--- title: Half an hour before he had been building with bricks in the nursery;… — The Book of Dragons · tree and pragmatics description: Half an hour before he had been building with bricks in the nursery; and now--the streets were all fluttering with flags; every window was crowded with people waving handkerchiefs and scattering flowers; there were scarlet soldiers everywhere along the pavements, and all the bells of all the churche --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg23661/1/93/) [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 Book of Dragons](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg23661/) / [Opening, part 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg23661/1/) / 93 # The Book of Dragons, Opening, part 1, sentence 93 Half an hour before he had been building with bricks in the nursery; and now--the streets were all fluttering with flags; every window was crowded with people waving handkerchiefs and scattering flowers; there were scarlet soldiers everywhere along the pavements, and all the bells of all the churches were ringing like mad, and like a great song to the music of their ringing he heard thousands of people shouting, "Long live Lionel! **Who acts:** coach, streets, window, people, scarlet soldiers, bells · **What happens:** build, flutter, be, wave, scatter, ring · **To what, where:** hour, nursery, handkerchiefs, flowers, thousands, Long live Lionel This is a sentence of «The Book of Dragons» by E. Nesbit, Opening, 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 (coach, streets, window, people), 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:pg23661:1:93 # text = Half an hour before he had been building with bricks in the nursery; and now--the streets were all fluttering with flags; every window was crowded with people waving handkerchiefs and scattering flowers; there were scarlet soldiers everywhere along the pavements, and all the bells of all the churches were ringing like mad, and like a great song to the music of their ringing he heard thousands of people shouting, "Long live Lionel! 1 Half half DET PDT NumForm=Word|NumType=Frac|PronType=Ind 3 det:predet _ _ 2 an a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 3 det _ _ 3 hour hour NOUN NN Number=Sing 0 root _ _ 4 before before SCONJ IN _ 8 mark _ _ 5 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 8 nsubj _ _ 6 had have AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 8 aux _ _ 7 been be AUX VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part 8 aux _ _ 8 building build VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 3 acl _ _ 9 with with ADP IN _ 10 case _ _ 10 bricks brick NOUN NNS Number=Plur 8 obl _ _ 11 in in ADP IN _ 13 case _ _ 12 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 13 det _ _ 13 nursery nursery NOUN NN Number=Sing 8 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 14 ; ; PUNCT : _ 22 punct _ _ 15 and and CCONJ CC _ 22 cc _ _ 16 now now ADV RB PronType=Dem 22 advmod _ SpaceAfter=No 17 -- -- PUNCT , _ 16 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 18 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 19 det _ _ 19 streets street NOUN NNS Number=Plur 22 nsubj _ _ 20 were be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 22 aux _ _ 21 all all ADV RB _ 22 advmod _ _ 22 fluttering flutter VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 3 conj _ _ 23 with with ADP IN _ 24 case _ _ 24 flags flag NOUN NNS Number=Plur 22 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 25 ; ; PUNCT , _ 29 punct _ _ 26 every every DET DT PronType=Tot 27 det _ _ 27 window window NOUN NN Number=Sing 29 nsubj _ _ 28 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 29 cop _ _ 29 crowded crowded ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 22 conj _ _ 30 with with ADP IN _ 31 case _ _ 31 people people NOUN NNS Number=Plur 29 obl _ _ 32 waving wave VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 31 acl _ _ 33 handkerchiefs handkerchief NOUN NNS Number=Plur 32 obj _ _ 34 and and CCONJ CC _ 35 cc _ _ 35 scattering scatter VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 32 conj _ _ 36 flowers flower NOUN NNS Number=Plur 35 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 37 ; ; PUNCT , _ 39 punct _ _ 38 there there PRON EX PronType=Dem 39 expl _ _ 39 were be VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 29 parataxis _ _ 40 scarlet scarlet ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 41 amod _ _ 41 soldiers soldier NOUN NNS Number=Plur 39 nsubj _ _ 42 everywhere everywhere ADV RB PronType=Tot 45 advmod _ _ 43 along along ADP IN _ 45 case _ _ 44 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 45 det _ _ 45 pavements pavement NOUN NNS Number=Plur 41 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 46 , , PUNCT , _ 56 punct _ _ 47 and and CCONJ CC _ 56 cc _ _ 48 all all DET PDT PronType=Tot 50 det:predet _ _ 49 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 50 det _ _ 50 bells bell NOUN NNS Number=Plur 56 nsubj _ _ 51 of of ADP IN _ 54 case _ _ 52 all all DET PDT PronType=Tot 54 det:predet _ _ 53 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 54 det _ _ 54 churches church NOUN NNS Number=Plur 50 nmod _ _ 55 were be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 56 aux _ _ 56 ringing ring VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 41 parataxis _ _ 57 like like ADP IN _ 58 case _ _ 58 mad mad ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 56 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 59 , , PUNCT , _ 64 punct _ _ 60 and and CCONJ CC _ 64 cc _ _ 61 like like ADP IN _ 64 case _ _ 62 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 64 det _ _ 63 great great ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 64 amod _ _ 64 song song NOUN NN Number=Sing 56 conj _ _ 65 to to ADP IN _ 67 case _ _ 66 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 67 det _ _ 67 music music NOUN NN Number=Sing 64 nmod _ _ 68 of of ADP IN _ 70 case _ _ 69 their their PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 70 nmod:poss _ _ 70 ringing ringing NOUN NN Number=Sing 67 nmod _ _ 71 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 72 nsubj _ _ 72 heard hear VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 70 acl:relcl _ _ 73 thousands thousand NOUN NNS Number=Plur 72 obj _ _ 74 of of ADP IN _ 75 case _ _ 75 people people NOUN NNS Number=Plur 73 nmod _ _ 76 shouting shout VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 75 acl _ SpaceAfter=No 77 , , PUNCT , _ 81 punct _ _ 78 " " PUNCT `` _ 81 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 79 Long long ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 81 amod _ _ 80 live live ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 81 amod _ _ 81 Lionel lionel NOUN NN Number=Sing 76 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 82 ! ! PUNCT . _ 3 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **build** | past · perfect · progressive | coach | half hour *not said here* | | the nursery | | with bricks | vn base-97.1 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent hour=Theme with brick=Source | | 2 | **flutter** | past · progressive | the streets | | | | now | with flags; all *property* | vn modes\_of\_being\_with\_motion-47.3 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 3 | **is** | past | every window | | | | | with people; crowded *property* | tree rules | | 4 | **wave** | gerund | people *not said here* | handkerchiefs | | | | | vn wink-40.3.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent handkerchief=Patient | | 5 | **scatter** | gerund | people *not said here* | flowers | | | | | vn spray-9.7-1 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent flower=Theme | | 6 | **be** | past | scarlet soldiers along the pavements | | | there | | | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 7 | **ring** | past · progressive | all bells of all churches | | | | | like mad | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 8 | **hear** | past | coach | thousands of people | | | | | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer thousand=Stimulus | | 9 | **shout** *speech: express* | gerund | people *not said here* | Long live Lionel | | | | | vn manner\_speaking-37.3 «NP V»: agent=Agent | | 10 | **ring** | | bells *= bell* | | | | | | nom ringing «event 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:** «The Book of Dragons» by E. Nesbit, Project Gutenberg book 23661 (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 92](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg23661/1/92/) - next →: [sentence 94](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg23661/1/94/) - ↑ back to [Opening, part 1](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg23661/1/)