--- title: He sat lifeless on the steps: the morning-star,* that is to say, the… — Andersen's Fairy Tales · tree and pragmatics description: He sat lifeless on the steps: the morning-star,* that is to say, the heavy wooden staff, headed with iron spikes, and which had nothing else in common with its sparkling brother in the sky, had glided from his hand; while his eyes were fixed with glassy stare on the moon, looking for the good old fe --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg1597/6/121/) [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 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg1597/6/) / 121 # Andersen's Fairy Tales, The Shoes of Fortune, part 2, sentence 121 He sat lifeless on the steps: the morning-star,\* that is to say, the heavy wooden staff, headed with iron spikes, and which had nothing else in common with its sparkling brother in the sky, had glided from his hand; while his eyes were fixed with glassy stare on the moon, looking for the good old fellow of a spirit which still haunted it. **Who acts:** Denmark, that, spirit · **What happens:** sit, be, head, have, glide, fix · **To what, where:** heavy wooden staff, nothing, common, hand, eyes, moon This is a sentence of «Andersen's Fairy Tales» by H. C. Andersen, The Shoes of Fortune, part 2. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (Denmark, that, spirit), 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:pg1597:6:121 # text = He sat lifeless on the steps: the morning-star,* that is to say, the heavy wooden staff, headed with iron spikes, and which had nothing else in common with its sparkling brother in the sky, had glided from his hand; while his eyes were fixed with glassy stare on the moon, looking for the good old fellow of a spirit which still haunted it. 1 He he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 2 nsubj _ _ 2 sat sit VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 3 lifeless lifeless ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 2 xcomp _ _ 4 on on ADP IN _ 6 case _ _ 5 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 6 det _ _ 6 steps step NOUN NNS Number=Plur 2 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 7 : : PUNCT : _ 11 punct _ _ 8 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 11 det _ _ 9 morning morning NOUN NN Number=Sing 11 compound _ SpaceAfter=No 10 - - PUNCT HYPH _ 9 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 11 star star NOUN NN Number=Sing 6 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 12 , , PUNCT , _ 11 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 13 * * PUNCT NFP _ 11 punct _ _ 14 that that PRON DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 17 nsubj:outer _ _ 15 is be AUX VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 17 cop _ _ 16 to to PART TO _ 17 mark _ _ 17 say say VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 11 parataxis _ SpaceAfter=No 18 , , PUNCT , _ 22 punct _ _ 19 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 22 det _ _ 20 heavy heavy ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 22 amod _ _ 21 wooden wooden ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 22 amod _ _ 22 staff staff NOUN NN Number=Sing 11 parataxis _ SpaceAfter=No 23 , , PUNCT , _ 24 punct _ _ 24 headed head VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 22 acl _ _ 25 with with ADP IN _ 27 case _ _ 26 iron iron NOUN NN Number=Sing 27 compound _ _ 27 spikes spike NOUN NNS Number=Plur 24 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 28 , , PUNCT , _ 31 punct _ _ 29 and and CCONJ CC _ 31 cc _ _ 30 which which PRON WDT PronType=Rel 31 nsubj _ _ 31 had have VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 2 parataxis _ _ 32 nothing nothing PRON NN Number=Sing|PronType=Neg 31 obj _ _ 33 else else ADV RB _ 32 advmod _ _ 34 in in ADP IN _ 35 case _ _ 35 common common ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 32 nmod _ _ 36 with with ADP IN _ 39 case _ _ 37 its its PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 39 nmod:poss _ _ 38 sparkling sparkling ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 39 amod _ _ 39 brother brother NOUN NN Number=Sing 35 obl _ _ 40 in in ADP IN _ 42 case _ _ 41 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 42 det _ _ 42 sky sky NOUN NN Number=Sing 39 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 43 , , PUNCT , _ 45 punct _ _ 44 had have AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 45 aux _ _ 45 glided glide VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part 31 conj _ _ 46 from from ADP IN _ 48 case _ _ 47 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 48 nmod:poss _ _ 48 hand hand NOUN NN Number=Sing 45 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 49 ; ; PUNCT : _ 54 punct _ _ 50 while while SCONJ IN _ 54 mark _ _ 51 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 52 nmod:poss _ _ 52 eyes eye NOUN NNS Number=Plur 54 nsubj:pass _ _ 53 were be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 54 aux:pass _ _ 54 fixed fix VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 2 parataxis _ _ 55 with with ADP IN _ 57 case _ _ 56 glassy glassy ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 57 amod _ _ 57 stare stare NOUN NN Number=Sing 54 obl _ _ 58 on on ADP IN _ 60 case _ _ 59 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 60 det _ _ 60 moon moon NOUN NN Number=Sing 57 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 61 , , PUNCT , _ 62 punct _ _ 62 looking look VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 54 advcl _ _ 63 for for ADP IN _ 67 case _ _ 64 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 67 det _ _ 65 good good ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 67 amod _ _ 66 old old ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 67 amod _ _ 67 fellow fellow NOUN NN Number=Sing 62 obl _ _ 68 of of ADP IN _ 70 case _ _ 69 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 70 det _ _ 70 spirit spirit NOUN NN Number=Sing 67 nmod _ _ 71 which which PRON WDT PronType=Rel 73 nsubj _ _ 72 still still ADV RB _ 73 advmod _ _ 73 haunted haunt VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 70 acl:relcl _ _ 74 it it PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 73 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 75 . . PUNCT . _ 2 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **sit** | past | Denmark | | | | | on the steps and the morning star; lifeless *property* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent on step=Location | | 2 | **is** | present | that | | | | | say *property* | tree rules | | 3 | **head** | participle | | the heavy wooden staff *not said here* | | | | with iron spikes | vn conduct-111.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent | | 4 | **have** | past | | nothing | | common | | | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent nothing=Patient | | 5 | **glide** | past · perfect | | | | Denmark's hand | | | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme from hand=Trajectory | | 6 | **fix** | past · passive | | Denmark's eyes | | | | with glassy stare on the moon | vn shake-22.3-2 «NP V NP PP»: subject=Patient with stare=Co-Patient | | 7 | **look** | gerund | | | | | | for the good old fellow of a spirit | vn rummage-35.5 «NP V PP.location PP.theme»: agent=Agent for fellow=Theme | | 8 | **haunt** | past | a spirit | moon | | | still | | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Stimulus it=Experiencer | 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 120](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg1597/6/120/) - next →: [The Shoes of Fortune, part 3, 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg1597/7/1/) - ↑ back to [The Shoes of Fortune, part 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg1597/6/)