---
title: Matkah taught him to follow the cod and the halibut along the under-… — The Jungle Book · tree and pragmatics
description: Matkah taught him to follow the cod and the halibut along the under-sea banks and wrench the rockling out of his hole among the weeds; how to skirt the wrecks lying a hundred fathoms below water and dart like a rifle bullet in at one porthole and out at another as the fishes ran; how to dance on the
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg236/11/21/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[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 Jungle Book](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg236/) / [The Jungle Book, part 11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg236/11/) / 21

# The Jungle Book, The Jungle Book, part 11, sentence 21

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Matkah taught him to follow the cod and the halibut along the under-sea banks and wrench the rockling out of his hole among the weeds; how to skirt the wrecks lying a hundred fathoms below water and dart like a rifle bullet in at one porthole and out at another as the fishes ran; how to dance on the top of the waves when the lightning was racing all over the sky, and wave his flipper politely to the stumpy-tailed Albatross and the Man-of-war Hawk as they went down the wind; how to jump three or four feet clear of the water like a dolphin, flippers close to the side and tail curved; to leave the flying fish alone because they are all bony; to take the shoulder-piece out of a cod at full speed ten fathoms deep, and never to stop and look at a boat or a ship, but particularly a row-boat.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** Matkah, wrecks, fishes, lightning, flippers · **What happens:** teach, follow, wrench, skirt, lie in, run · **To what, where:** Kotick, cod, sea banks, rockling, hole, wrecks

