--- title: Besides, our histories of six thousand moons make no mention of any… — The Blue Fairy Book · tree and pragmatics description: Besides, our histories of six thousand moons make no mention of any other regions than the two mighty empires of Lilliput and Blefuscu, which, as I was going to tell you, are engaged in a most obstinate war, which began in the following manner: It is allowed on all hands that the primitive way of br --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg503/45/43/) [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/) / [Chapter III](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg503/45/) / 43 # The Blue Fairy Book, Chapter III, sentence 43 Besides, our histories of six thousand moons make no mention of any other regions than the two mighty empires of Lilliput and Blefuscu, which, as I was going to tell you, are engaged in a most obstinate war, which began in the following manner: It is allowed on all hands that the primitive way of breaking eggs was upon the larger end; but his present Majesty’s grandfather, while he was a boy, going to eat an egg, and breaking it according to the ancient practice, happened to cut one of his fingers. **Who acts:** histories, two mighty empires, obstinate war, primitive way, majesty, boy · **What happens:** make, go, tell, engage, begin, follow · **To what, where:** mention, you, obstinate war, following manner, moon, hands · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is a sentence of «The Blue Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, Chapter III. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (histories, two mighty empires, obstinate war, primitive way), 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:pg503:45:43 # text = Besides, our histories of six thousand moons make no mention of any other regions than the two mighty empires of Lilliput and Blefuscu, which, as I was going to tell you, are engaged in a most obstinate war, which began in the following manner: It is allowed on all hands that the primitive way of breaking eggs was upon the larger end; but his present Majesty’s grandfather, while he was a boy, going to eat an egg, and breaking it according to the ancient practice, happened to cut one of his fingers. 1 Besides besides INTJ UH _ 9 discourse _ SpaceAfter=No 2 , , PUNCT , _ 1 punct _ _ 3 our our PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 4 nmod:poss _ _ 4 histories history NOUN NNS Number=Plur 9 nsubj _ _ 5 of of ADP IN _ 8 case _ _ 6 six six NUM CD NumForm=Word|NumType=Card 7 nummod _ _ 7 thousand thousand NUM CD NumForm=Word|NumType=Card 8 nummod _ _ 8 moons moon NOUN NNS Number=Plur 4 nmod _ _ 9 make make VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 10 no no DET DT PronType=Neg 11 det _ _ 11 mention mention NOUN NN Number=Sing 9 obj _ _ 12 of of ADP IN _ 15 case _ _ 13 any any DET DT PronType=Ind 15 det _ _ 14 other other ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 15 amod _ _ 15 regions region NOUN NNS Number=Plur 11 nmod _ _ 16 than than ADP IN _ 20 case _ _ 17 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 20 det _ _ 18 two two NUM CD NumForm=Word|NumType=Card 20 nummod _ _ 19 mighty mighty ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 20 amod _ _ 20 empires empire NOUN NNS Number=Plur 15 nmod _ _ 21 of of ADP IN _ 22 case _ _ 22 Lilliput Lilliput PROPN NNP Number=Sing 20 nmod _ _ 23 and and CCONJ CC _ 24 cc _ _ 24 Blefuscu Blefuscu PROPN NNP Number=Sing 22 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 25 , , PUNCT , _ 31 punct _ _ 26 which which PRON WDT PronType=Rel 31 nsubj _ SpaceAfter=No 27 , , PUNCT , _ 31 punct _ _ 28 as as SCONJ IN _ 31 mark _ _ 29 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 31 nsubj _ _ 30 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 31 aux _ _ 31 going go VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 20 appos _ _ 32 to to PART TO _ 33 mark _ _ 33 tell tell VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 31 xcomp _ _ 34 you you PRON PRP Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs 33 iobj _ SpaceAfter=No 35 , , PUNCT , _ 37 punct _ _ 36 are be AUX VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 37 aux:pass _ _ 37 engaged engage VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 9 conj _ _ 38 in in ADP IN _ 42 case _ _ 39 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 42 det _ _ 40 most most ADV RBS Degree=Sup 41 advmod _ _ 41 obstinate obstinate ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 42 amod _ _ 42 war war NOUN NN Number=Sing 37 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 43 , , PUNCT , _ 45 punct _ _ 44 which which PRON WDT PronType=Rel 45 nsubj _ _ 45 began begin VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 42 acl:relcl _ _ 46 in in ADP IN _ 49 case _ _ 47 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 49 det _ _ 48 following follow VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 49 amod _ _ 49 manner manner NOUN NN Number=Sing 45 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 50 : : PUNCT : _ 53 punct _ _ 51 It it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 53 nsubj:pass _ _ 52 is be AUX VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 53 aux:pass _ _ 53 allowed allow VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 9 conj _ _ 54 on on ADP IN _ 56 case _ _ 55 all all DET DT PronType=Tot 56 det _ _ 56 hands hand NOUN NNS Number=Plur 53 obl _ _ 57 that that SCONJ IN _ 68 mark _ _ 58 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 