---
title: Once all three were lunching together, and in a cage there was a Nig… — Russian Folk-Tales · tree and pragmatics
description: Once all three were lunching together, and in a cage there was a Nightingale singing over the table, singing so woefully that the merchant could not bear it, and he said, “If there ever were a man who could really tell me what that Nightingale is saying and the doom he is foreboding, I should like t
---

<!-- md -->
[Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/6/79/)

<!-- crumbs -->
[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/) / [Russian Folk-Tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/) / [Opening, part 6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/6/) / 79

# Russian Folk-Tales, Opening, part 6, sentence 79

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
Once all three were lunching together, and in a cage there was a Nightingale singing over the table, singing so woefully that the merchant could not bear it, and he said, “If there ever were a man who could really tell me what that Nightingale is saying and the doom he is foreboding, I should like to meet him: I would give him in my life half of my possessions, and after my death I would bequeath him many goods.”

<!-- .vintro -->
**Who acts:** three, Nightingale, merchant, cock, man, doom · **What happens:** lunch, sing, not bear, say, be, tell · **To what, where:** cage, table, Nightingale, man, cock, life half · **Speech:** someone speaks here

<!-- .vabout -->
This is a sentence of «Russian Folk-Tales» by A. N. Afanas'ev, Opening, part 6. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (three, Nightingale, merchant, cock), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree.

<!-- .note-en -->
**Mova's own parse.** This tree may be wrong.

