---
title: Ascertain the principle whereby the aqueducts conveyed water to the… — Rome: the empire, the legions and the… · tree and pragmatics
description: Ascertain the principle whereby the aqueducts conveyed water to the cities. Exam question 3 of lesson 14 «Rome: the empire, the legions and the roads» of the history course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choice was wrong.
---

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# Exam question 3 · Rome: the empire, the legions and the roads

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ascertain the principle whereby the aqueducts conveyed water to the cities.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 3 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, aqueducts · **What happens:** ascertain, convey · **To what, where:** principle, water, cities

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 3 of lesson 14 «Rome: the empire, the legions and the roads» of the history 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/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/#e3).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads:e3:1
# text = Ascertain the principle whereby the aqueducts conveyed water to the cities.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	principle	principle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	whereby	whereby	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	1	obj	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	aqueducts	aqueduct	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nsubj	_	_
7	conveyed	convey	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	6	acl	_	_
8	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
9	to	to	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	cities	city	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* | the principle |  |  |  |  | vn ensure-99 «NP V NP NP»: agent=Precondition principle=Beneficiary whereby=Theme |
| 2 | **convey** | participle | the aqueducts *not said here* | water | the cities |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent water=Topic to city=Recipient |

<!-- .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 -->
Mechanical pumps driven by steam

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads:e3:o1:1
# text = Mechanical pumps driven by steam
1	Mechanical	mechanical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	amod	_	_
2	pumps	pump	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	0	root	_	_
3	driven	drive	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	2	acl	_	_
4	by	by	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	steam	steam	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **drive** | participle |  | Mechanical pumps *not said here* |  |  |  | by steam | vn nonvehicle-51.4.2-1 «NP.agent V»: agent=Agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The labour of slaves bearing vessels

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads:e3:o2:1
# text = The labour of slaves bearing vessels
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	labour	labour	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	slaves	slave	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
5	bearing	bear	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	acl	_	_
6	vessels	vessel	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **bear** | gerund | slaves *not said here* | vessels |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent vessel=Patient |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
A gradual descending gradient

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads:e3:o3:1
# text = A gradual descending gradient
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
2	gradual	gradual	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	amod	_	_
3	descending	descending	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	compound	_	_
4	gradient	gradient	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

### Option 4 {#o4}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The force of the wind upon sails

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads:e3:o4:1
# text = The force of the wind upon sails
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	force	force	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	wind	wind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
6	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	sails	sail	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .note -->
The frames reader finds no event or fact in this sentence.

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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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- next →: [Rome: the empire, the legions and the…, exam 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/e4/)
- ↑ back to [Rome: the empire, the legions and the roads](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/14-rome-the-empire-the-legions-and-the-roads/)