---
title: If the reader not familiar with plantation life will imagine that th… — Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings · tree and pragmatics
description: If the reader not familiar with plantation life will imagine that the myth--stories of Uncle Remus are told night after night to a little boy by an old negro who appears to be venerable enough to have lived during the period which he describes--who has nothing but pleasant memories of the discipline
---

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# Uncle Remus, His Songs and His Sayings, Dear Frost:, sentence 120

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
If the reader not familiar with plantation life will imagine that the myth--stories of Uncle Remus are told night after night to a little boy by an old negro who appears to be venerable enough to have lived during the period which he describes--who has nothing but pleasant memories of the discipline of slavery--and who has all the prejudices of caste and pride of family that were the natural results of the system; if the reader can imagine all this, he will find little difficulty in appreciating and sympathizing with the air of affectionate superiority which Uncle Remus assumes as he proceeds to unfold the mysteries of plantation lore to a little child who is the product of that practical reconstruction which has been going on to some extent since the war in spite of the politicians.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** reader, little boy, old negro, period, that, Remus · **What happens:** imagine, tell, appear, be, live, describe · **To what, where:** myth, nothing, prejudices, natural results, this, little difficulty · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
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 (reader, little boy, old negro, period), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree.

<!-- .note-en -->
**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:pg2306:1:120
# text = If the reader not familiar with plantation life will imagine that the myth--stories of Uncle Remus are told night after night to a little boy by an old negro who appears to be venerable enough to have lived during the period which he describes--who has nothing but pleasant memories of the discipline of slavery--and who has all the prejudices of caste and pride of family that were the natural results of the system; if the reader can imagine all this, he will find little difficulty in appreciating and sympathizing with the air of affectionate superiority which Uncle Remus assumes as he proceeds to unfold the mysteries of plantation lore to a little child who is the product of that practical reconstruction which has been going on to some extent since the war in spite of the politicians.
1	If	if	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	reader	reader	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nsubj	_	_
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	familiar	familiar	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
6	with	with	ADP	IN	_	8	case	_	_
7	plantation	plantation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	compound	_	_
8	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
9	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	imagine	imagine	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
11	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	20	mark	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	myth	myth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nsubj:pass	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	--	--	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	stories	story	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	13	conj	_	_
16	of	of	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	Uncle	Uncle	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	18	compound	_	_
18	Remus	Remus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	15	nmod	_	_
19	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	20	aux:pass	_	_
20	told	tell	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	10	advcl	_	_
21	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obl:unmarked	_	_
22	after	after	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
23	night	night	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obl	_	_
24	to	to	ADP	IN	_	27	case	_	_
25	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	27	det	_	_
26	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	27	amod	_	_
27	boy	boy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obl:agent	_	_
28	by	by	ADP	IN	_	31	case	_	_
29	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	31	det	_	_
30	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	31	amod	_	_
31	negro	negro	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obl	_	_
32	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	33	nsubj	_	_
33	appears	appear	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	31	acl:relcl	_	_
34	to	to	PART	TO	_	36	mark	_	_
35	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	36	cop	_	_
36	venerable	venerable	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	33	xcomp	_	_
37	enough	enough	ADV	RB	_	36	advmod	_	_
38	to	to	PART	TO	_	40	mark	_	_
39	have	have	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	40	aux	_	_
40	lived	live	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	36	advcl	_	_
41	during	during	ADP	IN	_	43	case	_	_
42	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	43	det	_	_
43	period	period	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	40	obl	_	_
44	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	46	nsubj	_	_
45	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	46	nsubj	_	_
46	describes	describe	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	43	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
47	--	--	PUNCT	,	_	49	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
48	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	49	nsubj	_	_
49	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	46	conj	_	_
50	nothing	nothing	PRON	NN	Number=Sing|PronType=Neg	49	obj	_	_
51	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	53	cc	_	_
52	pleasant	pleasant	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	53	amod	_	_
53	memories	memory	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	50	conj	_	_
54	of	of	ADP	IN	_	56	case	_	_
55	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	56	det	_	_
56	discipline	discipline	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	53	nmod	_	_
57	of	of	ADP	IN	_	58	case	_	_
58	slavery	slavery	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	56	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
59	--	--	PUNCT	,	_	62	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
60	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	62	cc	_	_
61	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	62	nsubj	_	_
62	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	parataxis	_	_
63	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	65	det:predet	_	_
64	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	65	det	_	_
65	prejudices	prejudice	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	62	obj	_	_
66	of	of	ADP	IN	_	67	case	_	_
67	caste	caste	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	65	nmod	_	_
68	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	69	cc	_	_
69	pride	pride	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	67	conj	_	_
70	of	of	ADP	IN	_	71	case	_	_
71	family	family	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	69	nmod	_	_
72	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	76	nsubj	_	_
73	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	76	cop	_	_
74	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	76	det	_	_
75	natural	natural	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	76	amod	_	_
76	results	result	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	71	parataxis	_	_
77	of	of	ADP	IN	_	79	case	_	_
78	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	79	det	_	_
79	system	system	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	76	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
