---
title: Adjectives proper are not numerous, but their place is supplied by a… — Kaffir folk-lore · tree and pragmatics
description: Adjectives proper are not numerous, but their place is supplied by abstract nouns; as if we should say, a thing with goodness, instead of, a good thing. Who acts: Adjectives, abstract nouns, we. A sentence of «Kaffir folk-lore» by George McCall Theal, Introductory Chapter Regarding the Kaffirs., wit
---

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# Kaffir folk-lore, Introductory Chapter Regarding the Kaffirs., sentence 69

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Adjectives proper are not numerous, but their place is supplied by abstract nouns; as if we should say, a thing with goodness, instead of, a good thing.

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**Who acts:** Adjectives, abstract nouns, we · **What happens:** not be, supply, say · **To what, where:** place, thing · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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This is a sentence of «Kaffir folk-lore» by George McCall Theal, Introductory Chapter Regarding the Kaffirs.. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (Adjectives, abstract nouns, we), 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:pg71335:2:69
# text = Adjectives proper are not numerous, but their place is supplied by abstract nouns; as if we should say, a thing with goodness, instead of, a good thing.
1	Adjectives	adjective	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
2	proper	properly	ADV	RB	_	1	advmod	_	_
3	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
4	not	not	PART	RB	Polarity=Neg	5	advmod	_	_
5	numerous	numerous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
6	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
7	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
8	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	9	nmod:poss	_	_
9	place	place	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	11	nsubj:pass	_	_
10	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	11	aux:pass	_	_
11	supplied	supply	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	5	parataxis	_	_
12	by	by	ADP	IN	_	14	case	_	_
13	abstract	abstract	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	nouns	noun	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	11	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	;	;	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
16	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	20	mark	_	_
17	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	20	mark	_	_
18	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	20	nsubj	_	_
19	should	should	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	20	aux	_	_
20	say	say	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	conj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	23	punct	_	_
22	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	23	det	_	_
23	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obj	_	_
24	with	with	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
25	goodness	goodness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	32	punct	_	_
27	instead	instead	ADV	RB	ExtPos=ADP	32	case	_	_
28	of	of	ADP	IN	_	27	fixed	_	SpaceAfter=No
29	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	27	punct	_	_
30	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	32	det	_	_
31	good	good	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	32	amod	_	_
32	thing	thing	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	parataxis	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **not** **is** | present | Adjectives |  |  |  |  | numerous *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **supply** | present · passive | abstract nouns | numerals's place |  |  |  |  | vn fulfilling-13.4.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent subject=Recipient |
| 3 | **say** *speech: assert* *a condition, not said to happen* | should | we | a thing |  |  |  | with goodness; a good thing *parataxis* | vn pronounce-29.3.1 «NP V NP PP.manner»: agent=Agent thing=Theme with goodness=Manner |

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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:** «Kaffir folk-lore» by George McCall Theal, Project Gutenberg book 71335 (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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