---
title: If the eyes of the man are opened to what he is, and if the man can… — Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen · tree and pragmatics
description: If the eyes of the man are opened to what he is, and if the man can then blow him away, it's all over with him, and he must come back into the marsh; or if, before the year is up, the Will-o'-the-Wisp is seized with a longing to see his family, and so returns to it and gives the matter up, it is ove
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg27200/211/184/)

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# Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen, The Will-o-the Wisp Is in the Town, Says the Moor Woman, sentence 184

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
If the eyes of the man are opened to what he is, and if the man can then blow him away, it's all over with him, and he must come back into the marsh; or if, before the year is up, the Will-o'-the-Wisp is seized with a longing to see his family, and so returns to it and gives the matter up, it is over with him likewise, and he can no longer burn clear, and soon becomes extinguished, and cannot be lit up again; and when the year has elapsed, and he has not led three hundred and sixty-five people away from the truth and from all that is grand and noble, he is condemned to be imprisoned in decayed wood, and to lie glimmering there, without being able to move; and that's the most terrible punishment that can be inflicted on a lively Will-o'-the-Wisp.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** man, part, danger, all, that · **What happens:** open, be, blow away, come back, seize, see · **To what, where:** eyes, danger, marsh, Wisp, family, part

<!-- .vabout -->
This is a sentence of «Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen» by H. C. Andersen, The Will-o-the Wisp Is in the Town, Says the Moor Woman. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (man, part, danger, all), 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:pg27200:211:184
# text = If the eyes of the man are opened to what he is, and if the man can then blow him away, it's all over with him, and he must come back into the marsh; or if, before the year is up, the Will-o'-the-Wisp is seized with a longing to see his family, and so returns to it and gives the matter up, it is over with him likewise, and he can no longer burn clear, and soon becomes extinguished, and cannot be lit up again; and when the year has elapsed, and he has not led three hundred and sixty-five people away from the truth and from all that is grand and noble, he is condemned to be imprisoned in decayed wood, and to lie glimmering there, without being able to move; and that's the most terrible punishment that can be inflicted on a lively Will-o'-the-Wisp.
1	If	if	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
2	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
3	eyes	eye	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	8	nsubj:pass	_	_
4	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	nmod	_	_
7	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	8	aux:pass	_	_
8	opened	open	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	20	advcl	_	_
9	to	to	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	8	obl	_	_
11	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
12	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	cop	_	SpaceAfter=No
13	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
14	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
15	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	20	mark	_	_
16	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	17	det	_	_
17	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	nsubj	_	_
18	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	20	aux	_	_
19	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	20	advmod	_	_
20	blow	blow	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	0	root	_	_
21	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	20	obj	_	_
22	away	away	ADV	RB	_	20	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	27	punct	_	_
24	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	27	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	27	cop	_	_
26	all	all	ADV	RB	_	27	advmod	_	_
27	over	over	ADV	RB	_	20	advmod	_	_
28	with	with	ADP	IN	_	29	case	_	_
29	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	20	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	34	punct	_	_
31	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	34	cc	_	_
32	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	34	nsubj	_	_
33	must	must	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	34	aux	_	_
34	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	20	conj	_	_
35	back	back	ADV	RB	_	34	advmod	_	_
36	into	into	ADP	IN	_	38	case	_	_
37	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	38	det	_	_
38	marsh	marsh	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	34	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
39	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	47	punct	_	_
40	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	47	cc	_	_
41	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	47	mark	_	SpaceAfter=No
42	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	47	punct	_	_
43	before	before	SCONJ	IN	_	47	mark	_	_
44	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	45	det	_	_
45	year	year	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	47	obl:unmarked	_	_
46	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	47	cop	_	_
47	up	up	ADV	RB	_	20	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
48	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	47	punct	_	_
49	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	50	det	_	_
50	Will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	47	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
51	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	59	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
52	o	of	ADP	IN	Abbr=Yes	59	mark	_	SpaceAfter=No
53	'	'	PUNCT	''	_	59	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
54	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	59	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
55	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	57	det	_	SpaceAfter=No
56	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	55	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
57	Wisp	wisp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	59	nsubj:pass	_	_