60 det _ _ 59 primitive primitive ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 60 amod _ _ 60 way way NOUN NN Number=Sing 68 nsubj _ _ 61 of of ADP IN _ 63 case _ _ 62 breaking break VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 63 amod _ _ 63 eggs egg NOUN NNS Number=Plur 60 nmod _ _ 64 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 68 cop _ _ 65 upon upon ADP IN _ 68 case _ _ 66 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 68 det _ _ 67 larger large ADJ JJR Degree=Cmp 68 amod _ _ 68 end end NOUN NN Number=Sing 53 advcl _ SpaceAfter=No 69 ; ; PUNCT : _ 75 punct _ _ 70 but but CCONJ CC _ 75 cc _ _ 71 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 73 nmod:poss _ _ 72 present present ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 73 amod _ _ 73 Majesty majesty NOUN NN Number=Sing 75 nmod:poss _ SpaceAfter=No 74 ’s 's PART POS _ 73 case _ _ 75 grandfather grandfather NOUN NN Number=Sing 9 parataxis _ SpaceAfter=No 76 , , PUNCT , _ 81 punct _ _ 77 while while SCONJ IN _ 81 mark _ _ 78 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 81 nsubj _ _ 79 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 81 cop _ _ 80 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 81 det _ _ 81 boy boy NOUN NN Number=Sing 75 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 82 , , PUNCT , _ 83 punct _ _ 83 going go VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 81 acl _ _ 84 to to PART TO _ 85 mark _ _ 85 eat eat VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 83 xcomp _ _ 86 an a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 87 det _ _ 87 egg egg NOUN NN Number=Sing 85 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 88 , , PUNCT , _ 98 punct _ _ 89 and and CCONJ CC _ 98 cc _ _ 90 breaking break VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 98 nsubj _ _ 91 it it PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 90 obj _ _ 92 according accord VERB VBG ExtPos=ADP|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 96 case _ _ 93 to to ADP IN _ 92 fixed _ _ 94 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 96 det _ _ 95 ancient ancient ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 96 amod _ _ 96 practice practice NOUN NN Number=Sing 90 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 97 , , PUNCT , _ 90 punct _ _ 98 happened happen VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 9 parataxis _ _ 99 to to PART TO _ 100 mark _ _ 100 cut cut VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 98 xcomp _ _ 101 one one NUM CD NumForm=Word|NumType=Card 100 obj _ _ 102 of of ADP IN _ 104 case _ _ 103 his his PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 104 nmod:poss _ _ 104 fingers finger NOUN NNS Number=Plur 101 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 105 . . PUNCT . _ 9 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **make** | present | our histories of thousand moons | no mention of any other regions than the two mighty empires of Lilliput and Blefuscu | | | | | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset mention=Product | | 2 | **go** | past · progressive | the two mighty empires of Lilliput and Blefuscu | | | | | | vn say-37.7 «NP V S-Quote»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | | 3 | **tell** *speech: assert* | to-infinitive | the two mighty empires of Lilliput and Blefuscu *not said here* | | you | | | | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent you=Recipient | | 4 | **engage** | present · passive | our histories of thousand moons *not said here* | | | | | in a obstinate war *goal* | vn involve-107.1 «NP V NP PP.goal»: in war=Goal | | 5 | **begin** | past | a obstinate war | | | the following manner | | | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP.eventuality V»: agent=Eventuality | | 6 | **follow** | gerund | | | | | | | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 7 | **allow** | present · passive | | moon | | all hands | | | vn allow-64.1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=Beneficiary | | 8 | **break** | gerund | | | | | | | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V»: agent=Patient | | 9 | **is** | past | the primitive way of breaking eggs | | | | upon the larger end | | tree rules | | 10 | **is a** | past | majesty | a boy | | | | | tree rules | | 11 | **go** | gerund | a boy *not said here* | | | | | | vn say-37.7 «NP V S-Quote»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | | 12 | **eat** | to-infinitive | a boy *not said here* | a egg | | | | | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent egg=Patient | | 13 | **break** | gerund | | moon | | | | accord the ancient practice | vn hurt-40.8.3-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer it=Patient | | 14 | **accord** | gerund | | | | | | | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.theme (PP)»: agent=Agent | | 15 | **happen** | past | | | | | | | tree rules | | 16 | **cut** | to-infinitive | | one of majesty's fingers | | | | | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset one=Product | | 17 | **mention** | | | any other regions than the two mighty empires of Lilliput and Blefuscu | | | | | nom mention «communication transitive»: of=patient | 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 42](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg503/45/42/) - next →: [sentence 44](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg503/45/44/) - ↑ back to [Chapter III](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg503/45/)