--- title: Several times did I have recourse to this desperate expedient, and I… — The Arabian Nights Entertainments · tree and pragmatics description: Several times did I have recourse to this desperate expedient, and I know not how long I had been a prisoner when one day I fancied that I heard something near me, which breathed loudly. Who acts: I. A sentence of «The Arabian Nights Entertainments» by Andrew Lang, Opening, part 16, with its depende --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/16/60/) [home](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) / [corpora](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/) / [tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/) / [The Arabian Nights Entertainments](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/) / [Opening, part 16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/16/) / 60 # The Arabian Nights Entertainments, Opening, part 16, sentence 60 Several times did I have recourse to this desperate expedient, and I know not how long I had been a prisoner when one day I fancied that I heard something near me, which breathed loudly. **Who acts:** I · **What happens:** have, not know, be, fancy, hear, breathe · **To what, where:** recourse, prisoner, something · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is a sentence of «The Arabian Nights Entertainments» by Andrew Lang, Opening, part 16. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (I), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree. **Parsed by Mova, not checked by a teacher.** This tree is Mova's own parse (the `en` model, on the CPU, when the site is built); it may be wrong. ## The tree {#tree} ```conllu # sent_id = book:pg128:16:60 # text = Several times did I have recourse to this desperate expedient, and I know not how long I had been a prisoner when one day I fancied that I heard something near me, which breathed loudly. 1 Several several ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 2 amod _ _ 2 times time NOUN NNS Number=Plur 5 obl:unmarked _ _ 3 did do AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 5 aux _ _ 4 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 5 nsubj _ _ 5 have have VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 0 root _ _ 6 recourse recourse NOUN NN Number=Sing 5 obj _ _ 7 to to ADP IN _ 10 case _ _ 8 this this DET DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 10 det _ _ 9 desperate desperate ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 10 amod _ _ 10 expedient expedient NOUN NN Number=Sing 5 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 11 , , PUNCT , _ 14 punct _ _ 12 and and CCONJ CC _ 14 cc _ _ 13 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 14 nsubj _ _ 14 know know VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 5 parataxis _ _ 15 not not PART RB Polarity=Neg 14 advmod _ _ 16 how how ADV WRB PronType=Int 17 advmod _ _ 17 long long ADV RB Degree=Pos 22 advmod _ _ 18 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 22 nsubj _ _ 19 had have AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 22 aux _ _ 20 been be AUX VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part 22 cop _ _ 21 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 22 det _ _ 22 prisoner prisoner NOUN NN Number=Sing 14 ccomp _ _ 23 when when ADV WRB PronType=Int 27 advmod _ _ 24 one one NUM CD NumForm=Word|NumType=Card 25 nummod _ _ 25 day day NOUN NN Number=Sing 27 obl:unmarked _ _ 26 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 27 nsubj _ _ 27 fancied fancy VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 14 ccomp _ _ 28 that that SCONJ IN _ 30 mark _ _ 29 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 30 nsubj _ _ 30 heard hear VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 27 advcl _ _ 31 something something PRON NN Number=Sing|PronType=Ind 30 obj _ _ 32 near near ADP IN _ 33 case _ _ 33 me I PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 31 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 34 , , PUNCT , _ 36 punct _ _ 35 which which PRON WDT PronType=Rel 36 nsubj _ _ 36 breathed breathe VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 31 conj _ _ 37 loudly loudly ADV RB _ 36 advmod _ SpaceAfter=No 38 . . PUNCT . _ 5 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **have** | past · do-support | I | recourse | | | time | to this desperate expedient | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent recourse=Patient | | 2 | **not** **know** | present | I | | | | | | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus | | 3 | **is a** | past · perfect | I | a prisoner | | | | long *property* | tree rules | | 4 | **fancy** | past | I | | | | day | | vn admire-31.2 «NP V that S»: agent=Experiencer | | 5 | **hear** | past | I | something | | | | near me | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer something=Stimulus | | 6 | **breathe** | past | | | | | | loudly *property* | vn breathe-40.1.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent | 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. **Text:** «The Arabian Nights Entertainments» by Andrew Lang, Project Gutenberg book 128 (public domain in the USA). **Tree:** Mova's own parse, Elamur Cosmic License. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), the chapter read in order. - ← previous: [sentence 59](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/16/59/) - next →: [sentence 61](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/16/61/) - ↑ back to [Opening, part 16](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/16/)