58	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	59	aux:pass	_	_
59	seized	seize	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	50	conj	_	_
60	with	with	ADP	IN	_	62	case	_	_
61	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	62	det	_	_
62	longing	longing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	59	obl	_	_
63	to	to	PART	TO	_	64	mark	_	_
64	see	see	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	59	advcl	_	_
65	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	66	nmod:poss	_	_
66	family	family	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	64	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
67	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	70	punct	_	_
68	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	70	cc	_	_
69	so	so	ADV	RB	_	70	advmod	_	_
70	returns	return	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	59	parataxis	_	_
71	to	to	ADP	IN	_	72	case	_	_
72	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	70	obl	_	_
73	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	74	cc	_	_
74	gives	give	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	70	conj	_	_
75	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	76	det	_	_
76	matter	matter	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	74	iobj	_	_
77	up	up	ADP	RP	_	74	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
78	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	81	punct	_	_
79	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	81	nsubj	_	_
80	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	81	cop	_	_
81	over	over	ADV	RB	_	84	advmod	_	_
82	with	with	ADP	IN	_	83	case	_	_
83	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	81	obl	_	_
84	likewise	likewise	ADV	RB	_	74	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
85	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	91	punct	_	_
86	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	91	cc	_	_
87	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	91	nsubj	_	_
88	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	91	aux	_	_
89	no	no	ADV	RB	_	90	advmod	_	_
90	longer	long	ADV	RBR	Degree=Cmp	91	advmod	_	_
91	burn	burn	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	70	advcl	_	_
92	clear	clear	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	91	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
93	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	96	punct	_	_
94	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	96	cc	_	_
95	soon	soon	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	96	advmod	_	_
96	becomes	become	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	91	conj	_	_
97	extinguished	extinguished	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	96	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
98	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	103	punct	_	_
99	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	103	cc	_	_
100	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	103	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
101	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	103	advmod	_	_
102	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	103	aux:pass	_	_
103	lit	lit	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	96	advcl	_	_
104	up	up	ADP	RP	_	103	compound:prt	_	_
105	again	again	ADV	RB	_	103	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
106	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	112	punct	_	_
107	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	112	cc	_	_
108	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	112	advmod	_	_
109	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	110	det	_	_
110	year	year	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	112	obl:unmarked	_	_
111	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	112	aux	_	_
112	elapsed	elapse	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	59	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
113	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	118	punct	_	_
114	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	118	cc	_	_
115	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	118	nsubj	_	_
116	has	have	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	118	aux	_	_
117	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	118	advmod	_	_
118	led	lead	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	112	parataxis	_	_
119	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	120	compound	_	_
120	hundred	hundred	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	125	nummod	_	_
121	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	122	cc	_	_
122	sixty	sixty	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	120	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
123	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	122	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
124	five	five	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	125	nummod	_	_
125	people	people	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	126	obl:unmarked	_	_
126	away	away	ADV	RB	_	118	advmod	_	_
127	from	from	ADP	IN	_	129	case	_	_
128	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	129	det	_	_
129	truth	truth	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	126	obl	_	_
130	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	135	cc	_	_
131	from	from	ADP	IN	_	132	case	_	_
132	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	135	nsubj	_	_
133	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	132	obj	_	_
134	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	135	cop	_	_
135	grand	grand	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	129	conj	_	_
136	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	137	cc	_	_
137	noble	noble	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	135	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
138	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	141	punct	_	_
139	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	141	nsubj	_	_
140	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	141	aux:pass	_	_
141	condemned	condemn	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	118	conj	_	_
142	to	to	PART	TO	_	144	mark	_	_
143	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	144	aux:pass	_	_
144	imprisoned	imprison	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	141	xcomp	_	_
145	in	in	ADP	IN	_	147	case	_	_
146	decayed	decay	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	147	amod	_	_
147	wood	wood	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	144	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
