---
title: Perceiving he still retained the figure of a mortal man, I began to… — The Red Fairy Book · tree and pragmatics
description: Perceiving he still retained the figure of a mortal man, I began to imagine that it could not be the bishop’s ghost; recovering myself therefore from the fear I was in, I ventured to the upper end of the vault, where I found a large bundle, and upon further examination I found that the corpse was al
---

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# The Red Fairy Book, The Black Thief and Knight of the Glen., sentence 95

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Perceiving he still retained the figure of a mortal man, I began to imagine that it could not be the bishop’s ghost; recovering myself therefore from the fear I was in, I ventured to the upper end of the vault, where I found a large bundle, and upon further examination I found that the corpse was already rifled, and that which I had taken to be a ghost was no more than one of his own clergy.

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** I, figure, ghost · **What happens:** perceive, retain, begin, imagine, not be, recover · **To what, where:** figure, ghost, myself, fear, upper end, large bundle

<!-- .vabout -->
This is a sentence of «The Red Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, The Black Thief and Knight of the Glen.. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (I, figure, ghost), 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:pg540:8:95
# text = Perceiving he still retained the figure of a mortal man, I began to imagine that it could not be the bishop’s ghost; recovering myself therefore from the fear I was in, I ventured to the upper end of the vault, where I found a large bundle, and upon further examination I found that the corpse was already rifled, and that which I had taken to be a ghost was no more than one of his own clergy.
1	Perceiving	perceive	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	4	nsubj	_	_
2	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
3	still	still	ADV	RB	_	4	advmod	_	_
4	retained	retain	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
5	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	6	det	_	_
6	figure	figure	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	obj	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	mortal	mortal	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	6	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
12	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	13	nsubj	_	_
13	began	begin	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
14	to	to	PART	TO	_	15	mark	_	_
15	imagine	imagine	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	13	xcomp	_	_
16	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	24	mark	_	_
17	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	24	nsubj	_	_
18	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	24	aux	_	_
19	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	24	advmod	_	_
20	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	24	cop	_	_
21	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	22	det	_	_
22	bishop	bishop	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	24	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	’s	's	PART	POS	_	22	case	_	_
24	ghost	ghost	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	26	punct	_	_
26	recovering	recover	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	13	advcl	_	_
27	myself	myself	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs|Reflex=Yes	26	obj	_	_
28	therefore	therefore	ADV	RB	_	26	advmod	_	_
29	from	from	ADP	IN	_	31	case	_	_
30	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	31	det	_	_
31	fear	fear	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	26	obl	_	_
32	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	34	nsubj	_	_
33	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	34	cop	_	_
34	in	in	ADV	RB	_	31	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
35	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	37	punct	_	_
36	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	37	nsubj	_	_
37	ventured	venture	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
38	to	to	ADP	IN	_	41	case	_	_
39	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	41	det	_	_
40	upper	upper	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	41	amod	_	_
41	end	end	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	37	obl	_	_
42	of	of	ADP	IN	_	44	case	_	_
43	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	44	det	_	_
44	vault	vault	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	41	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
45	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	48	punct	_	_
46	where	where	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	48	advmod	_	_
47	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	48	nsubj	_	_
48	found	find	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	37	conj	_	_
49	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	51	det	_	_
50	large	large	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	51	amod	_	_
51	bundle	bundle	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	48	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
52	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	58	punct	_	_
53	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	58	cc	_	_
54	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	56	case	_	_
55	further	further	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	56	amod	_	_
56	examination	examination	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	58	obl	_	_
57	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	58	nsubj	_	_
58	found	find	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	48	conj	_	_
59	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	64	mark	_	_
60	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	61	det	_	_
61	corpse	corpse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	64	nsubj:pass	_	_
62	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	64	aux:pass	_	_
63	already	already	ADV	RB	_	64	advmod	_	_
64	rifled	rifle	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	58	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
65	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	71	punct	_	_
66	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	71	cc	_	_
67	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	68	mark	_	_
68	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	71	nsubj:pass	_	_
69	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	71	nsubj	_	_
70	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	71	aux	_	_
71	taken	take	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	4	conj	_	_
72	to	to	PART	TO	_	73	mark	_	_
73	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	80	cop	_	_
74	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	75	det	_	_
75	ghost	ghost	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	80	nsubj	_	_
76	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	80	cop	_	_
77	no	no	ADV	RB	_	80	advmod	_	_
78	more	more	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp|ExtPos=ADV	80	advmod	_	_
79	than	than	ADP	IN	_	78	fixed	_	_
80	one	one	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	71	parataxis	_	_
81	of	of	ADP	IN	_	84	case	_	_
82	his	his	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	84	nmod:poss	_	_
83	own	own	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	84	amod	_	_
84	clergy	clergy	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	80	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
85	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **perceive** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer |
| 2 | **retain** | past |  | the figure of a mortal man |  |  | still |  | tree rules |
| 3 | **begin** | past | I |  |  |  |  |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 4 | **imagine** | to-infinitive | I *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn wish-62 «NP V for NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot |
| 5 | **not** **is a** | could | figure | the bishop's ghost |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 6 | **recover** | gerund | I *not said here* | myself |  | the fear |  | therefore *property* | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent myself=Theme from fear=Source |
| 7 | **is** | past | I | the fear *not said here* |  |  |  | in *property* | tree rules |
| 8 | **venture** | past | I |  | the upper end of the vault |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1 «NP V PP.recipient S-Quote»: agent=Agent to end=Recipient |
| 9 | **find** | past | I | a large bundle |  |  |  |  | vn discover-84 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bundle=Topic |
| 10 | **find** | past | I |  |  |  |  | upon further examination | vn declare-29.4-1-1 «NP V what S\_INF»: agent=Agent |
| 11 | **rifle** | past · passive |  | the corpse |  |  |  |  | vn rummage-35.5-1 «NP V NP PP.theme»: subject=Location |
| 12 | **take** | past · perfect · passive |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 13 | **not** **is a** | infinitive | a ghost | one |  |  |  | of man's own clergy | tree rules |
| 14 | **figure** |  |  | a mortal man |  |  |  |  | nom figure «communication transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .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 Red Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, Project Gutenberg book 540 (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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