<!-- .vabout -->
This is a sentence of «The Jungle Book» by Rudyard Kipling, The Jungle Book, part 11. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (Matkah, wrecks, fishes, lightning), 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:pg236:11:21
# text = Matkah taught him to follow the cod and the halibut along the under-sea banks and wrench the rockling out of his hole among the weeds; how to skirt the wrecks lying a hundred fathoms below water and dart like a rifle bullet in at one porthole and out at another as the fishes ran; how to dance on the top of the waves when the lightning was racing all over the sky, and wave his flipper politely to the stumpy-tailed Albatross and the Man-of-war Hawk as they went down the wind; how to jump three or four feet clear of the water like a dolphin, flippers close to the side and tail curved; to leave the flying fish alone because they are all bony; to take the shoulder-piece out of a cod at full speed ten fathoms deep, and never to stop and look at a boat or a ship, but particularly a row-boat.
1	Matkah	Matkah	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	2	nsubj	_	_
2	taught	teach	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	2	obj	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	follow	follow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	cod	cod	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	10	cc	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	halibut	halibut	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	conj	_	_
11	along	along	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
13	under	under	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	13	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	sea	sea	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	compound	_	_
16	banks	bank	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obl	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
18	wrench	wrench	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
19	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	20	det	_	_
20	rockling	rockling	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obj	_	_
21	out	out	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
22	of	of	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
23	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	24	nmod:poss	_	_
24	hole	hole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	obl	_	_
25	among	among	ADP	IN	_	27	case	_	_
26	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	27	det	_	_
27	weeds	weed	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	24	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	31	punct	_	_
29	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	31	advmod	_	_
30	to	to	PART	TO	_	31	mark	_	_
31	skirt	skirt	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	2	parataxis	_	_
32	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	33	det	_	_
33	wrecks	wreck	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	31	obj	_	_
34	lying	lie	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	33	acl	_	_
35	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	36	det	_	_
36	hundred	hundred	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	37	nummod	_	_
37	fathoms	fathom	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	34	obj	_	_
38	below	below	ADP	IN	_	39	case	_	_
39	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	34	obl	_	_
40	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	41	cc	_	_
41	dart	dart	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	39	conj	_	_
42	like	like	ADP	IN	_	45	case	_	_
43	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	45	det	_	_
44	rifle	rifle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	45	compound	_	_
45	bullet	bullet	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	34	obl	_	_
46	in	in	ADP	RP	_	34	compound:prt	_	_
47	at	at	ADP	IN	_	49	case	_	_
48	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	49	nummod	_	_
49	porthole	porthole	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	34	obl	_	_
50	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	53	cc	_	_
51	out	out	ADV	RB	_	53	advmod	_	_
52	at	at	ADP	IN	_	53	case	_	_
53	another	another	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	31	conj	_	_
54	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	57	mark	_	_
55	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	56	det	_	_
56	fishes	fish	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	57	nsubj	_	_
57	ran	run	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	31	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
58	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	61	punct	_	_
59	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	61	advmod	_	_
60	to	to	PART	TO	_	61	mark	_	_
61	dance	dance	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	31	conj	_	_
62	on	on	ADP	IN	_	64	case	_	_
63	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	64	det	_	_
64	top	top	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	61	obl	_	_
65	of	of	ADP	IN	_	67	case	_	_
66	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	67	det	_	_
67	waves	wave	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	64	nmod	_	_
68	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	72	advmod	_	_
69	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	70	det	_	_
70	lightning	lightning	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	72	nsubj	_	_
71	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	72	aux	_	_
72	racing	race	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	61	advcl	_	_
73	all	all	ADV	RB	_	76	advmod	_	_
74	over	over	ADP	IN	_	76	case	_	_
75	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	76	det	_	_
76	sky	sky	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	72	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
77	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	79	punct	_	_
78	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	79	cc	_	_
79	wave	wave	VERB	VB	Mood=Imp|VerbForm=Fin	31	conj	_	_
80	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	81	nmod:poss	_	_
81	flipper	flipper	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	79	obj	_	_
82	politely	politely	ADV	RB	_	79	advmod	_	_
83	to	to	ADP	IN	_	88	case	_	_
84	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	88	det	_	_
85	stumpy	stumpy	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	87	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
86	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	85	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
87	tailed	tail	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	88	amod	_	_
88	Albatross	Albatross	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	79	obl	_	_
89	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	95	cc	_	_
90	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	95	det	_	_
91	Man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	95	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
92	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	95	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
93	of	of	ADP	IN	_	95	case	_	SpaceAfter=No
94	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	93	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
95	war	war	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	88	conj	_	_
96	Hawk	Hawk	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	95	appos	_	_
97	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	99	mark	_	_
98	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	99	nsubj	_	_
99	went	go	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	79	advcl	_	_
100	down	down	ADP	IN	_	102	case	_	_
101	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	102	det	_	_
102	wind	wind	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	99	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
103	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	106	punct	_	_
104	how	how	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	106	advmod	_	_
105	to	to	PART	TO	_	106	mark	_	_
106	jump	jump	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	conj	_	_
107	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	110	nummod	_	_
108	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	109	cc	_	_
109	four	four	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	107	conj	_	_
110	feet	foot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	111	obl:unmarked	_	_
111	clear	clear	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	106	advcl	_	_
