---
title: The very moment they held their daggers at his throat he perceived m… — The Blue Fairy Book · tree and pragmatics
description: The very moment they held their daggers at his throat he perceived me, and desired me to come and tell you the condition he is in, and that you should give me whatsoever he has of value, without retaining any one thing; for otherwise they will kill him without mercy; and, as his case is very pressin
---

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# The Blue Fairy Book, Little Thumb, sentence 128

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
The very moment they held their daggers at his throat he perceived me, and desired me to come and tell you the condition he is in, and that you should give me whatsoever he has of value, without retaining any one thing; for otherwise they will kill him without mercy; and, as his case is very pressing, he desired me to make use (you see I have them on) of his boots, that I might make the more haste and to show you that I do not impose upon you.”

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** moment, thumb, you, value, thieves, case · **What happens:** hold, perceive, desire, come, tell, be · **To what, where:** daggers, throat, me, condition, you, value · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is a sentence of «The Blue Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, Little Thumb. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (moment, thumb, you, value), 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:pg503:33:128
# text = The very moment they held their daggers at his throat he perceived me, and desired me to come and tell you the condition he is in, and that you should give me whatsoever he has of value, without retaining any one thing; for otherwise they will kill him without mercy; and, as his case is very pressing, he desired me to make use (you see I have them on) of his boots, that I might make the more haste and to show you that I do not impose upon you.”
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	very	very	ADV	RB	_	3	advmod	_	_
3	moment	moment	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	nsubj	_	_
4	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	5	nsubj	_	_
5	held	hold	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
6	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
7	daggers	dagger	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	obj	_	_
8	at	at	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	throat	throat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
11	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	12	nsubj	_	_
12	perceived	perceive	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	acl:relcl	_	_
13	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	12	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
14	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	16	punct	_	_
15	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	16	cc	_	_
16	desired	desire	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	conj	_	_
17	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	16	obj	_	_
18	to	to	PART	TO	_	19	mark	_	_
19	come	come	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	xcomp	_	_
20	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	21	cc	_	_
21	tell	tell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	19	conj	_	_
22	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	21	iobj	_	_
23	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	24	det	_	_
24	condition	condition	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	21	obj	_	_
25	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	27	nsubj	_	_
26	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	27	cop	_	_
27	in	in	ADV	RB	_	24	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	33	punct	_	_
29	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	33	cc	_	_
30	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	33	mark	_	_
31	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	33	nsubj	_	_
32	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	33	aux	_	_
33	give	give	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	16	parataxis	_	_
34	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	33	iobj	_	_
35	whatsoever	whatsoever	SCONJ	IN	_	37	mark	_	_
36	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	37	nsubj	_	_
37	has	have	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	33	advcl	_	_
38	of	of	ADP	IN	_	39	case	_	_
39	value	value	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	37	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
40	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	42	punct	_	_
41	without	without	SCONJ	IN	_	42	mark	_	_
42	retaining	retain	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	39	acl	_	_
43	any	any	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	45	det	_	_
44	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	45	nummod	_	_
45	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	42	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
46	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	51	punct	_	_
47	for	for	ADP	IN	_	48	case	_	_
48	otherwise	otherwise	ADV	RB	_	51	obl	_	_
49	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	51	nsubj	_	_
50	will	will	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	51	aux	_	_
51	kill	kill	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	33	conj	_	_
52	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	51	obj	_	_
53	without	without	ADP	IN	_	54	case	_	_
54	mercy	mercy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	51	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
55	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	66	punct	_	_
56	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	66	cc	_	SpaceAfter=No
57	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	56	punct	_	_
58	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	63	mark	_	_
59	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	60	nmod:poss	_	_
60	case	case	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	63	nsubj	_	_
61	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	63	aux	_	_
62	very	very	ADV	RB	_	63	advmod	_	_
63	pressing	press	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	66	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
64	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	63	punct	_	_
65	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	66	nsubj	_	_
66	desired	desire	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	parataxis	_	_
67	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	66	obj	_	_
68	to	to	PART	TO	_	69	mark	_	_
69	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	66	advcl	_	_
70	use	use	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	69	obj	_	_
71	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	73	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
72	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs	73	nsubj	_	_
73	see	see	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	66	conj	_	_
74	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	75	nsubj	_	_
75	have	have	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	73	ccomp	_	_
76	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	75	obj	_	_
77	on	on	ADP	RP	_	75	compound:prt	_	SpaceAfter=No
78	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	81	punct	_	_
79	of	of	ADP	IN	_	81	case	_	_
80	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	81	nmod:poss	_	_
81	boots	boot	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	75	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
82	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	86	punct	_	_
83	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	86	nsubj	_	_
84	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	86	nsubj	_	_
85	might	might	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	86	aux	_	_
86	make	make	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	81	parataxis	_	_
87	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	89	det	_	_
88	more	more	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	89	amod	_	_
89	haste	haste	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	86	obj	_	_
90	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	92	cc	_	_
91	to	to	PART	TO	_	92	mark	_	_
92	show	show	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	86	conj	_	_
93	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	92	iobj	_	_
94	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	98	mark	_	_
95	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	98	nsubj	_	_
96	do	do	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	98	aux	_	_
97	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	98	advmod	_	_
98	impose	impose	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	92	advcl	_	_
99	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	100	case	_	_
100	you	you	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs	98	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
101	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
102	”	"	PUNCT	''	_	5	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **hold** | past | the moment | thieves's daggers |  | thumb's throat |  |  | vn keep-15.2 «NP V NP PP.location»: agent=Agent dagger=Theme at throat=Location |
| 2 | **perceive** | past | thumb | me |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer i=Stimulus |
| 3 | **desire** | past | the moment *not said here* | me |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 4 | **come** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | the moment *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 5 | **tell** *speech: assert* | infinitive | the moment *not said here* | the condition | you |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent you=Recipient condition=Topic |
| 6 | **is** | present | thumb | the condition *not said here* |  |  |  | in *property* | tree rules |
| 7 | **give** | should | you |  | me |  |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent i=Theme |
| 8 | **have** | present | thumb | value |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent value=Patient |
| 9 | **retain** | gerund | value *not said here* | any one thing |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 10 | **kill** | future | thieves *= thief* | thumb |  |  |  | without mercy | vn remove-10.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |
| 11 | **press** | present · progressive | thumb's case |  |  |  |  |  | vn push-12-1-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Agent |
| 12 | **desire** | past | thumb | me |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot i=Theme |
| 13 | **make** | to-infinitive | thumb *not said here* | use |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset use=Product |
| 14 | **see** | present | you |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 15 | **have on** | present | I | thieves *= thief* |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=Patient |
| 16 | **make** | might | that | the more haste |  |  |  |  | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset haste=Product |
| 17 | **show** | to-infinitive | that *not said here* |  | you |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent you=Recipient |
| 18 | **not** **impose** | present · do-support | I |  |  |  |  | upon you | vn enforce-63 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |

<!-- .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 Blue Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, Project Gutenberg book 503 (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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