--- title: Then the cruel step-mother said to her daughter: "I cannot tell how… — Indian Fairy Tales · tree and pragmatics description: Then the cruel step-mother said to her daughter: "I cannot tell how it is, I have had the pomelo tree which used to grow by the Ranee's grave destroyed, and yet the Princesses grow no thinner, nor look more sad, though they never eat the dinner I give them. Who acts: cruel step mother, cake, pomelo --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7128/9/54/) [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/) / [Indian Fairy Tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7128/) / [Demon With Matted Hair " 196, part 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7128/9/) / 54 # Indian Fairy Tales, Demon With Matted Hair " 196, part 3, sentence 54 Then the cruel step-mother said to her daughter: "I cannot tell how it is, I have had the pomelo tree which used to grow by the Ranee's grave destroyed, and yet the Princesses grow no thinner, nor look more sad, though they never eat the dinner I give them. **Who acts:** cruel step mother, cake, pomelo tree, Princesses · **What happens:** say, not tell, be, have, use, grow · **To what, where:** daughter, pomelo tree, thinner, dinner, Princesses · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is a sentence of «Indian Fairy Tales» by Joseph Jacobs, Demon With Matted Hair " 196, part 3. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (cruel step mother, cake, pomelo tree, Princesses), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree. **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:pg7128:9:54 # text = Then the cruel step-mother said to her daughter: "I cannot tell how it is, I have had the pomelo tree which used to grow by the Ranee's grave destroyed, and yet the Princesses grow no thinner, nor look more sad, though they never eat the dinner I give them. 1 Then then ADV RB PronType=Dem 7 advmod _ _ 2 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 6 det _ _ 3 cruel cruel ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 6 amod _ _ 4 step step NOUN NN Number=Sing 6 compound _ SpaceAfter=No 5 - - PUNCT HYPH _ 4 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 6 mother mother NOUN NN Number=Sing 7 nsubj _ _ 7 said say VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 0 root _ _ 8 to to ADP IN _ 10 case _ _ 9 her her PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 10 nmod:poss _ _ 10 daughter daughter NOUN NN Number=Sing 7 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 11 : : PUNCT : _ 16 punct _ _ 12 " " PUNCT `` _ 16 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 13 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 16 nsubj _ _ 14 can can AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 16 aux _ SpaceAfter=No 15 not not PART RB Polarity=Neg 16 advmod _ _ 16 tell tell VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 7 ccomp _ _ 17 how how ADV WRB PronType=Int 16 ccomp _ _ 18 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 17 nsubj _ _ 19 is be AUX VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 17 cop _ SpaceAfter=No 20 , , PUNCT , _ 23 punct _ _ 21 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 23 nsubj _ _ 22 have have AUX VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 23 aux _ _ 23 had have VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part 16 ccomp _ _ 24 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 26 det _ _ 25 pomelo pomelo NOUN NN Number=Sing 26 compound _ _ 26 tree tree NOUN NN Number=Sing 23 obj _ _ 27 which which PRON WDT PronType=Rel 28 nsubj _ _ 28 used use VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 26 acl:relcl _ _ 29 to to PART TO _ 30 mark _ _ 30 grow grow VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 28 xcomp _ _ 31 by by ADP IN _ 35 case _ _ 32 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 33 det _ _ 33 Ranee Ranee PROPN NNP Number=Sing 35 nmod:poss _ SpaceAfter=No 34 's 's PART POS _ 33 case _ _ 35 grave grave NOUN NN Number=Sing 30 obl _ _ 36 destroyed destroy VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 30 xcomp _ SpaceAfter=No 37 , , PUNCT , _ 42 punct _ _ 38 and and CCONJ CC _ 42 cc _ _ 39 yet yet ADV RB _ 42 advmod _ _ 40 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 41 det _ _ 41 Princesses princess NOUN NNS Number=Plur 42 nsubj _ _ 42 grow grow VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 16 conj _ _ 43 no no DET DT PronType=Neg 44 det _ _ 44 thinner thin ADJ JJR Degree=Cmp 42 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 45 , , PUNCT , _ 47 punct _ _ 46 nor nor CCONJ CC Polarity=Neg 47 cc _ _ 47 look look VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 16 conj _ _ 48 more more ADV RBR Degree=Cmp 49 advmod _ _ 49 sad sad ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 47 xcomp _ SpaceAfter=No 50 , , PUNCT , _ 54 punct _ _ 51 though though SCONJ IN _ 54 mark _ _ 52 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 54 nsubj _ _ 53 never never ADV RB PronType=Neg 54 advmod _ _ 54 eat eat VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 16 parataxis _ _ 55 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 56 det _ _ 56 dinner dinner NOUN NN Number=Sing 54 obj _ _ 57 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 58 nsubj _ _ 58 give give VERB VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 54 conj _ _ 59 them they PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 58 iobj _ SpaceAfter=No 60 . . PUNCT . _ 7 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | the cruel step mother | | mother's daughter | | then | | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V PP.recipient S-Quote»: agent=Agent to daughter=Recipient clause=Topic | | 2 | **not** **tell** *speech: assert* *in a quote* | can | the cruel step mother *= mother* | | | | | | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1-1-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | | 3 | **is** *in a quote* | present | cake | | | | | how *property* | tree rules | | 4 | **have** *in a quote* | present · perfect | the cruel step mother *= mother* | the pomelo tree | | | | | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent tree=Patient | | 5 | **use** *in a quote* | past | the pomelo tree | | | | | | vn use-105.1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Eventuality | | 6 | **grow** *in a quote* | to-infinitive | the pomelo tree *not said here* | | | | | by the Ranee's grave | tree rules | | 7 | **destroy** *in a quote* | participle | the pomelo tree *not said here* | | | | | | vn destroy-44 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent | | 8 | **grow** *in a quote* | present | the Princesses | no thinner | | | yet | | vn appear-48.1.1 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location thin=Theme | | 9 | **look** *in a quote* | infinitive | the cruel step mother *= mother* *not said here* | | | | | sad *property* | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V ADJ»: agent=Stimulus | | 10 | **not** **eat** *in a quote* | present | Princesses *= princess* | the dinner | | | | | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent dinner=Patient | | 11 | **give** *in a quote* | present | the cruel step mother *= mother* | | Princesses *= princess* | | | | vn give-13.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent they=Theme | 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:** «Indian Fairy Tales» by Joseph Jacobs, Project Gutenberg book 7128 (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 53](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7128/9/53/) - next →: [sentence 55](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7128/9/55/) - ↑ back to [Demon With Matted Hair " 196, part 3](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7128/9/)