--- title: These tasks seemed to the old man to be so impossible of accomplishm… — The Jade Story Book; Stories from the Orient · tree and pragmatics description: These tasks seemed to the old man to be so impossible of accomplishment that he didn’t like to take the messages, but the Princess refused to make any change in them, so he gave them to the knights word for word. Who acts: tasks, man, Princess. A sentence of «The Jade Story Book; Stories from the Or --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg65965/5/26/) [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 Jade Story Book; Stories from the…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg65965/) / [Opening, part 5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg65965/5/) / 26 # The Jade Story Book; Stories from the Orient, Opening, part 5, sentence 26 These tasks seemed to the old man to be so impossible of accomplishment that he didn’t like to take the messages, but the Princess refused to make any change in them, so he gave them to the knights word for word. **Who acts:** tasks, man, Princess · **What happens:** seem, be, not like, take, refuse, not make · **To what, where:** messages, change, tasks This is a sentence of «The Jade Story Book; Stories from the Orient» by Penrhyn Wingfield Coussens, Opening, part 5. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (tasks, man, Princess), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree. **Mova's own parse.** This tree may be wrong. ## The tree {#tree} ```conllu # sent_id = book:pg65965:5:26 # text = These tasks seemed to the old man to be so impossible of accomplishment that he didn’t like to take the messages, but the Princess refused to make any change in them, so he gave them to the knights word for word. 1 These this DET DT Number=Plur|PronType=Dem 2 det _ _ 2 tasks task NOUN NNS Number=Plur 3 nsubj _ _ 3 seemed seem VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 4 to to ADP IN _ 7 case _ _ 5 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 7 det _ _ 6 old old ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 7 amod _ _ 7 man man NOUN NN Number=Sing 3 obl _ _ 8 to to PART TO _ 11 mark _ _ 9 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 11 cop _ _ 10 so so ADV RB _ 11 advmod _ _ 11 impossible impossible ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 3 conj _ _ 12 of of ADP IN _ 13 case _ _ 13 accomplishment accomplishment NOUN NN Number=Sing 11 obl _ _ 14 that that SCONJ IN _ 18 mark _ _ 15 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 18 nsubj _ _ 16 did do AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 18 aux _ SpaceAfter=No 17 n’t not PART RB Polarity=Neg 18 advmod _ _ 18 like like VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 11 csubj _ _ 19 to to PART TO _ 20 mark _ _ 20 take take VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 18 xcomp _ _ 21 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 22 det _ _ 22 messages message NOUN NNS Number=Plur 20 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 23 , , PUNCT , _ 27 punct _ _ 24 but but CCONJ CC _ 27 cc _ _ 25 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 26 det _ _ 26 Princess Princess PROPN NNP Number=Sing 27 nsubj _ _ 27 refused refuse VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 3 conj _ _ 28 to to PART TO _ 29 mark _ _ 29 make make VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 27 xcomp _ _ 30 any any DET DT PronType=Ind 31 det _ _ 31 change change NOUN NN Number=Sing 29 obj _ _ 32 in in ADP IN _ 33 case _ _ 33 them they PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 29 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 34 , , PUNCT , _ 37 punct _ _ 35 so so ADV RB _ 37 advmod _ _ 36 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 37 nsubj _ _ 37 gave give VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 3 conj _ _ 38 them they PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 37 iobj _ _ 39 to to ADP IN _ 42 case _ _ 40 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 42 det _ _ 41 knights knight NOUN NNS Number=Plur 42 compound _ _ 42 word word NOUN NN Number=Sing 37 obl _ _ 43 for for ADP IN _ 44 case _ _ 44 word word NOUN NN Number=Sing 42 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 45 . . PUNCT . _ 3 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **seem** | past | this tasks | | | | | to the old man | vn seem-109-1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Theme | | 2 | **is** | to-infinitive | this tasks *not said here* | | | | | of accomplishment; impossible *property* | tree rules | | 3 | **not** **like** | past · do-support | man | | | | | | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Pivot clause=Theme | | 4 | **take** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | man *not said here* | the messages | | | | | vn bring-11.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent message=Theme | | 5 | **refuse** | past | the Princess | | | | | | vn reject-77.2 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent clause=Theme | | 6 | **not** **make** | to-infinitive | the Princess *not said here* | any change | | | | in tasks *= task* | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset change=Product | | 7 | **give** | past | man | | tasks *= task* | | | to the knights word for word | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP PP.recipient»: agent=Agent they=Theme to word=Recipient | 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 Jade Story Book; Stories from the Orient» by Penrhyn Wingfield Coussens, Project Gutenberg book 65965 (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 25](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg65965/5/25/) - next →: [sentence 27](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg65965/5/27/) - ↑ back to [Opening, part 5](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg65965/5/)