---
title: I wish to set them a task which requires sharp wits and clever hands… — The Crimson Fairy Book · tree and pragmatics
description: I wish to set them a task which requires sharp wits and clever hands, and I want them to try which of them can best make a kaftan and pair of trousers.” Who acts: I, task, things, best. A sentence of «The Crimson Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, The Crimson Fairy Book, part 35, with its dependency tree a
---

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# The Crimson Fairy Book, The Crimson Fairy Book, part 35, sentence 37

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
I wish to set them a task which requires sharp wits and clever hands, and I want them to try which of them can best make a kaftan and pair of trousers.”

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** I, task, things, best · **What happens:** wish, set, require, want, try, make · **To what, where:** things, sharp wits, kaftan

<!-- .vabout -->
This is a sentence of «The Crimson Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, The Crimson Fairy Book, part 35. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (I, task, things, best), 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:pg2435:35:37
# text = I wish to set them a task which requires sharp wits and clever hands, and I want them to try which of them can best make a kaftan and pair of trousers.”
1	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	2	nsubj	_	_
2	wish	wish	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
3	to	to	PART	TO	_	4	mark	_	_
4	set	set	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	2	xcomp	_	_
5	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	obj	_	_
6	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	task	task	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
8	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	9	nsubj	_	_
9	requires	require	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	acl:relcl	_	_
10	sharp	sharp	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	11	amod	_	_
11	wits	wit	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	9	obj	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc	_	_
13	clever	clever	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	hands	hand	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
17	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
18	want	want	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	2	conj	_	_
19	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	obj	_	_
20	to	to	PART	TO	_	21	mark	_	_
21	try	try	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	18	xcomp	_	_
22	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	27	obj	_	_
23	of	of	ADP	IN	_	24	case	_	_
24	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	22	obl	_	_
25	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	27	aux	_	_
26	best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	27	nsubj	_	_
27	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	21	ccomp	_	_
28	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	29	det	_	_
29	kaftan	kaftan	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	27	obj	_	_
30	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	31	cc	_	_
31	pair	pair	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	29	conj	_	_
32	of	of	ADP	IN	_	33	case	_	_
33	trousers	trousers	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	31	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
34	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	2	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
35	”	"	PUNCT	''	_	2	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **wish** | present | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn wish-62 «NP V for NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 2 | **set** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | I *not said here* | things *= thing* |  |  |  |  | vn put-9.1-2 «NP V NP ADVP»: agent=Agent they=Theme task=Destination |
| 3 | **require** | present | a task | sharp wits and clever hands |  |  |  |  | vn require-103-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme wit=Precondition |
| 4 | **want** | present | I | things *= thing* |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 5 | **try** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | things *= thing* *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn try-61.1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 6 | **make** | can | best | a kaftan and pair of trousers |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP NP»: agent=Asset which=Beneficiary kaftan=Product |

<!-- .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:** «The Crimson Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, Project Gutenberg book 2435 (public domain in the USA). **Tree:** Mova's own parse, Elamur Cosmic License. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), the chapter read in order.

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