--- title: Ascertain the original meaning of the Old English verb "steorfan", f… — Words that changed their meaning · tree and pragmatics description: Ascertain the original meaning of the Old English verb "steorfan", from which "starve" derives. Exam question 4 of lesson 38 «Words that changed their meaning» of the language course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choice w --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/e4/) [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/) / [Language](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/) / [Words that changed their meaning](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/) / e4 # Exam question 4 · Words that changed their meaning Ascertain the original meaning of the Old English verb "steorfan", from which "starve" derives. **Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you · **What happens:** ascertain, starve, derive, mean · **To what, where:** original meaning, Old English verb · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is exam question 4 of lesson 38 «Words that changed their meaning» of the language 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/language/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/#e4). ## The question {#question} ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:38-words-that-changed-their-meaning:e4:1 # text = Ascertain the original meaning of the Old English verb "steorfan", from which "starve" derives. 1 Ascertain ascertain VERB VB Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 2 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 4 det _ _ 3 original original ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 4 amod _ _ 4 meaning meaning NOUN NN Number=Sing 1 obj _ _ 5 of of ADP IN _ 9 case _ _ 6 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 9 det _ _ 7 Old old ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 9 amod _ _ 8 English English PROPN NNP Number=Sing 9 compound _ _ 9 verb verb NOUN NN Number=Sing 4 nmod _ _ 10 " " PUNCT `` _ 11 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 11 steorfan steorfan NOUN NN Number=Sing 9 appos _ SpaceAfter=No 12 " " PUNCT '' _ 11 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 13 , , PUNCT , _ 17 punct _ _ 14 from from ADP IN _ 15 case _ _ 15 which which PRON WDT PronType=Rel 17 obl _ _ 16 " " PUNCT `` _ 17 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 17 starve starve VERB VB Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin 1 parataxis _ SpaceAfter=No 18 " " PUNCT '' _ 19 punct _ _ 19 derives derive VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 17 ccomp _ SpaceAfter=No 20 . . PUNCT . _ 1 punct _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **ascertain** | imperative | you *not said here* | the original meaning of the Old English verb | | | | | tree rules | | 2 | **starve** *in a quote* | infinitive | | | | | | | tree rules | | 3 | **derive** | present | | | | | | | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 4 | **mean** | | | the Old English verb | | | | | nom meaning «communication transitive»: of=patient | 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} To cook ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:38-words-that-changed-their-meaning:e4:o1:1 # text = To cook 1 To to PART TO _ 2 mark _ _ 2 cook cook VERB VB Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **cook** | to-infinitive | | | | | | | vn cooking-45.3 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient | ### Option 2 {#o2} To be hungry ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:38-words-that-changed-their-meaning:e4:o2:1 # text = To be hungry 1 To to PART TO _ 3 mark _ _ 2 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 3 cop _ _ 3 hungry hungry ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 0 root _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **is** | to-infinitive | | | | | | hungry *property* | tree rules | ### Option 3 {#o3} To eat greedily ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:38-words-that-changed-their-meaning:e4:o3:1 # text = To eat greedily 1 To to PART TO _ 2 mark _ _ 2 eat eat VERB VB Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 3 greedily greedily ADV RB _ 2 advmod _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **eat** | to-infinitive | | | | | | greedily *property* | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent | ### Option 4 · ✓ the right answer {#o4} To die ```conllu # sent_id = question:language:38-words-that-changed-their-meaning:e4:o4:1 # text = To die 1 To to PART TO _ 2 mark _ _ 2 die die VERB VB Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ ``` | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **die** | to-infinitive | | | | | | | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute | **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. - ← previous: [Words that changed their meaning, exam 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/e3/) - next →: [Talking well: politeness, listening an…, test 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/39-talking-well-politeness-listening-and-saying-sorry/t1/) - ↑ back to [Words that changed their meaning](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/language/38-words-that-changed-their-meaning/)