---
title: They then began to abuse the pigeon who had dared them, saying that… — The Jade Story Book; Stories from the Orient · tree and pragmatics
description: They then began to abuse the pigeon who had dared them, saying that it was through him they were all caught. Who acts: followers, pigeon, ground. A sentence of «The Jade Story Book; Stories from the Orient» by Penrhyn Wingfield Coussens, Opening, part 8, with its dependency tree and the pragmatics o
---

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# The Jade Story Book; Stories from the Orient, Opening, part 8, sentence 12

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They then began to abuse the pigeon who had dared them, saying that it was through him they were all caught.

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**Who acts:** followers, pigeon, ground · **What happens:** begin, abuse, dare, say, be, catch · **To what, where:** pigeon, followers, fowler · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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This is a sentence of «The Jade Story Book; Stories from the Orient» by Penrhyn Wingfield Coussens, Opening, part 8. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (followers, pigeon, ground), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree.

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**Mova's own parse.** This tree may be wrong.

## The tree {#tree}

```conllu
# sent_id = book:pg65965:8:13
# text = They then began to abuse the pigeon who had dared them, saying that it was through him they were all caught.
1	They	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
2	then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	3	advmod	_	_
3	began	begin	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
4	to	to	PART	TO	_	5	mark	_	_
5	abuse	abuse	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	3	xcomp	_	_
6	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	7	det	_	_
7	pigeon	pigeon	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	5	obj	_	_
8	who	who	PRON	WP	PronType=Rel	10	nsubj	_	_
9	had	have	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	aux	_	_
10	dared	dare	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part	7	acl:relcl	_	_
11	them	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
12	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	13	punct	_	_
13	saying	say	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	3	advcl	_	_
14	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	22	mark	_	_
15	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	18	nsubj	_	_
16	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	18	cop	_	_
17	through	through	ADP	IN	_	18	case	_	_
18	him	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	22	nsubj:pass	_	_
19	they	they	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs	22	nsubj:pass	_	_
20	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	22	aux:pass	_	_
21	all	all	ADV	RB	_	22	advmod	_	_
22	caught	catch	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	13	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
23	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	3	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **begin** | past | followers *= follower* |  |  |  | then |  | vn begin-55.1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality |
| 2 | **abuse** | to-infinitive | followers *= follower* *not said here* | the pigeon |  |  |  |  | vn judgment-33.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent pigeon=Theme |
| 3 | **dare** | past · perfect | the pigeon | followers *= follower* |  |  |  |  | vn urge-58.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=Recipient |
| 4 | **say** *speech: assert* | gerund | followers *= follower* *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic |
| 5 | **is** | past | ground |  |  |  |  | through fowler | tree rules |
| 6 | **catch** | past · passive |  | fowler |  |  |  | followers *= follower* *nsubj:pass*; all *property* | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |

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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 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.

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