---
title: What excuse might the priest have had for passing by, and was it good? — Parables: the Good Samaritan, the Prod… · tree and pragmatics
description: What excuse might the priest have had for passing by, and was it good? Test 11 · ★★ of lesson 14 «Parables: the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son and the Lost Sheep» of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mov
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/14-parables-good-samaritan-prodigal-son-lost-sheep/t11/)

<!-- 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/) / [Religion ethics](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/) / [Parables: the Good Samaritan, the Prod…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/14-parables-good-samaritan-prodigal-son-lost-sheep/) / t11

# Test 11 · ★★ · Parables: the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son and the Los…

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
What excuse might the priest have had for passing by, and was it good?

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** priest · **What happens:** be, have · **To what, where:** passing

<!-- .vabout -->
This is test 11 · ★★ of lesson 14 «Parables: the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son and the Lost Sheep» of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school. 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/religion-ethics/14-parables-good-samaritan-prodigal-son-lost-sheep/#t11).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:14-parables-good-samaritan-prodigal-son-lost-sheep:t11:1
# text = What excuse might the priest have had for passing by, and was it good?
1	What	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	7	obj	_	_
2	excuse	excuse	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	1	cop	_	_
3	might	might	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	priest	priest	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nsubj	_	_
6	have	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	had	have	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
8	for	for	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	passing	passing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obj	_	_
10	by	by	ADP	IN	_	9	fixed	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
13	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	15	cop	_	_
14	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	15	expl	_	_
15	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	?	?	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **have** | might · perfect | the priest | passing |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent passing=Patient |
| 3 | **is** | past |  |  |  |  |  | good *property* | tree rules |

<!-- .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 -->
He had to feed his sheep, which was more important

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:14-parables-good-samaritan-prodigal-son-lost-sheep:t11:o1:1
# text = He had to feed his sheep, which was more important
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	had	have	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	feed	feed	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	6	nmod:poss	_	_
6	sheep	sheep	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
8	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	11	nsubj	_	_
9	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	cop	_	_
10	more	more	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	11	advmod	_	_
11	important	important	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **have** | past | He |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **feed** | to-infinitive | He *not said here* |  | his sheep |  |  |  | vn feeding-39.7 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent sheep=Recipient |
| 3 | **is** | past |  |  |  |  |  | important *property* | tree rules |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He was not allowed on that road at all

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:14-parables-good-samaritan-prodigal-son-lost-sheep:t11:o2:1
# text = He was not allowed on that road at all
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	allowed	allow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	on	on	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
6	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	7	det	_	_
7	road	road	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
8	at	at	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
9	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	4	obl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **allow** | past · passive |  | He |  | that road |  | at all | vn allow-64.1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Beneficiary |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
He did not see the man because it was dark

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:14-parables-good-samaritan-prodigal-son-lost-sheep:t11:o3:1
# text = He did not see the man because it was dark
1	He	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	did	do	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux	_	_
3	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	4	advmod	_	_
4	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
8	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
9	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	_
10	dark	dark	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	advcl	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **see** | past · do-support | He | the man |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer man=Stimulus |
| 2 | **is** | past | it |  |  |  |  | dark *property* | tree rules |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Fear or being busy, but the man's need was greater

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:14-parables-good-samaritan-prodigal-son-lost-sheep:t11:o4:1
# text = Fear or being busy, but the man's need was greater
1	Fear	fear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
2	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	4	cc	_	_
3	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	4	cop	_	_
4	busy	busy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	1	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
5	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	12	punct	_	_
6	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	12	cc	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	's	's	PART	POS	_	8	case	_	_
10	need	need	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	nsubj	_	_
11	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	12	cop	_	_
12	greater	great	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	1	conj	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | busy *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **is** | past | the man's need |  |  |  |  | great *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **need** |  | the man |  |  |  |  |  | nom need «state transitive»: poss=agent |

<!-- 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: [Parables: the Good Samaritan, the Prod…, test 10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/14-parables-good-samaritan-prodigal-son-lost-sheep/t10/)
- next →: [Parables: the Good Samaritan, the Prod…, exam 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/14-parables-good-samaritan-prodigal-son-lost-sheep/e1/)
- ↑ back to [Parables: the Good Samaritan, the Prodigal Son and the Lost Sheep](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/questions/religion-ethics/14-parables-good-samaritan-prodigal-son-lost-sheep/)