---
title: In an instant the handle began to change into a head, and the spout… — The Crimson Fairy Book · tree and pragmatics
description: In an instant the handle began to change into a head, and the spout into a tail, while the four paws appeared at the sides. Who acts: handle, four paws. A sentence of «The Crimson Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, The Crimson Fairy Book, part 39, with its dependency tree and the pragmatics of every clause
---

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# The Crimson Fairy Book, The Crimson Fairy Book, part 39, sentence 18

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In an instant the handle began to change into a head, and the spout into a tail, while the four paws appeared at the sides.

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**Who acts:** handle, four paws · **What happens:** begin, change, appear · **To what, where:** spout, instant, head, sides

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This is a sentence of «The Crimson Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, The Crimson Fairy Book, part 39. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (handle, four paws), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree.

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**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:pg2435:39:18
# text = In an instant the handle began to change into a head, and the spout into a tail, while the four paws appeared at the sides.
1	In	in	ADP	IN	_	3	case	_	_
2	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	instant	instant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	handle	handle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nsubj	_	_
6	began	begin	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
7	to	to	PART	TO	_	8	mark	_	_
8	change	change	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	6	xcomp	_	_
9	into	into	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	head	head	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	8	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	15	punct	_	_
13	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	15	cc	_	_
14	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	spout	spout	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	obl	_	_
16	into	into	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	tail	tail	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	24	punct	_	_
20	while	while	SCONJ	IN	_	24	mark	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
22	four	four	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	23	nummod	_	_
23	paws	paw	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	24	nsubj	_	_
24	appeared	appear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	6	conj	_	_
25	at	at	ADP	IN	_	27	case	_	_
26	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	27	det	_	_
27	sides	side	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	24	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	6	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | past | the handle | the spout into a tail |  | a instant |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **change** | to-infinitive | the handle *not said here* |  |  |  |  | into a head *result* | vn turn-26.6.1-1 «NP.patient V PP.result»: agent=Patient into head=Result |
| 3 | **appear** | past | the four paws |  |  | the sides |  |  | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme at side=Location |

<!-- .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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