--- title: But instead of allowing himself to be set upon his feet (even now it… — The Arabian Nights Entertainments · tree and pragmatics description: But instead of allowing himself to be set upon his feet (even now it makes me laugh to think of it!), this creature who had seemed to me so decrepit leaped nimbly upon my shoulders, and hooking his legs round my neck gripped me so tightly that I was well-nigh choked, and so overcome with terror that --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/17/9/) [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 17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/17/) / 9 # The Arabian Nights Entertainments, Opening, part 17, sentence 9 But instead of allowing himself to be set upon his feet (even now it makes me laugh to think of it!), this creature who had seemed to me so decrepit leaped nimbly upon my shoulders, and hooking his legs round my neck gripped me so tightly that I was well-nigh choked, and so overcome with terror that I fell insensible to the ground. **Who acts:** creature, bank, me, hooking, terror · **What happens:** allow, set, make, laugh, think, have · **To what, where:** man, feet, me, decrepit, shoulders, legs This is a sentence of «The Arabian Nights Entertainments» by Andrew Lang, Opening, part 17. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (creature, bank, me, hooking), 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:pg128:17:9 # text = But instead of allowing himself to be set upon his feet (even now it makes me laugh to think of it!), this creature who had seemed to me so decrepit leaped nimbly upon my shoulders, and hooking his legs round my neck gripped me so tightly that I was well-nigh choked, and so overcome with terror that I fell insensible to the ground. 1 But but CCONJ CC _ 4 cc _ _ 2 instead instead ADV RB ExtPos=SCONJ 4 mark _ _ 3 of of ADP IN _ 2 fixed _ _ 4 allowing allow VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 30 advcl _ _ 5 himself himself PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes 4 obj _ _ 6 to to PART TO _ 8 mark _ _ 7 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 8 aux:pass _ _ 8 set set VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 4 ccomp _ _ 9 upon upon ADP IN _ 11 case _ _ 10 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 11 nmod:poss _ _ 11 feet foot NOUN NNS Number=Plur 8 obl _ _ 12 ( ( PUNCT -LRB- _ 16 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 13 even even ADV RB _ 14 advmod _ _ 14 now now ADV RB PronType=Dem 16 advmod _ _ 15 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 16 nsubj _ _ 16 makes make VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 8 parataxis _ _ 17 me I PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 16 obj _ _ 18 laugh laugh VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 16 xcomp _ _ 19 to to PART TO _ 20 mark _ _ 20 think think VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 18 xcomp _ _ 21 of of ADP IN _ 22 case _ _ 22 it it PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 20 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 23 ! ! PUNCT . _ 18 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 24 ) ) PUNCT -RRB- _ 16 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 25 , , PUNCT , _ 4 punct _ _ 26 this this DET DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 27 det _ _ 27 creature creature NOUN NN Number=Sing 30 nsubj _ _ 28 who who PRON WP PronType=Rel 29 nsubj _ _ 29 had have VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 27 acl:relcl _ _ 30 seemed seem VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 31 to to ADP IN _ 32 case _ _ 32 me I PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 30 obl _ _ 33 so so SCONJ IN _ 34 case _ _ 34 decrepit decrepit NOUN NN Number=Sing 30 obl _ _ 35 leaped leap VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 34 acl _ _ 36 nimbly nimbly ADV RB _ 35 advmod _ _ 37 upon upon ADP IN _ 39 case _ _ 38 my my PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 39 nmod:poss _ _ 39 shoulders shoulder NOUN NNS Number=Plur 35 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 40 , , PUNCT , _ 48 punct _ _ 41 and and CCONJ CC _ 48 cc _ _ 42 hooking hook VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 48 csubj _ _ 43 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 44 nmod:poss _ _ 44 legs leg NOUN NNS Number=Plur 42 obj _ _ 45 round round ADP IN _ 47 case _ _ 46 my my PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 47 nmod:poss _ _ 47 neck neck NOUN NN Number=Sing 42 obl _ _ 48 gripped grip VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 30 conj _ _ 49 me I PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 48 obj _ _ 50 so so ADV RB _ 51 advmod _ _ 51 tightly tightly ADV RB _ 48 advmod _ _ 52 that that SCONJ IN _ 58 mark _ _ 53 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 58 nsubj _ _ 54 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 58 aux:pass _ _ 55 well well ADV RB Degree=Pos 58 advmod _ SpaceAfter=No 56 - - PUNCT HYPH _ 55 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 57 nigh nigh ADV RB _ 58 advmod _ _ 58 choked choke VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 48 advcl _ SpaceAfter=No 59 , , PUNCT , _ 64 punct _ _ 60 and and CCONJ CC _ 64 cc _ _ 61 so so ADV RB _ 62 advmod _ _ 62 overcome overcome ADV RB _ 64 advmod _ _ 63 with with ADP IN _ 64 case _ _ 64 terror terror NOUN NN Number=Sing 30 parataxis _ _ 65 that that PRON WDT PronType=Rel 67 nsubj _ _ 66 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 67 nsubj _ _ 67 fell fall VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 64 acl:relcl _ _ 68 insensible insensible ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 67 xcomp _ _ 69 to to ADP IN _ 71 case _ _ 70 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 71 det _ _ 71 ground ground NOUN NN Number=Sing 67 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 72 . . PUNCT . _ 30 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **allow** | gerund | this creature *not said here* | man | | | | | vn allow-64.1-1 «NP V NP S»: agent=Causer himself=Beneficiary clause=Eventuality | | 2 | **set** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive · passive | this creature *not said here* | | | man's feet | | | vn put-9.1-2 «NP V PP.destination NP»: upon foot=Destination | | 3 | **make** | present | bank | me | | | now | | tree rules | | 4 | **laugh** | infinitive | me *not said here* | | | | | | tree rules | | 5 | **think** *speech: other* | to-infinitive | me *not said here* | | | | | of bank | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent | | 6 | **have** | past | this creature | | | | | | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent | | 7 | **seem** | past | this creature | | me | | | so decrepit | vn seem-109-1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Theme | | 8 | **leap** | participle | | decrepit *not said here* | | my shoulders | | nimbly *property* | vn run-51.3.2-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme upon shoulder=Trajectory | | 9 | **hook** | gerund | | man's legs | | my neck | | | vn coil-9.6-1 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent leg=Theme round neck=Destination | | 10 | **grip** | past | hooking | me | | | | tightly *property* | vn touch-20-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent i=Experiencer | | 11 | **choke** | past · passive | | I | | | | nigh, well *property* | vn fill-9.8 «NP V NP»: subject=Destination | | 12 | **fall** | past | terror | | | | | to the ground; insensible *property* | vn acquiesce-95.1-1 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent to ground=Theme | 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 8](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/17/8/) - next →: [sentence 10](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/17/10/) - ↑ back to [Opening, part 17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/17/)