--- title: The Fox thought he might just as well teach the stupid Crab a lesson… — The Jade Story Book; Stories from the Orient · tree and pragmatics description: The Fox thought he might just as well teach the stupid Crab a lesson, so, in a voice filled with contempt, he said: “When you ask me to race with you, even with any handicap you like, you show how little understanding you have. Who acts: Fox, you. A sentence of «The Jade Story Book; Stories from the --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg65965/6/3/) [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 6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg65965/6/) / 3 # The Jade Story Book; Stories from the Orient, Opening, part 6, sentence 3 The Fox thought he might just as well teach the stupid Crab a lesson, so, in a voice filled with contempt, he said: “When you ask me to race with you, even with any handicap you like, you show how little understanding you have. **Who acts:** Fox, you · **What happens:** think, teach, fill, say, ask, race · **To what, where:** lesson, stupid Crab, voice, Fox, handicap, little understanding · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is a sentence of «The Jade Story Book; Stories from the Orient» by Penrhyn Wingfield Coussens, 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 (Fox, you), 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:pg65965:6:3 # text = The Fox thought he might just as well teach the stupid Crab a lesson, so, in a voice filled with contempt, he said: “When you ask me to race with you, even with any handicap you like, you show how little understanding you have. 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 2 det _ _ 2 Fox fox NOUN NN Number=Sing 3 nsubj _ _ 3 thought think VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 4 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 9 nsubj _ _ 5 might might AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 9 aux _ _ 6 just just ADV RB _ 9 advmod _ _ 7 as as ADV RB ExtPos=CCONJ 9 cc _ _ 8 well well ADV RB Degree=Pos 7 fixed _ _ 9 teach teach VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 3 ccomp _ _ 10 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 12 det _ _ 11 stupid stupid ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 12 amod _ _ 12 Crab Crab PROPN NNP Number=Sing 9 obj _ _ 13 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 14 det _ _ 14 lesson lesson NOUN NN Number=Sing 9 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 15 , , PUNCT , _ 26 punct _ _ 16 so so ADV RB _ 26 advmod _ SpaceAfter=No 17 , , PUNCT , _ 20 punct _ _ 18 in in ADP IN _ 20 case _ _ 19 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 20 det _ _ 20 voice voice NOUN NN Number=Sing 26 ccomp _ _ 21 filled fill VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 20 acl _ _ 22 with with ADP IN _ 23 case _ _ 23 contempt contempt NOUN NN Number=Sing 21 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 24 , , PUNCT , _ 20 punct _ _ 25 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 26 nsubj _ _ 26 said say VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 3 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 27 : : PUNCT : _ 31 punct _ _ 28 “ " PUNCT `` _ 31 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 29 When when ADV WRB PronType=Int 31 advmod _ _ 30 you you PRON PRP Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs 31 nsubj _ _ 31 ask ask VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 26 ccomp _ _ 32 me I PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 31 iobj _ _ 33 to to PART TO _ 34 mark _ _ 34 race race VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 31 xcomp _ _ 35 with with ADP IN _ 36 case _ _ 36 you you PRON PRP Case=Acc|Person=2|PronType=Prs 34 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 37 , , PUNCT , _ 41 punct _ _ 38 even even ADV RB _ 41 advmod _ _ 39 with with ADP IN _ 41 case _ _ 40 any any DET DT PronType=Ind 41 det _ _ 41 handicap handicap NOUN NN Number=Sing 34 obl _ _ 42 you you PRON PRP Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs 43 nsubj _ _ 43 like like VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 41 acl:relcl _ SpaceAfter=No 44 , , PUNCT , _ 46 punct _ _ 45 you you PRON PRP Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs 46 nsubj _ _ 46 show show VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 31 conj _ _ 47 how how ADV WRB PronType=Int 48 advmod _ _ 48 little little ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 49 amod _ _ 49 understanding understanding NOUN NN Number=Sing 46 obj _ _ 50 you you PRON PRP Case=Nom|Person=2|PronType=Prs 51 nsubj _ _ 51 have have VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=2|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 49 acl:relcl _ SpaceAfter=No 52 . . PUNCT . _ 3 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **think** *speech: other* | past | the Fox | | | | | | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme | | 2 | **teach** *speech: other* | might | Fox | a lesson | the stupid Crab | | | | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP-Dative NP»: agent=Agent crab=Recipient lesson=Topic | | 3 | **fill** | participle | | a voice *not said here* | | | | with contempt | vn other\_cos-45.4 «NP V NP PP.instrument»: agent=Agent with contempt=Instrument | | 4 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | Fox | | | | | a voice *ccomp* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | | 5 | **ask** *speech: ask* *in a quote* | present | you | | Fox | | | | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V NP whether S\_INF»: agent=Agent i=Recipient clause=Topic | | 6 | **race** *not said to happen, in a quote* | to-infinitive | you *not said here* | | | | | with you; with any handicap | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 7 | **like** *in a quote* | present | you | any handicap *not said here* | | | | | vn want-32.1-1-1 «NP V NP ADV»: agent=Pivot handicap=Theme | | 8 | **show** *in a quote* | present | you | little understanding | | | | | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V NP.recipient»: agent=Agent understanding=Recipient | | 9 | **have** *in a quote* | present | you | little understanding *not said here* | | | | | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent understanding=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 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 2](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg65965/6/2/) - next →: [sentence 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg65965/6/4/) - ↑ back to [Opening, part 6](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg65965/6/)