--- title: The ones as big as sheep were easier to avoid, because you could see… — The Book of Dragons · tree and pragmatics description: The ones as big as sheep were easier to avoid, because you could see them coming; but when they flew in at the windows and curled up under your eiderdown, and you did not find them till you went to bed, it was always a shock. Who acts: ones, you, sheep, bed. A sentence of «The Book of Dragons» by E. --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg23661/5/75/) [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 5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg23661/5/) / 75 # The Book of Dragons, Opening, part 5, sentence 75 The ones as big as sheep were easier to avoid, because you could see them coming; but when they flew in at the windows and curled up under your eiderdown, and you did not find them till you went to bed, it was always a shock. **Who acts:** ones, you, sheep, bed · **What happens:** be, avoid, see, come, fly in, curl up · **To what, where:** sheep, windows, eiderdown, bed, shock This is a sentence of «The Book of Dragons» by E. Nesbit, Opening, part 5. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (ones, you, sheep, bed), 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:pg23661:5:75 # text = The ones as big as sheep were easier to avoid, because you could see them coming; but when they flew in at the windows and curled up under your eiderdown, and you did not find them till you went to bed, it was always a shock. 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 2 det _ _ 2 ones one NOUN NNS Number=Plur 8 nsubj _ _ 3 as as ADV RB _ 4 advmod _ _ 4 big big ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 2 amod _ _ 5 as as ADP IN _ 6 case _ _ 6 sheep sheep NOUN NNS Number=Plur 4 obl _ _ 7 were be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 8 cop _ _ 8 easier easy ADJ JJR Degree=Cmp 0 root _ _ 9 to to PART TO _ 10 mark _ _ 10 avoid avoid VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 8 xcomp _ SpaceAfter=No 11 , , PUNCT , _ 15 punct _ _ 12 because because SCONJ IN _ 15 mark _ _ 13 you you PRON PRP Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs 15 nsubj _ _ 14 could could AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 15 aux _ _ 15 see see VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 10 conj _ _ 16 them they PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 15 obj _ _ 17 coming come VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 15 xcomp _ SpaceAfter=No 18 ; ; PUNCT , _ 22 punct _ _ 19 but but CCONJ CC _ 22 cc _ _ 20 when when ADV WRB PronType=Int 22 advmod _ _ 21 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 22 nsubj _ _ 22 flew fly VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 8 parataxis _ _ 23 in in ADV RB _ 22 advmod _ _ 24 at at ADP IN _ 26 case _ _ 25 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 26 det _ _ 26 windows window NOUN NNS Number=Plur 22 obl _ _ 27 and and CCONJ CC _ 28 cc _ _ 28 curled curl VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 22 conj _ _ 29 up up ADP RP _ 28 compound:prt _ _ 30 under under ADP IN _ 32 case _ _ 31 your your PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Person=2|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 32 nmod:poss _ _ 32 eiderdown eiderdown NOUN NN Number=Sing 28 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 33 , , PUNCT , _ 38 punct _ _ 34 and and CCONJ CC _ 38 cc _ _ 35 you you PRON PRP Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs 38 nsubj _ _ 36 did do AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 38 aux _ _ 37 not not PART RB Polarity=Neg 38 advmod _ _ 38 find find VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 8 parataxis _ _ 39 them they PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 38 obj _ _ 40 till till SCONJ IN _ 42 mark _ _ 41 you you PRON PRP Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs 42 nsubj _ _ 42 went go VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 38 ccomp _ _ 43 to to ADP IN _ 44 case _ _ 44 bed bed NOUN NN Number=Sing 42 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 45 , , PUNCT , _ 50 punct _ _ 46 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 50 nsubj _ _ 47 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 50 cop _ _ 48 always always ADV RB PronType=Tot 50 advmod _ _ 49 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 50 det _ _ 50 shock shock NOUN NN Number=Sing 8 parataxis _ SpaceAfter=No 51 . . PUNCT . _ 8 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **is** | past | the ones | | | | | easy *property* | tree rules | | 2 | **avoid** | to-infinitive | the ones *not said here* | | | | | | vn avoid-52 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent | | 3 | **see** | could | you | sheep | | | | | tree rules | | 4 | **come** | gerund | sheep *not said here* | | | | | | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 5 | **fly in** | past | sheep | | | the windows | | | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme at window=Location | | 6 | **curl up** | participle | sheep *not said here* | | | your eiderdown | | | vn coil-9.6-1 «NP V ADV-Middle»: agent=Theme | | 7 | **not** **find** | past · do-support | you | sheep | | | | | vn declare-29.4-1-1 «NP V NP ADJ»: agent=Agent they=Attribute clause=Theme | | 8 | **go** | past | you | | | bed | | | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme to bed=Initial\_Location | | 9 | **is a** | past | bed | a shock | | | | always *property* | tree rules | 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 74](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg23661/5/74/) - next →: [sentence 76](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg23661/5/76/) - ↑ back to [Opening, part 5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg23661/5/)