--- title: The Captain stopped his mules in front of Ali Baba’s house, and said… — The Blue Fairy Book · tree and pragmatics description: The Captain stopped his mules in front of Ali Baba’s house, and said to Ali Baba, who was sitting outside for coolness: “I have brought some oil from a distance to sell at to-morrow’s market, but it is now so late that I know not where to pass the night, unless you will do me the favor to take me in --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg503/34/90/) [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 Blue Fairy Book](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg503/) / [The Forty Thieves](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg503/34/) / 90 # The Blue Fairy Book, The Forty Thieves, sentence 90 The Captain stopped his mules in front of Ali Baba’s house, and said to Ali Baba, who was sitting outside for coolness: “I have brought some oil from a distance to sell at to-morrow’s market, but it is now so late that I know not where to pass the night, unless you will do me the favor to take me in.” **Who acts:** Captain, Ali Baba, I, oil, morrow · **What happens:** stop, say, sit, bring, sell, be · **To what, where:** mules, front, Ali Baba, oil, market, favor · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is a sentence of «The Blue Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, The Forty Thieves. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (Captain, Ali Baba, I, oil), 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:pg503:34:90 # text = The Captain stopped his mules in front of Ali Baba’s house, and said to Ali Baba, who was sitting outside for coolness: “I have brought some oil from a distance to sell at to-morrow’s market, but it is now so late that I know not where to pass the night, unless you will do me the favor to take me in.” 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 2 det _ _ 2 Captain Captain PROPN NNP Number=Sing 3 nsubj _ _ 3 stopped stop VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 4 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 5 nmod:poss _ _ 5 mules mule NOUN NNS Number=Plur 3 obj _ _ 6 in in ADP IN _ 7 case _ _ 7 front front NOUN NN Number=Sing 3 obl _ _ 8 of of ADP IN _ 12 case _ _ 9 Ali Ali PROPN NNP Number=Sing 10 compound _ _ 10 Baba Baba PROPN NNP Number=Sing 12 nmod:poss _ SpaceAfter=No 11 ’s 's PART POS _ 10 case _ _ 12 house house NOUN NN Number=Sing 7 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 13 , , PUNCT , _ 15 punct _ _ 14 and and CCONJ CC _ 15 cc _ _ 15 said say VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 3 parataxis _ _ 16 to to ADP IN _ 18 case _ _ 17 Ali Ali PROPN NNP Number=Sing 18 compound _ _ 18 Baba Baba PROPN NNP Number=Sing 15 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 19 , , PUNCT , _ 22 punct _ _ 20 who who PRON WP PronType=Rel 22 nsubj _ _ 21 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 22 aux _ _ 22 sitting sit VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 18 acl _ _ 23 outside outside ADV RB _ 22 advmod _ _ 24 for for ADP IN _ 25 case _ _ 25 coolness coolness NOUN NN Number=Sing 22 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 26 : : PUNCT : _ 30 punct _ _ 27 “ " PUNCT `` _ 30 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 28 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 30 nsubj _ _ 29 have have AUX VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 30 aux _ _ 30 brought bring VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part 15 conj _ _ 31 some some DET DT PronType=Ind 32 det _ _ 32 oil oil NOUN NN Number=Sing 30 obj _ _ 33 from from ADP IN _ 35 case _ _ 34 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 35 det _ _ 35 distance distance NOUN NN Number=Sing 30 obl _ _ 36 to to PART TO _ 37 mark _ _ 37 sell sell VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 30 advcl _ _ 38 at at ADP IN _ 43 case _ _ 39 to to ADP IN _ 43 case _ SpaceAfter=No 40 - - PUNCT HYPH _ 39 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 41 morrow morrow NOUN NN Number=Sing 43 nmod:poss _ SpaceAfter=No 42 ’s 's PART POS _ 41 case _ _ 43 market market NOUN NN Number=Sing 37 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 44 , , PUNCT , _ 50 punct _ _ 45 but but CCONJ CC _ 50 cc _ _ 46 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 50 nsubj _ _ 47 is be AUX VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 50 cop _ _ 48 now now ADV RB PronType=Dem 50 advmod _ _ 49 so so ADV RB _ 50 advmod _ _ 50 late late ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 3 parataxis _ _ 51 that that SCONJ IN _ 53 mark _ _ 52 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 53 nsubj _ _ 53 know know VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 50 advcl _ _ 54 not not PART RB Polarity=Neg 53 advmod _ _ 55 where where ADV WRB PronType=Rel 57 advmod _ _ 56 to to PART TO _ 57 mark _ _ 57 pass pass VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 53 ccomp _ _ 58 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 59 det _ _ 59 night night NOUN NN Number=Sing 57 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 60 , , PUNCT , _ 64 punct _ _ 61 unless unless SCONJ IN _ 64 mark _ _ 62 you you PRON PRP Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs 64 nsubj _ _ 63 will will AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 64 aux _ _ 64 do do VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 57 conj _ _ 65 me I PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 64 iobj _ _ 66 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 67 det _ _ 67 favor favor NOUN NN Number=Sing 64 obj _ _ 68 to to PART TO _ 69 mark _ _ 69 take take VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 64 advcl _ _ 70 me I PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 69 obj _ _ 71 in in ADP RP _ 69 compound:prt _ SpaceAfter=No 72 . . PUNCT . _ 3 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 73 ” " PUNCT '' _ 3 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **stop** | past | the Captain | captain's mules | | front of Ali Baba's house | | | tree rules | | 2 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | | | Ali Baba | | | | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V PP.recipient S-Quote»: agent=Agent to baba=Recipient | | 3 | **sit** | past · progressive | Ali Baba | | | | | for coolness; outside *property* | vn assuming\_position-50 «NP V»: agent=Agent | | 4 | **bring** *in a quote* | present · perfect | I | some oil | | | | from a distance | vn bring-11.3-1 «NP V NP PP.initial\_location»: agent=Agent oil=Theme from distance=Initial\_Location | | 5 | **sell** *in a quote* | to-infinitive | I *not said here* | | | morrow's market | | | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.asset»: agent=Agent at market=Asset | | 6 | **is** *in a quote* | present | oil | | | | now | late *property* | tree rules | | 7 | **not** **know** *in a quote* | present | I | | | | | | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus | | 8 | **pass** *in a quote* | to-infinitive | | | | | night | | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 9 | **do** *a condition, not said to happen, in a quote* | future | Ali Baba *= baba* | the favor | me | | | | tree rules | | 10 | **take in** *in a quote* | to-infinitive | Ali Baba *= baba* *not said here* | | me | | | | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP ADVP»: agent=Instrument i=Destination | | 11 | **market** *in a quote* | | morrow | | | | | | nom market «act transitive»: poss=agent | 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 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. - ← previous: [sentence 89](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg503/34/89/) - next →: [sentence 91](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg503/34/91/) - ↑ back to [The Forty Thieves](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg503/34/)