---
title: Ascertain the means whereby Siam preserved its independence. — When civilizations meet: conquest, col… · tree and pragmatics
description: Ascertain the means whereby Siam preserved its independence. Exam question 4 of lesson 76 «When civilizations meet: conquest, colonies and freedom, seen from both sides» of the history course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/76-when-civilizations-meet-seen-from-both-sides/e4/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [questions](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/) / [History](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/) / [When civilizations meet: conquest, col…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/76-when-civilizations-meet-seen-from-both-sides/) / e4

# Exam question 4 · When civilizations meet: conquest, colonies and freedom, s…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ascertain the means whereby Siam preserved its independence.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, the, Siam · **What happens:** ascertain, mean, preserve · **To what, where:** independence · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 4 of lesson 76 «When civilizations meet: conquest, colonies and freedom, seen from both sides» 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/76-when-civilizations-meet-seen-from-both-sides/#e4).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:76-when-civilizations-meet-seen-from-both-sides:e4:1
# text = Ascertain the means whereby Siam preserved its independence.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	nsubj	_	_
3	means	mean	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	ccomp	_	_
4	whereby	whereby	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	6	advmod	_	_
5	Siam	Siam	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	preserved	preserve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	ccomp	_	_
7	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	8	nmod:poss	_	_
8	independence	independence	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	1	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 2 | **mean** | present | the |  |  |  |  |  | vn intend-61.2-1 «NP V S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 3 | **preserve** | past | Siam | its independence |  |  |  | whereby *property* | vn defend-72.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent independence=Beneficiary |

<!-- .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 -->
By the possession of the largest army in the world

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:76-when-civilizations-meet-seen-from-both-sides:e4:o1:1
# text = By the possession of the largest army in the world
1	By	by	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	possession	possession	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	largest	large	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	7	amod	_	_
7	army	army	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
8	in	in	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	world	world	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **possess** |  |  | the largest army in the world |  |  |  |  | nom possession «act transitive»: of=patient |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By the conquest of the British Isles

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:76-when-civilizations-meet-seen-from-both-sides:e4:o2:1
# text = By the conquest of the British Isles
1	By	by	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	conquest	conquest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	British	British	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	Isles	Isle	PROPN	NNPS	Number=Plur	3	nmod	_	_
```

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

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By its incorporation into the French Empire

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:76-when-civilizations-meet-seen-from-both-sides:e4:o3:1
# text = By its incorporation into the French Empire
1	By	by	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	its	its	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	3	nmod:poss	_	_
3	incorporation	incorporation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	into	into	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
6	French	French	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	Empire	Empire	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **incorporate** |  | its *= it* |  |  | the French Empire |  |  | nom incorporation «act transitive»: poss=agent into=place |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
By skilful diplomacy and the cession of certain territories

```conllu
# sent_id = question:history:76-when-civilizations-meet-seen-from-both-sides:e4:o4:1
# text = By skilful diplomacy and the cession of certain territories
1	By	by	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	skilful	skilful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	diplomacy	diplomacy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	6	cc	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	cession	cession	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	certain	certain	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	9	amod	_	_
9	territories	territory	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **cede** |  |  | certain territories |  |  |  |  | nom cession «act transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- 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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [When civilizations meet: conquest, col…, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/76-when-civilizations-meet-seen-from-both-sides/e3/)
- next →: [What was lost and what was gained: lan…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/77-what-was-lost-and-what-was-gained/t1/)
- ↑ back to [When civilizations meet: conquest, colonies and freedom, seen from both sides](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/history/76-when-civilizations-meet-seen-from-both-sides/)