148	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	151	punct	_	_
149	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	151	cc	_	_
150	to	to	PART	TO	_	151	mark	_	_
151	lie	lie	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	141	conj	_	_
152	glimmering	glimmer	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	151	xcomp	_	_
153	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	152	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
154	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	157	punct	_	_
155	without	without	SCONJ	IN	_	157	mark	_	_
156	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	157	cop	_	_
157	able	able	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	152	advcl	_	_
158	to	to	PART	TO	_	159	mark	_	_
159	move	move	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	157	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
160	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	167	punct	_	_
161	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	167	cc	_	_
162	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	167	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
163	's	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	167	cop	_	_
164	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	167	det	_	_
165	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	166	advmod	_	_
166	terrible	terrible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	167	amod	_	_
167	punishment	punishment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	112	appos	_	_
168	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	171	obj	_	_
169	can	can	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	171	aux	_	_
170	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	171	aux:pass	_	_
171	inflicted	inflict	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	167	acl:relcl	_	_
172	on	on	ADP	IN	_	182	case	_	_
173	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	182	det	_	_
174	lively	lively	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	182	amod	_	_
175	Will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	182	aux	_	SpaceAfter=No
176	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	182	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
177	o	of	ADP	IN	Abbr=Yes	182	case	_	SpaceAfter=No
178	'	'	PUNCT	''	_	182	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
179	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	182	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
180	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	182	det	_	SpaceAfter=No
181	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	180	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
182	Wisp	wisp	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	171	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
183	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	20	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **open** *a condition, not said to happen* | present · passive |  | the eyes of the man |  |  |  |  | vn spatial\_configuration-47.6-1 «PP.location V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 2 | **is** | present |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **blow away** | can | the man | danger |  |  | then | with danger; away *property* | vn split-23.2 «NP V NP apart»: agent=Agent he=Patient |
| 4 | **is** | present | part |  |  |  |  | all, over *property* | tree rules |
| 5 | **come back** | must | danger |  |  | the marsh |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V PP.initial\_location»: agent=Theme into marsh=Initial\_Location |
| 6 | **is** *a condition, not said to happen* | present |  |  |  |  | year | up *property* | tree rules |
| 7 | **seize** | present · passive |  | the Wisp |  |  |  | with a longing | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 8 | **see** | to-infinitive |  | danger's family |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer family=Stimulus |
| 9 | **return** | present |  |  | part |  |  |  | vn convert-26.6.2-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Patient to it=Result |
| 10 | **give up** | present |  |  | the matter |  |  | likewise *property* | vn resign-10.11-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent matter=Source |
| 11 | **is** | present | part |  |  |  |  | with danger; over *property* | tree rules |
| 12 | **burn** | can | danger |  |  |  |  | clear, long *property* | vn light\_emission-43.1 «NP.location V PP.theme»: agent=Location |
| 13 | **become** | present | danger *not said here* |  |  |  |  | extinguished, soon *property* | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |
| 14 | **not** **lit up** | can · passive | danger *not said here* |  |  |  | again |  | tree rules |
| 15 | **elapse** | present · perfect |  |  |  |  | year |  | tree rules |
| 16 | **not** **lead** | present · perfect | danger |  |  |  |  | away *property* | vn result-27.2 «NP V PP»: agent=Precondition |
| 17 | **is** | present | all |  |  |  |  | grand *property* | tree rules |
| 18 | **be** |  | all *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 19 | **condemn** | present · passive |  | danger |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 20 | **imprison** | to-infinitive · passive |  |  |  | decayed wood |  |  | vn pocket-9.10 «NP V NP PP.destination»: in wood=Destination |
| 21 | **decay** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn entity\_specific\_cos-45.5 «NP.patient V»: agent=Patient |
| 22 | **lie** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 23 | **glimmer** | gerund |  |  |  | there |  |  | vn light\_emission-43.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 24 | **is** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  | able *property* | tree rules |
| 25 | **move** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn roll-51.3.1 «NP.theme V»: agent=Theme |
| 26 | **is a** | present | that | the terrible punishment |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 27 | **inflict** | can · passive |  | the terrible punishment |  | a lively Wisp |  |  | tree rules |

<!-- .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.

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** «Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen» by H. C. Andersen, Project Gutenberg book 27200 (public domain in the USA). **Tree:** Mova's own parse, Elamur Cosmic License. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), the chapter read in order.

<!-- /div -->

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