--- title: This was the description of a balsam-- which would cure every kind o… — The Orange Fairy Book · tree and pragmatics description: This was the description of a balsam-- which would cure every kind of sore or wound--distilled from a plant only to be found in a country so distant that it would take a man on foot two months to go and come back again. Who acts: This, description, it. A sentence of «The Orange Fairy Book» by Andrew --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg3027/38/45/) [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 Orange Fairy Book](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg3027/) / [Opening, part 38](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg3027/38/) / 45 # The Orange Fairy Book, Opening, part 38, sentence 45 This was the description of a balsam-- which would cure every kind of sore or wound--distilled from a plant only to be found in a country so distant that it would take a man on foot two months to go and come back again. **Who acts:** This, description, it · **What happens:** be, cure, distil, find, take, go · **To what, where:** description, kind, plant, country, man, foot This is a sentence of «The Orange Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, Opening, part 38. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (This, description, it), 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:pg3027:38:45 # text = This was the description of a balsam-- which would cure every kind of sore or wound--distilled from a plant only to be found in a country so distant that it would take a man on foot two months to go and come back again. 1 This this PRON DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 4 nsubj _ _ 2 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 4 cop _ _ 3 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 4 det _ _ 4 description description NOUN NN Number=Sing 0 root _ _ 5 of of ADP IN _ 7 case _ _ 6 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 7 det _ _ 7 balsam balsam NOUN NN Number=Sing 4 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 8 -- -- PUNCT , _ 11 punct _ _ 9 which which PRON WDT PronType=Rel 11 nsubj _ _ 10 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 11 aux _ _ 11 cure cure VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 4 conj _ _ 12 every every DET DT PronType=Tot 13 det _ _ 13 kind kind NOUN NN Number=Sing 11 obj _ _ 14 of of ADP IN _ 15 case _ _ 15 sore sore NOUN NN Number=Sing 13 nmod _ _ 16 or or CCONJ CC _ 17 cc _ _ 17 wound wound NOUN NN Number=Sing 15 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 18 -- -- PUNCT : _ 19 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 19 distilled distil VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 4 conj _ _ 20 from from ADP IN _ 22 case _ _ 21 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 22 det _ _ 22 plant plant NOUN NN Number=Sing 19 obl _ _ 23 only only ADV RB _ 26 advmod _ _ 24 to to PART TO _ 26 mark _ _ 25 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 26 aux:pass _ _ 26 found find VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 19 advcl _ _ 27 in in ADP IN _ 29 case _ _ 28 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 29 det _ _ 29 country country NOUN NN Number=Sing 26 obl _ _ 30 so so ADV RB _ 31 advmod _ _ 31 distant distant ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 26 xcomp _ _ 32 that that SCONJ IN _ 35 mark _ _ 33 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 35 nsubj _ _ 34 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 35 aux _ _ 35 take take VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 31 advcl _ _ 36 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 37 det _ _ 37 man man NOUN NN Number=Sing 35 obj _ _ 38 on on ADP IN _ 39 case _ _ 39 foot foot NOUN NN Number=Sing 37 nmod _ _ 40 two two NUM CD NumForm=Word|NumType=Card 41 nummod _ _ 41 months month NOUN NNS Number=Plur 35 obl:unmarked _ _ 42 to to PART TO _ 43 mark _ _ 43 go go VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 35 advcl _ _ 44 and and CCONJ CC _ 45 cc _ _ 45 come come VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 43 conj _ _ 46 back back ADV RB _ 45 advmod _ _ 47 again again ADV RB _ 45 advmod _ SpaceAfter=No 48 . . PUNCT . _ 4 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **is a** | past | This | the description | | | | of a balsam | tree rules | | 2 | **cure** | would | the description | every kind of sore or wound | | | | | vn free-10.6.3-1-1 «NP V NP PP.theme»: agent=Causer kind=Source | | 3 | **distil** | participle | This *not said here* | | | a plant | | | vn wipe\_manner-10.4.1 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent from plant=Source | | 4 | **find** | to-infinitive · passive | This *not said here* | | | a country | | distant *property* | vn declare-29.4-1-1 «NP V what S\_INF» | | 5 | **take** | would | it | a man | | foot | month | | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP PP.destination»: agent=Agent man=Theme on foot=Destination | | 6 | **go** | to-infinitive | | | | | | | vn disappearance-48.2-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 7 | **come back** | infinitive | | | | | again | | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | 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 Orange Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, Project Gutenberg book 3027 (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 44](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg3027/38/44/) - next →: [sentence 46](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg3027/38/46/) - ↑ back to [Opening, part 38](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg3027/38/)