## The tree {#tree}

```conllu
# sent_id = book:pg62509:6:79
# text = Once all three were lunching together, and in a cage there was a Nightingale singing over the table, singing so woefully that the merchant could not bear it, and he said, “If there ever were a man who could really tell me what that Nightingale is saying and the doom he is foreboding, I should like to meet him: I would give him in my life half of my possessions, and after my death I would bequeath him many goods.”
1	Once	once	SCONJ	IN	_	5	mark	_	_
2	all	all	DET	DT	PronType=Tot	3	det	_	_
3	three	three	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	5	nsubj	_	_
4	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	5	aux	_	_
5	lunching	lunch	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	0	root	_	_
6	together	together	ADV	RB	_	5	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
7	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
8	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
9	in	in	ADP	IN	_	11	case	_	_
10	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	11	det	_	_
11	cage	cage	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obl	_	_
12	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	13	expl	_	_
13	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	11	acl:relcl	_	_
14	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
15	Nightingale	nightingale	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
16	singing	sing	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	15	acl	_	_
17	over	over	ADP	IN	_	19	case	_	_
18	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
19	table	table	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	16	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
20	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	21	punct	_	_
21	singing	sing	VERB	VBG	VerbForm=Ger	16	conj	_	_
22	so	so	ADV	RB	_	23	advmod	_	_
23	woefully	woefully	ADV	RB	_	21	advmod	_	_
24	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	29	mark	_	_
25	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	26	det	_	_
26	merchant	merchant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	29	nsubj	_	_
27	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	29	aux	_	_
28	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	29	advmod	_	_
29	bear	bear	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	21	advcl	_	_
30	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	29	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
31	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	34	punct	_	_
32	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	34	cc	_	_
33	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	34	nsubj	_	_
34	said	say	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	13	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
35	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	42	punct	_	_
36	“	"	PUNCT	``	_	42	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
37	If	if	SCONJ	IN	_	40	mark	_	_
38	there	there	PRON	EX	PronType=Dem	40	expl	_	_
39	ever	ever	ADV	RB	PronType=Ind	40	advmod	_	_
40	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	42	cop	_	_
41	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	42	det	_	_
42	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	34	ccomp	_	_
43	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	46	nsubj	_	_
44	could	could	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	46	aux	_	_
45	really	really	ADV	RB	_	46	advmod	_	_
46	tell	tell	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	42	acl:relcl	_	_
47	me	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	46	iobj	_	_
48	what	what	PRON	WP	PronType=Int	52	obj	_	_
49	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	52	mark	_	_
50	Nightingale	Nightingale	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	52	nsubj	_	_
51	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	52	aux	_	_
52	saying	say	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	46	ccomp	_	_
53	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	58	cc	_	_
54	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	55	det	_	_
55	doom	doom	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	58	nsubj	_	_
56	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	58	nsubj	_	_
57	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	58	aux	_	_
58	foreboding	forebode	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	52	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
59	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	62	punct	_	_
60	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	62	nsubj	_	_
61	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	62	aux	_	_
62	like	like	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	52	advcl	_	_
63	to	to	PART	TO	_	64	mark	_	_
64	meet	meet	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	62	xcomp	_	_
65	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	64	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
66	:	:	PUNCT	:	_	69	punct	_	_
67	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	69	nsubj	_	_
68	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	69	aux	_	_
69	give	give	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	46	conj	_	_
70	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	69	iobj	_	_
71	in	in	ADP	IN	_	74	case	_	_
72	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	74	nmod:poss	_	_
73	life	life	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	74	compound	_	_
74	half	half	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing|NumForm=Word|NumType=Frac	69	obl	_	_
75	of	of	ADP	IN	_	77	case	_	_
76	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	77	nmod:poss	_	_
77	possessions	possession	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	74	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
78	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	85	punct	_	_
79	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	85	cc	_	_
80	after	after	ADP	IN	_	82	case	_	_
81	my	my	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	82	nmod:poss	_	_
82	death	death	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	85	obl	_	_
83	I	I	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs	85	nsubj	_	_
84	would	would	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	85	aux	_	_
85	bequeath	bequeath	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	69	conj	_	_
86	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	85	obj	_	_
87	many	many	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	88	amod	_	_
88	goods	goods	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	85	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
89	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	42	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
90	”	"	PUNCT	''	_	11	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **lunch** | past · progressive | all three |  |  | a cage |  | together *property* | vn dine-39.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent |
| 2 | **sing** *speech: express* | gerund | a Nightingale *not said here* |  |  | the table |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme over table=Location |
| 3 | **sing** *speech: express* | gerund | a Nightingale *not said here* |  |  |  |  | woefully *property* | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 4 | **not** **bear** | could | the merchant | Nightingale |  |  |  |  | vn birth-28.2-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent it=Patient |
| 5 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | cock |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent |
| 6 | **is a** *in a quote* | past |  | a man |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 7 | **tell** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | could | a man |  | cock |  |  |  | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP what S»: agent=Agent i=Recipient clause=Topic |
| 8 | **say** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | present · progressive | Nightingale |  |  |  |  | what *obj* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: agent=Agent what=Topic |
| 9 | **forebode** *in a quote* | present · progressive | the doom |  |  |  |  | cock *nsubj* | vn indicate-78 «NP V how S»: agent=Pivot |
| 10 | **like** *in a quote* | should | cock |  |  |  |  |  | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme |
| 11 | **meet** *not said to happen, in a quote* | to-infinitive | cock *not said here* | cock |  |  |  |  | vn meet-36.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Co-Agent |
| 12 | **give** *in a quote* | would | cock |  | cock | my life half of my possessions |  |  | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent he=Theme |
| 13 | **bequeath** *in a quote* | would | cock | many goods | cock |  | after my death |  | vn future\_having-13.3 «NP V NP.goal NP»: agent=Agent he=Goal goods=Theme |
| 14 | **possess** *in a quote* |  | my |  |  |  |  |  | nom possession «act transitive»: poss=agent |
| 15 | **die** *in a quote* |  | my |  |  |  |  |  | nom death «event intransitive»: poss=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.

<!-- div src -->

**Text:** «Russian Folk-Tales» by A. N. Afanas'ev, Project Gutenberg book 62509 (public domain in the USA). **Tree:** Mova's own parse, Elamur Cosmic License. **Frames:** Mova's frames reader (`prag`), the chapter read in order.

<!-- /div -->

<!-- pn -->
- ← previous: [sentence 78](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/6/78/)
- next →: [sentence 80](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/6/80/)
- ↑ back to [Opening, part 6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg62509/6/)