and-the-first-sea-empires/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:33-castile-portugal-and-the-first-sea-empires:e2:1
# text = Which of the following statements most accurately characterises the knowledge of educated Europeans concerning the shape of the Earth in 1492?
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	10	det	_	_
10	knowledge	knowledge	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obj	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	educated	educated	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	13	amod	_	_
13	Europeans	European	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	10	nmod	_	_
14	concerning	concern	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	10	acl	_	_
15	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	shape	shape	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	obj	_	_
17	of	of	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	Earth	Earth	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	16	nmod	_	_
20	in	in	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
21	1492	1492	NUM	CD	NumForm=Digit|NumType=Card	14	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
22	?	?	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 knowledge of educated Europeans |  |  |  | of the following statements; accurately *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **concern** | gerund | the knowledge of educated Europeans *not said here* | the shape of the Earth |  | 1492 |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus shape=Experiencer |

<!-- .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 Earth was universally believed to be flat and bounded by an abyss

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:33-castile-portugal-and-the-first-sea-empires:e2:o1:1
# text = The Earth was universally believed to be flat and bounded by an abyss
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Earth	Earth	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
4	universally	universally	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	believed	believe	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
7	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	cop	_	_
8	flat	flat	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	xcomp	_	_
9	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
10	bounded	bound	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	conj	_	_
11	by	by	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	abyss	abyss	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **believe** | past · passive |  | the Earth |  |  |  | universally *property* | vn admire-31.2 «NP V NP»: subject=Stimulus |
| 2 | **is** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | flat *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **bound** | participle |  |  |  |  |  | by a abyss | vn run-51.3.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme by abyss=Trajectory |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Earth was considered to be cubical

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:33-castile-portugal-and-the-first-sea-empires:e2:o2:1
# text = The Earth was considered to be cubical
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Earth	Earth	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	considered	consider	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
6	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	cop	_	_
7	cubical	cubical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **consider** | past · passive |  | the Earth |  |  |  |  | vn consider-29.9-1-1 «NP V NP ADJ»: subject=Attribute |
| 2 | **is** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | cubical *property* | tree rules |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The Earth was already understood to be spherical

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:33-castile-portugal-and-the-first-sea-empires:e2:o3:1
# text = The Earth was already understood to be spherical
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	Earth	Earth	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux:pass	_	_
4	already	already	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	_
5	understood	understand	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
6	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
7	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	8	cop	_	_
8	spherical	spherical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	5	xcomp	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **understand** | past · passive |  | the Earth |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V NP PP.attribute»: subject=Stimulus |
| 2 | **is** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | spherical *property* | tree rules |

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The shape of the Earth was wholly unknown

```conllu
# sent_id = question:geography:33-castile-portugal-and-the-first-sea-empires:e2:o4:1
# text = The shape of the Earth was wholly unknown
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	shape	shape	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nsubj	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	Earth	Earth	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
7	wholly	wholly	ADV	RB	_	8	advmod	_	_
8	unknown	unknown	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | past | the shape of the Earth |  |  |  |  | unknown, wholly *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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