--- title: But the dragon was too quick for him--it put out a great claw and ca… — The Book of Dragons · tree and pragmatics description: But the dragon was too quick for him--it put out a great claw and caught him by the leg, and as it moved it rattled like a great bunch of keys, or like the sheet iron they make thunder out of in pantomimes. Who acts: dragon, side, steps. A sentence of «The Book of Dragons» by E. Nesbit, The Dragon T --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg23661/12/44/) [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/) / [The Dragon Tamers\]](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg23661/12/) / 44 # The Book of Dragons, The Dragon Tamers\], sentence 44 But the dragon was too quick for him--it put out a great claw and caught him by the leg, and as it moved it rattled like a great bunch of keys, or like the sheet iron they make thunder out of in pantomimes. **Who acts:** dragon, side, steps · **What happens:** be, put out, catch, move, rattle, make · **To what, where:** great claw, goodness, claw, thunder, pantomimes This is a sentence of «The Book of Dragons» by E. Nesbit, The Dragon Tamers\]. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (dragon, side, steps), 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:pg23661:12:44 # text = But the dragon was too quick for him--it put out a great claw and caught him by the leg, and as it moved it rattled like a great bunch of keys, or like the sheet iron they make thunder out of in pantomimes. 1 But but CCONJ CC _ 6 cc _ _ 2 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 3 det _ _ 3 dragon dragon NOUN NN Number=Sing 6 nsubj _ _ 4 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 6 cop _ _ 5 too too ADV RB _ 6 advmod _ _ 6 quick quick ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 0 root _ _ 7 for for ADP IN _ 8 case _ _ 8 him he PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 6 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 9 -- -- PUNCT , _ 11 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 10 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 11 nsubj _ _ 11 put put VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 6 parataxis _ _ 12 out out ADP RP _ 11 compound:prt _ _ 13 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 15 det _ _ 14 great great ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 15 amod _ _ 15 claw claw NOUN NN Number=Sing 11 obj _ _ 16 and and CCONJ CC _ 17 cc _ _ 17 caught catch VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 11 conj _ _ 18 him he PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 17 obj _ _ 19 by by ADP IN _ 21 case _ _ 20 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 21 det _ _ 21 leg leg NOUN NN Number=Sing 17 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 22 , , PUNCT , _ 26 punct _ _ 23 and and CCONJ CC _ 26 cc _ _ 24 as as SCONJ IN _ 26 mark _ _ 25 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 26 nsubj _ _ 26 moved move VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 6 parataxis _ _ 27 it it PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 26 obj _ _ 28 rattled rattle VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 26 xcomp _ _ 29 like like ADP IN _ 32 case _ _ 30 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 32 det _ _ 31 great great ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 32 amod _ _ 32 bunch bunch NOUN NN Number=Sing 28 obl _ _ 33 of of ADP IN _ 34 case _ _ 34 keys key NOUN NNS Number=Plur 32 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 35 , , PUNCT , _ 42 punct _ _ 36 or or CCONJ CC _ 42 cc _ _ 37 like like ADP IN _ 40 case _ _ 38 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 40 det _ _ 39 sheet sheet NOUN NN Number=Sing 40 compound _ _ 40 iron iron NOUN NN Number=Sing 42 obl _ _ 41 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 42 nsubj _ _ 42 make make VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 26 parataxis _ _ 43 thunder thunder NOUN NN Number=Sing 42 obj _ _ 44 out out ADP IN _ 47 case _ _ 45 of of ADP IN _ 47 case _ _ 46 in in ADP IN _ 47 case _ _ 47 pantomimes pantomime NOUN NNS Number=Plur 42 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 48 . . PUNCT . _ 6 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **is** | past | the dragon | | | | | for goodness; quick *property* | tree rules | | 2 | **put out** | past | side | a great claw | | | | | vn invest-13.5.4-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent claw=Goal | | 3 | **catch** | past | side *not said here* | goodness | | | | by the leg | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme | | 4 | **move** | past | side | claw | | | | | tree rules | | 5 | **rattle** | participle | side *not said here* | | | | | like a great bunch of keys | vn animal\_sounds-38 «NP V»: agent=Agent | | 6 | **make** | present | steps *= step* | thunder | | pantomimes | | like the sheet iron | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset thunder=Product | 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 43](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg23661/12/43/) - next →: [sentence 45](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg23661/12/45/) - ↑ back to [The Dragon Tamers\]](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg23661/12/)