--- title: Then we went back to the forest together and dug a mighty trench in… — The Arabian Nights Entertainments · tree and pragmatics description: Then we went back to the forest together and dug a mighty trench in which we buried the elephant I had killed, in order that when it became a skeleton my master might return and secure its tusks. Who acts: we, trench, master. A sentence of «The Arabian Nights Entertainments» by Andrew Lang, Opening, --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/18/78/) [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 18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/18/) / 78 # The Arabian Nights Entertainments, Opening, part 18, sentence 78 Then we went back to the forest together and dug a mighty trench in which we buried the elephant I had killed, in order that when it became a skeleton my master might return and secure its tusks. **Who acts:** we, trench, master · **What happens:** go back, dig, bury, kill, become, return · **To what, where:** mighty trench, order, elephant, I, skeleton, tusks This is a sentence of «The Arabian Nights Entertainments» by Andrew Lang, Opening, part 18. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (we, trench, master), 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:pg128:18:78 # text = Then we went back to the forest together and dug a mighty trench in which we buried the elephant I had killed, in order that when it became a skeleton my master might return and secure its tusks. 1 Then then ADV RB PronType=Dem 3 advmod _ _ 2 we we PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs 3 nsubj _ _ 3 went go VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 4 back back ADV RB _ 3 advmod _ _ 5 to to ADP IN _ 7 case _ _ 6 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 7 det _ _ 7 forest forest NOUN NN Number=Sing 3 obl _ _ 8 together together ADV RB _ 3 advmod _ _ 9 and and CCONJ CC _ 10 cc _ _ 10 dug dig VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 3 conj _ _ 11 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 13 det _ _ 12 mighty mighty ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 13 amod _ _ 13 trench trench NOUN NN Number=Sing 10 obj _ _ 14 in in ADP IN _ 15 case _ _ 15 which which PRON WDT PronType=Rel 17 obl _ _ 16 we we PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs 17 nsubj _ _ 17 buried bury VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 13 acl:relcl _ _ 18 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 19 det _ _ 19 elephant elephant NOUN NN Number=Sing 17 obj _ _ 20 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 22 nsubj:pass _ _ 21 had have AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 22 aux _ _ 22 killed kill VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 17 ccomp _ SpaceAfter=No 23 , , PUNCT , _ 25 punct _ _ 24 in in ADP IN _ 25 case _ _ 25 order order NOUN NN Number=Sing 10 obl _ _ 26 that that PRON WDT PronType=Rel 29 obj _ _ 27 when when ADV WRB PronType=Int 29 advmod _ _ 28 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 29 nsubj _ _ 29 became become VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 25 acl:relcl _ _ 30 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 31 det _ _ 31 skeleton skeleton NOUN NN Number=Sing 29 obj _ _ 32 my my PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 33 nmod:poss _ _ 33 master master NOUN NN Number=Sing 35 nsubj _ _ 34 might might AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 35 aux _ _ 35 return return VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 31 acl:relcl _ _ 36 and and CCONJ CC _ 37 cc _ _ 37 secure secure VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 35 conj _ _ 38 its its PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 39 nmod:poss _ _ 39 tusks tusk NOUN NNS Number=Plur 37 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 40 . . PUNCT . _ 3 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **go back** | past | we | | | | then | to the forest *result*; together *property* | vn convert-26.6.2 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Patient to forest=Result | | 2 | **dig** | past | we *not said here* | a mighty trench | | order | | | vn hunt-35.1 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent trench=Theme in order=Location | | 3 | **bury** | past | we | the elephant | | a mighty trench | | | tree rules | | 4 | **kill** | past · perfect · passive | | I | | | | | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme | | 5 | **become** | past | trench | order | | | | | tree rules | | 6 | **return** | might | my master | a skeleton *not said here* | | | | | vn send-11.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent skeleton=Theme | | 7 | **secure** | infinitive | my master *not said here* | trench's tusks | | | | | vn ensure-99 «NP V NP»: agent=Precondition tusk=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 77](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/18/77/) - next →: [sentence 79](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/18/79/) - ↑ back to [Opening, part 18](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/18/)