80	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	85	punct	_	_
81	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	85	mark	_	_
82	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	83	det	_	_
83	reader	reader	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	85	nsubj	_	_
84	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	85	aux	_	_
85	imagine	imagine	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	62	conj	_	_
86	all	all	DET	PDT	PronType=Tot	87	det:predet	_	_
87	this	this	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	85	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
88	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	91	punct	_	_
89	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	91	nsubj	_	_
90	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	91	aux	_	_
91	find	find	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	85	parataxis	_	_
92	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	93	amod	_	_
93	difficulty	difficulty	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	91	obj	_	_
94	in	in	SCONJ	IN	_	95	mark	_	_
95	appreciating	appreciate	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	91	advcl	_	_
96	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	97	cc	_	_
97	sympathizing	sympathize	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	95	conj	_	_
98	with	with	ADP	IN	_	100	case	_	_
99	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	100	det	_	_
100	air	air	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	97	obl	_	_
101	of	of	ADP	IN	_	103	case	_	_
102	affectionate	affectionate	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	103	amod	_	_
103	superiority	superiority	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	100	nmod	_	_
104	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	107	obj	_	_
105	Uncle	Uncle	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	107	nsubj	_	_
106	Remus	Remus	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	105	flat	_	_
107	assumes	assume	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	103	acl:relcl	_	_
108	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	110	mark	_	_
109	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	110	nsubj	_	_
110	proceeds	proceed	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	107	advcl	_	_
111	to	to	PART	TO	_	112	mark	_	_
112	unfold	unfold	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	110	xcomp	_	_
113	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	114	det	_	_
114	mysteries	mystery	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	112	obj	_	_
115	of	of	ADP	IN	_	117	case	_	_
116	plantation	plantation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	117	compound	_	_
117	lore	lore	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	114	nmod	_	_
118	to	to	ADP	IN	_	121	case	_	_
119	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	121	det	_	_
120	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	121	amod	_	_
121	child	child	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	112	obl	_	_
122	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	125	nsubj	_	_
123	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	125	cop	_	_
124	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	125	det	_	_
125	product	product	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	121	acl:relcl	_	_
126	of	of	ADP	IN	_	129	case	_	_
127	that	that	DET	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	129	det	_	_
128	practical	practical	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	129	amod	_	_
129	reconstruction	reconstruction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	125	nmod	_	_
130	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	133	nsubj	_	_
131	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	133	aux	_	_
132	been	be	AUX	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	133	aux	_	_
133	going	go	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	129	acl:relcl	_	_
134	on	on	ADP	RP	_	133	compound:prt	_	_
135	to	to	ADP	IN	_	137	case	_	_
136	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	137	det	_	_
137	extent	extent	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	133	obl	_	_
138	since	since	ADP	IN	_	140	case	_	_
139	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	140	det	_	_
140	war	war	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	112	obl	_	_
141	in	in	ADP	IN	_	142	case	_	_
142	spite	spite	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	112	obl	_	_
143	of	of	ADP	IN	_	145	case	_	_
144	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	145	det	_	_
145	politicians	politician	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	142	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
146	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	10	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **imagine** | future | the reader |  |  |  |  |  | vn wish-62 «NP V for NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot |
| 2 | **tell** *speech: assert* | present · passive | a little boy | the myth and stories of Uncle Remus |  |  | night | by a old negro | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent subject=Recipient |
| 3 | **appear** | present | a old negro |  |  |  |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **is** | to-infinitive | a old negro *not said here* |  |  |  |  | enough, venerable *property* | tree rules |
| 5 | **live** | to-infinitive · perfect | a old negro *not said here* |  |  |  | during the period |  | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 6 | **describe** | present | the period |  |  |  |  |  | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent |
| 7 | **have** | present |  | nothing |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent nothing=Patient |
| 8 | **have** | present |  | all prejudices of caste and pride of family |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent prejudice=Patient |
| 9 | **is a** | past | that | the natural results |  |  |  | of the system | tree rules |
| 10 | **imagine** *a condition, not said to happen* | can | the reader | this |  |  |  |  | vn wish-62 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot this=Theme |
| 11 | **find** | future | Remus | little difficulty |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent difficulty=Topic |
| 12 | **appreciate** | gerund | Remus *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1-1 «NP.attribute V»: agent=Attribute |
| 13 | **sympathize** | gerund | Remus *not said here* |  |  |  |  | with the air of affectionate superiority | vn empathize-88.2 «NP V PP.stimulus»: agent=Experiencer with air=Stimulus |
| 14 | **assume** | present | Uncle | affectionate superiority |  |  |  |  | vn adopt-93.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent which=Theme |
| 15 | **proceed** | present | Remus |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 16 | **unfold** | to-infinitive | Remus *not said here* | the mysteries of plantation lore |  | spite of the politicians | since the war | to a little child *result* | vn bend-45.2 «NP V NP PP.result»: agent=Agent mystery=Patient to child=Result |
| 17 | **is a** | present | a little child | the product |  |  |  | of that practical reconstruction | tree rules |
| 18 | **go on** | present · perfect · progressive | that practical reconstruction |  |  |  |  | to some extent | vn function-105.2.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 19 | **discipline** |  |  | slavery |  |  |  |  | nom discipline «cognition transitive»: of=patient |
| 20 | **prejudice** |  |  | caste and pride of family |  |  |  |  | nom prejudice «cognition transitive»: of=patient |
| 21 | **pride** |  |  | family |  |  |  |  | nom pride «feeling transitive»: of=patient |
| 22 | **spite** |  |  | the politicians |  |  |  |  | nom spite «feeling transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .note -->
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.

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**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.

<!-- /div -->

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