112	of	of	ADP	IN	_	114	case	_	_
113	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	114	det	_	_
114	water	water	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	111	obl	_	_
115	like	like	ADP	IN	_	117	case	_	_
116	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	117	det	_	_
117	dolphin	dolphin	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	106	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
118	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	119	punct	_	_
119	flippers	flipper	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	117	appos	_	_
120	close	close	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	119	amod	_	_
121	to	to	ADP	IN	_	123	case	_	_
122	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	123	det	_	_
123	side	side	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	120	obl	_	_
124	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	125	cc	_	_
125	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	123	conj	_	_
126	curved	curve	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	123	acl	_	SpaceAfter=No
127	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	129	punct	_	_
128	to	to	PART	TO	_	129	mark	_	_
129	leave	leave	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	106	conj	_	_
130	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	132	det	_	_
131	flying	fly	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	132	amod	_	_
132	fish	fish	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	129	obj	_	_
133	alone	alone	ADV	RB	_	129	advmod	_	_
134	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	138	mark	_	_
135	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	138	nsubj	_	_
136	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	138	cop	_	_
137	all	all	ADV	RB	_	138	advmod	_	_
138	bony	bony	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	129	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
139	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	141	punct	_	_
140	to	to	PART	TO	_	141	mark	_	_
141	take	take	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	106	conj	_	_
142	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	145	det	_	_
143	shoulder	shoulder	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	145	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
144	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	143	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
145	piece	piece	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	141	obj	_	_
146	out	out	ADP	IN	_	149	case	_	_
147	of	of	ADP	IN	_	149	case	_	_
148	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	149	det	_	_
149	cod	cod	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	141	obl	_	_
150	at	at	ADP	IN	_	152	case	_	_
151	full	full	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	152	amod	_	_
152	speed	speed	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	141	obl	_	_
153	ten	ten	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	154	nummod	_	_
154	fathoms	fathom	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	155	obl:unmarked	_	_
155	deep	deep	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	141	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
156	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	160	punct	_	_
157	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	160	cc	_	_
158	never	never	ADV	RB	PronType=Neg	160	advmod	_	_
159	to	to	PART	TO	_	160	mark	_	_
160	stop	stop	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	106	parataxis	_	_
161	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	162	cc	_	_
162	look	look	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	160	conj	_	_
163	at	at	ADP	IN	_	165	case	_	_
164	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	165	det	_	_
165	boat	boat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	162	obl	_	_
166	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	168	cc	_	_
167	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	168	det	_	_
168	ship	ship	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	165	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
169	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	175	punct	_	_
170	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	175	cc	_	_
171	particularly	particularly	ADV	RB	_	175	advmod	_	_
172	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	175	det	_	_
173	row	row	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	175	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
174	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	173	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
175	boat	boat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	2	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
176	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **teach** *speech: other* | past | Matkah |  | Kotick |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent he=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 2 | **follow** | to-infinitive | Matkah *not said here* | the cod and the halibut |  | the sea banks |  |  | vn chase-51.6 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent cod=Theme along bank=Trajectory |
| 3 | **wrench** | present | Matkah *not said here* | the rockling |  | Kotick's hole among the weeds |  |  | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP PP»: agent=Agent rockling=Theme out hole=Initial\_Location |
| 4 | **skirt** | to-infinitive |  | the wrecks |  |  |  |  | vn contiguous\_location-47.8 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme wreck=Co-Theme |
| 5 | **lie in** | gerund | the wrecks *not said here* | hundred fathoms |  | water and dart |  | like a rifle bullet; at one porthole | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location fathom=Theme |
| 6 | **run** | past | the fishes |  |  |  |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 7 | **dance** | to-infinitive |  |  |  | the top of the waves |  |  | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme on top=Location |
| 8 | **race** | past · progressive | the lightning |  |  | the sky |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme over sky=Trajectory |
| 9 | **wave** | infinitive |  | Kotick's flipper | the tailed Albatross and the war |  |  | politely *property* | vn wink-40.3.1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent flipper=Theme to albatross=Recipient |
| 10 | **tail** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn chase-51.6 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent |
| 11 | **go down** | past | flippers *= flipper* | the wind |  |  |  |  | vn calibratable\_cos-45.6.1-1 «NP.patient V NP.extent PP.source PP.goal»: agent=Patient wind=Extent |
| 12 | **jump** | to-infinitive | Matkah *not said here* |  |  |  |  | like a dolphin | vn run-51.3.2-2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 13 | **curve** | participle |  | the side and tail *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn knead-26.5 «NP.material V PP.product»: agent=Material |
| 14 | **leave** | to-infinitive | Matkah *not said here* | the flying fish |  |  |  | alone *property* | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent fish=Theme |
| 15 | **fly** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 16 | **is** | present | flippers *= flipper* |  |  |  |  | all, bony *property* | tree rules |
| 17 | **take** | to-infinitive | Matkah *not said here* | the shoulder piece |  | a cod |  | at full speed; deep *obl* | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP PP.initial\_location»: agent=Agent piece=Theme out cod=Initial\_Location |
| 18 | **not** **stop** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn stop-55.4-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality |
| 19 | **look** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | at a boat or a ship | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent at boat=Theme |

<!-- .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.

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** «The Jungle Book» by Rudyard Kipling, Project Gutenberg book 236 (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 -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [sentence 20](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg236/11/20/)
- next →: [sentence 22](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg236/11/22/)
- ↑ back to [The Jungle Book, part 11](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg236/11/)