--- title: There is an anecdote about the Irishman and the rabbit which a numbe… — Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings · tree and pragmatics description: There is an anecdote about the Irishman and the rabbit which a number of negroes have told to me with great unction, and which is both funny and characteristic, though I will not undertake to say that it has its origin with the blacks. Who acts: anecdote, I, number. A sentence of «Uncle Remus, His S --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2306/1/103/) [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/) / [Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2306/) / [Dear Frost:](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2306/1/) / 103 # Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings, Dear Frost:, sentence 103 There is an anecdote about the Irishman and the rabbit which a number of negroes have told to me with great unction, and which is both funny and characteristic, though I will not undertake to say that it has its origin with the blacks. **Who acts:** anecdote, I, number · **What happens:** be, tell, not undertake, say, have · **To what, where:** number, me, origin · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is a sentence of «Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings» by Joel Chandler Harris, Dear Frost:. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (anecdote, I, number), 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:pg2306:1:103 # text = There is an anecdote about the Irishman and the rabbit which a number of negroes have told to me with great unction, and which is both funny and characteristic, though I will not undertake to say that it has its origin with the blacks. 1 There there PRON EX PronType=Dem 2 expl _ _ 2 is be VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 3 an a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 4 det _ _ 4 anecdote anecdote NOUN NN Number=Sing 2 nsubj _ _ 5 about about ADP IN _ 7 case _ _ 6 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 7 det _ _ 7 Irishman Irishman PROPN NNP Number=Sing 4 nmod _ _ 8 and and CCONJ CC _ 10 cc _ _ 9 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 10 det _ _ 10 rabbit rabbit NOUN NN Number=Sing 7 conj _ _ 11 which which PRON WDT PronType=Rel 17 obj _ _ 12 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 13 det _ _ 13 number number NOUN NN Number=Sing 17 nsubj:pass _ _ 14 of of ADP IN _ 15 case _ _ 15 negroes negro NOUN NNS Number=Plur 13 nmod _ _ 16 have have AUX VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 17 aux _ _ 17 told tell VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 10 acl:relcl _ _ 18 to to ADP IN _ 19 case _ _ 19 me I PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 17 obl _ _ 20 with with ADP IN _ 22 case _ _ 21 great great ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 22 amod _ _ 22 unction unction NOUN NN Number=Sing 17 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 23 , , PUNCT , _ 28 punct _ _ 24 and and CCONJ CC _ 28 cc _ _ 25 which which PRON WDT PronType=Rel 28 nsubj _ _ 26 is be AUX VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 28 cop _ _ 27 both both CCONJ CC _ 28 cc:preconj _ _ 28 funny funny ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 2 parataxis _ _ 29 and and CCONJ CC _ 30 cc _ _ 30 characteristic characteristic ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 28 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 31 , , PUNCT , _ 36 punct _ _ 32 though though SCONJ IN _ 36 mark _ _ 33 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 36 nsubj _ _ 34 will will AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 36 aux _ _ 35 not not PART RB Polarity=Neg 36 advmod _ _ 36 undertake undertake VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 28 conj _ _ 37 to to PART TO _ 38 mark _ _ 38 say say VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 36 xcomp _ _ 39 that that SCONJ IN _ 41 mark _ _ 40 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 41 nsubj _ _ 41 has have VERB VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 38 ccomp _ _ 42 its its PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 43 nmod:poss _ _ 43 origin origin NOUN NN Number=Sing 41 obj _ _ 44 with with ADP IN _ 46 case _ _ 45 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 46 det _ _ 46 blacks black NOUN NNS Number=Plur 43 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 47 . . PUNCT . _ 2 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **be** | present | a anecdote about the Irishman and the rabbit | | | there | | | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* | present · perfect · passive | | a number of negroes | me | | | with great unction | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: subject=Recipient which=Topic | | 3 | **is** | present | | | | | | funny *property* | tree rules | | 4 | **be** | | | | | | | | tree rules | | 5 | **not** **undertake** | future | I | | | | | | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality | | 6 | **say** *speech: assert* | to-infinitive | I *not said here* | | | | | | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | | 7 | **have** | present | number | number's origin | | | | with the blacks | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent origin=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:** «Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings» by Joel Chandler Harris, Project Gutenberg book 2306 (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 102](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2306/1/102/) - next →: [sentence 104](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2306/1/104/) - ↑ back to [Dear Frost:](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg2306/1/)