---
title: Ascertain the interpretation given by Joseph to the dreams of Pharao… — Joseph and his brothers · tree and pragmatics
description: Ascertain the interpretation given by Joseph to the dreams of Pharaoh concerning the cattle. Exam question 2 of lesson 5 «Joseph and his brothers» of the religion ethics course of Mova's primary school, with the dependency tree and pragmatics of the question and of each option; Mova's choice was wro
---

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# Exam question 2 · Joseph and his brothers

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Ascertain the interpretation given by Joseph to the dreams of Pharaoh concerning the cattle.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Mova's choice:** option 1 · **The right answer:** option 4 · wrong ✗ · **Who acts:** you, dreams · **What happens:** ascertain, give, concern, dream · **To what, where:** interpretation, dreams, cattle, Pharaoh

<!-- .vabout -->
This is exam question 2 of lesson 5 «Joseph and his brothers» of the religion ethics 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/religion-ethics/5-joseph-and-his-brothers/#e2).

## The question {#question}

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:5-joseph-and-his-brothers:e2:1
# text = Ascertain the interpretation given by Joseph to the dreams of Pharaoh concerning the cattle.
1	Ascertain	ascertain	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	interpretation	interpretation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	1	obj	_	_
4	given	give	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	3	acl	_	_
5	by	by	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	Joseph	Joseph	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	4	obl	_	_
7	to	to	ADP	IN	_	9	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	9	det	_	_
9	dreams	dream	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	obl	_	_
10	of	of	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
11	Pharaoh	Pharaoh	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	9	nmod	_	_
12	concerning	concern	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	9	acl	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
14	cattle	cattle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	.	.	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 interpretation |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent interpretation=Topic |
| 2 | **give** | participle |  | the interpretation *not said here* | the dreams of Pharaoh |  |  | by Joseph | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V PP.recipient»: agent=Agent to dream=Recipient |
| 3 | **concern** | gerund | the dreams of Pharaoh *not said here* | the cattle |  |  |  |  | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus cattle=Experiencer |
| 4 | **dream** |  |  | Pharaoh |  |  |  |  | nom dream «cognition transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .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 impending death of Pharaoh and the succession of his eldest son

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:5-joseph-and-his-brothers:e2:o1:1
# text = The impending death of Pharaoh and the succession of his eldest son
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	impending	impend	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	3	amod	_	_
3	death	death	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
5	Pharaoh	Pharaoh	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
6	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	8	cc	_	_
7	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
8	succession	succession	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	conj	_	_
9	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
10	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	12	nmod:poss	_	_
11	eldest	eld	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	12	amod	_	_
12	son	son	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **impend** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **die** |  | Pharaoh |  |  |  |  |  | nom death «event intransitive»: of=agent |

### Option 2 {#o2}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Seven years of warfare to be followed by seven years of peace

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:5-joseph-and-his-brothers:e2:o2:1
# text = Seven years of warfare to be followed by seven years of peace
1	Seven	seven	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	4	nmod:unmarked	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	warfare	warfare	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
6	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	aux:pass	_	_
7	followed	follow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	acl	_	_
8	by	by	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	seven	seven	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	10	nummod	_	_
10	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	peace	peace	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | to-infinitive · passive |  |  |  |  | year |  | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V» |

### Option 3 {#o3}

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The multiplication of the herds of Egypt beyond number

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:5-joseph-and-his-brothers:e2:o3:1
# text = The multiplication of the herds of Egypt beyond number
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	multiplication	multiplication	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	herds	herd	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	2	nmod	_	_
6	of	of	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
7	Egypt	Egypt	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	5	nmod	_	_
8	beyond	beyond	ADV	RB	_	9	advmod	_	_
9	number	number	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **multiply** |  | the herds of Egypt |  |  |  |  |  | nom multiplication «act intransitive»: of=agent |

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

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Seven years of abundance to be followed by seven years of famine

```conllu
# sent_id = question:religion-ethics:5-joseph-and-his-brothers:e2:o4:1
# text = Seven years of abundance to be followed by seven years of famine
1	Seven	seven	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	2	nummod	_	_
2	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl:unmarked	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	4	case	_	_
4	abundance	abundance	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	obl	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
6	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	aux:pass	_	_
7	followed	follow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
8	by	by	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	seven	seven	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	10	nummod	_	_
10	years	year	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	7	obl	_	_
11	of	of	ADP	IN	_	12	case	_	_
12	famine	famine	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	_
```

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **follow** | to-infinitive · passive |  |  |  |  | year | of abundance | vn chase-51.6 «NP V NP PP.location»: of abundance=Trajectory |

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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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