--- title: The Caliph also desired Noureddin to reign over Balsora, but this, t… — The Arabian Nights Entertainments · tree and pragmatics description: The Caliph also desired Noureddin to reign over Balsora, but this, too, he declined, saying that after what had passed there he preferred never to return, but to enter the service of the Caliph. Who acts: Caliph, Noureddin. A sentence of «The Arabian Nights Entertainments» by Andrew Lang, Opening, p --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/30/89/) [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 30](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/30/) / 89 # The Arabian Nights Entertainments, Opening, part 30, sentence 89 The Caliph also desired Noureddin to reign over Balsora, but this, too, he declined, saying that after what had passed there he preferred never to return, but to enter the service of the Caliph. **Who acts:** Caliph, Noureddin · **What happens:** desire, reign, decline, say, pass, prefer · **To what, where:** Noureddin, Balsora, service, Caliph · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is a sentence of «The Arabian Nights Entertainments» by Andrew Lang, Opening, part 30. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (Caliph, Noureddin), 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:pg128:30:89 # text = The Caliph also desired Noureddin to reign over Balsora, but this, too, he declined, saying that after what had passed there he preferred never to return, but to enter the service of the Caliph. 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 2 det _ _ 2 Caliph Caliph PROPN NNP Number=Sing 4 nsubj _ _ 3 also also ADV RB _ 4 advmod _ _ 4 desired desire VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 5 Noureddin Noureddin PROPN NNP Number=Sing 4 obj _ _ 6 to to PART TO _ 7 mark _ _ 7 reign reign VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 4 xcomp _ _ 8 over over ADP IN _ 9 case _ _ 9 Balsora Balsora PROPN NNP Number=Sing 7 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 10 , , PUNCT , _ 12 punct _ _ 11 but but CCONJ CC _ 12 cc _ _ 12 this this PRON DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 4 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 13 , , PUNCT , _ 17 punct _ _ 14 too too ADV RB _ 17 advmod _ SpaceAfter=No 15 , , PUNCT , _ 17 punct _ _ 16 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 17 nsubj _ _ 17 declined decline VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 4 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 18 , , PUNCT , _ 19 punct _ _ 19 saying say VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 17 advcl _ _ 20 that that SCONJ IN _ 24 mark _ _ 21 after after SCONJ IN _ 24 mark _ _ 22 what what PRON WP PronType=Int 24 nsubj:pass _ _ 23 had have AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 24 aux _ _ 24 passed pass VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 19 ccomp _ _ 25 there there ADV RB PronType=Dem 24 advmod _ _ 26 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 27 nsubj _ _ 27 preferred prefer VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 24 acl:relcl _ _ 28 never never ADV RB PronType=Neg 30 advmod _ _ 29 to to PART TO _ 30 mark _ _ 30 return return VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 27 xcomp _ SpaceAfter=No 31 , , PUNCT , _ 34 punct _ _ 32 but but CCONJ CC _ 34 cc _ _ 33 to to PART TO _ 34 mark _ _ 34 enter enter VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 17 advcl _ _ 35 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 36 det _ _ 36 service service NOUN NN Number=Sing 34 obj _ _ 37 of of ADP IN _ 39 case _ _ 38 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 39 det _ _ 39 Caliph Caliph PROPN NNP Number=Sing 36 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 40 . . PUNCT . _ 4 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **desire** | past | the Caliph | Noureddin | | | | this *obl* | tree rules | | 2 | **reign** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the Caliph *not said here* | | | Balsora | | | tree rules | | 3 | **decline** | past | Noureddin | | | | | | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1-1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute | | 4 | **say** *speech: assert* | gerund | Noureddin *not said here* | | | | | | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | | 5 | **pass** | past · perfect · passive | | | | there | | | vn escape-51.1-1-3 «NP V NP»: subject=Trajectory | | 6 | **prefer** | past | Noureddin | | | | | | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme | | 7 | **not** **return** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | Noureddin *not said here* | | | | | | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 8 | **enter** | to-infinitive | Noureddin *not said here* | the service of the Caliph | | | | | vn escape-51.1-1-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme service=Destination | | 9 | **service** | | | the Caliph | | | | | nom service «act transitive»: of=patient | 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 88](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/30/88/) - next →: [sentence 90](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/30/90/) - ↑ back to [Opening, part 30](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg128/30/)