--- title: One might have thought at first they were servants come to accompany… — Andersen's Fairy Tales · tree and pragmatics description: One might have thought at first they were servants come to accompany their mistresses home; but on looking nearer, one soon saw they could scarcely be mere servants; their forms were too noble for that, their skin too fine, the cut of their dress too striking. Who acts: figures, forms, skin. A sente --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg1597/5/18/) [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/) / [Andersen's Fairy Tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg1597/) / [The Shoes of Fortune, part 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg1597/5/) / 18 # Andersen's Fairy Tales, The Shoes of Fortune, part 1, sentence 18 One might have thought at first they were servants come to accompany their mistresses home; but on looking nearer, one soon saw they could scarcely be mere servants; their forms were too noble for that, their skin too fine, the cut of their dress too striking. **Who acts:** figures, forms, skin · **What happens:** think, be, accompany, look, see, strike · **To what, where:** One, mistresses, mere servants · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is a sentence of «Andersen's Fairy Tales» by H. C. Andersen, The Shoes of Fortune, part 1. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (figures, forms, skin), 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:pg1597:5:18 # text = One might have thought at first they were servants come to accompany their mistresses home; but on looking nearer, one soon saw they could scarcely be mere servants; their forms were too noble for that, their skin too fine, the cut of their dress too striking. 1 One one NUM CD NumForm=Word|NumType=Card 4 nsubj:pass _ _ 2 might might AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 4 aux _ _ 3 have have AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 4 aux _ _ 4 thought think VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 0 root _ _ 5 at at ADP IN _ 6 case _ _ 6 first first ADV RB NumForm=Word|NumType=Ord 4 obl _ _ 7 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 10 nsubj _ _ 8 were be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 10 cop _ _ 9 servants servant NOUN NNS Number=Plur 10 nsubj _ _ 10 come come VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 4 parataxis _ _ 11 to to PART TO _ 12 mark _ _ 12 accompany accompany VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 10 xcomp _ _ 13 their their PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 14 nmod:poss _ _ 14 mistresses mistress NOUN NNS Number=Plur 12 obj _ _ 15 home home ADV RB _ 12 advmod _ SpaceAfter=No 16 ; ; PUNCT , _ 24 punct _ _ 17 but but CCONJ CC _ 24 cc _ _ 18 on on SCONJ IN _ 19 mark _ _ 19 looking look VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 24 advcl _ _ 20 nearer near ADJ JJR Degree=Cmp 19 xcomp _ SpaceAfter=No 21 , , PUNCT , _ 19 punct _ _ 22 one one NUM CD NumForm=Word|NumType=Card 19 obj _ _ 23 soon soon ADV RB Degree=Pos 19 advmod _ _ 24 saw see VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 4 conj _ _ 25 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 30 nsubj _ _ 26 could could AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 30 aux _ _ 27 scarcely scarcely ADV RB _ 30 advmod _ _ 28 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 30 cop _ _ 29 mere mere ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 30 amod _ _ 30 servants servant NOUN NNS Number=Plur 24 ccomp _ SpaceAfter=No 31 ; ; PUNCT : _ 36 punct _ _ 32 their their PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 33 nmod:poss _ _ 33 forms form NOUN NNS Number=Plur 36 nsubj _ _ 34 were be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 36 cop _ _ 35 too too ADV RB _ 36 advmod _ _ 36 noble noble ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 4 parataxis _ _ 37 for for ADP IN _ 38 case _ _ 38 that that PRON DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 36 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 39 , , PUNCT , _ 43 punct _ _ 40 their their PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 41 nmod:poss _ _ 41 skin skin NOUN NN Number=Sing 43 nsubj _ _ 42 too too ADV RB _ 43 advmod _ _ 43 fine fine ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 36 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 44 , , PUNCT , _ 46 punct _ _ 45 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 46 det _ _ 46 cut cut NOUN NN Number=Sing 43 parataxis _ _ 47 of of ADP IN _ 49 case _ _ 48 their their PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 49 nmod:poss _ _ 49 dress dress NOUN NN Number=Sing 46 nmod _ _ 50 too too ADV RB _ 51 advmod _ _ 51 striking strike VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 46 advcl _ SpaceAfter=No 52 . . PUNCT . _ 4 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **think** *speech: other* | might · perfect · passive | | One | | | | | vn wish-62 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme | | 2 | **is** | past | figures *= figure* | | | | | come *property* | tree rules | | 3 | **accompany** | to-infinitive | figures *= figure* *not said here* | figures's mistresses | | | | home *property* | vn accompany-51.7 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent mistress=Theme | | 4 | **look** | gerund | | one | | | | near, soon *property* | vn seem-109-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme one=Attribute | | 5 | **see** | past | | | | | | | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Experiencer | | 6 | **is a** | could | figures *= figure* | mere servants | | | | scarcely *property* | tree rules | | 7 | **is** | past | figures's forms | | | | | for that; noble *property* | tree rules | | 8 | **be** | | figures's skin | | | | | | tree rules | | 9 | **strike** | gerund | figures's skin *not said here* | | | | | | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 10 | **form** | | figures *= figure* | | | | | | nom form «communication transitive»: poss=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:** «Andersen's Fairy Tales» by H. C. Andersen, Project Gutenberg book 1597 (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 17](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg1597/5/17/) - next →: [sentence 19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg1597/5/19/) - ↑ back to [The Shoes of Fortune, part 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg1597/5/)