--- title: The King and Queen were somewhat embarrassed to know what answer to… — The Green Fairy Book · tree and pragmatics description: The King and Queen were somewhat embarrassed to know what answer to make to this terrible suitor, but at last they asked for time to talk over the matter: since, they said, their subjects might think that the heir to the throne should not be married with as little consideration as a dairymaid. Who a --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7277/11/143/) [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 Green Fairy Book](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7277/) / [Prince Narcissus and the Princess Pote…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7277/11/) / 143 # The Green Fairy Book, Prince Narcissus and the Princess Potentilla, sentence 143 The King and Queen were somewhat embarrassed to know what answer to make to this terrible suitor, but at last they asked for time to talk over the matter: since, they said, their subjects might think that the heir to the throne should not be married with as little consideration as a dairymaid. **Who acts:** King, subjects · **What happens:** be, know, make, ask, talk, say · **To what, where:** answer, last, matter, heir · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is a sentence of «The Green Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, Prince Narcissus and the Princess Potentilla. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (King, subjects), 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:pg7277:11:143 # text = The King and Queen were somewhat embarrassed to know what answer to make to this terrible suitor, but at last they asked for time to talk over the matter: since, they said, their subjects might think that the heir to the throne should not be married with as little consideration as a dairymaid. 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 2 det _ _ 2 King King PROPN NNP Number=Sing 7 nsubj _ _ 3 and and CCONJ CC _ 4 cc _ _ 4 Queen Queen PROPN NNP Number=Sing 2 conj _ _ 5 were be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 7 cop _ _ 6 somewhat somewhat ADV RB _ 7 advmod _ _ 7 embarrassed embarrassed ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 0 root _ _ 8 to to PART TO _ 9 mark _ _ 9 know know VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 7 csubj _ _ 10 what what DET WDT PronType=Int 11 det _ _ 11 answer answer NOUN NN Number=Sing 9 obj _ _ 12 to to PART TO _ 13 mark _ _ 13 make make VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 9 ccomp _ _ 14 to to ADP IN _ 17 case _ _ 15 this this DET DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 17 det _ _ 16 terrible terrible ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 17 amod _ _ 17 suitor suitor NOUN NN Number=Sing 13 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 18 , , PUNCT , _ 23 punct _ _ 19 but but CCONJ CC _ 23 cc _ _ 20 at at ADP IN _ 21 case _ _ 21 last last ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 23 obl _ _ 22 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 23 nsubj _ _ 23 asked ask VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 7 conj _ _ 24 for for ADP IN _ 25 case _ _ 25 time time NOUN NN Number=Sing 23 obl _ _ 26 to to PART TO _ 27 mark _ _ 27 talk talk VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 23 ccomp _ _ 28 over over ADP IN _ 30 case _ _ 29 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 30 det _ _ 30 matter matter NOUN NN Number=Sing 27 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 31 : : PUNCT : _ 35 punct _ _ 32 since since ADV RB _ 35 advmod _ SpaceAfter=No 33 , , PUNCT , _ 32 punct _ _ 34 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 35 nsubj _ _ 35 said say VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 7 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 36 , , PUNCT , _ 40 punct _ _ 37 their their PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 38 nmod:poss _ _ 38 subjects subject NOUN NNS Number=Plur 40 nsubj _ _ 39 might might AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 40 aux _ _ 40 think think VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 35 ccomp _ _ 41 that that SCONJ IN _ 50 mark _ _ 42 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 43 det _ _ 43 heir heir NOUN NN Number=Sing 50 nsubj:pass _ _ 44 to to ADP IN _ 46 case _ _ 45 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 46 det _ _ 46 throne throne NOUN NN Number=Sing 43 nmod _ _ 47 should should AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 50 aux _ _ 48 not not PART RB Polarity=Neg 50 advmod _ _ 49 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 50 aux:pass _ _ 50 married marry VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 40 ccomp _ _ 51 with with ADP IN _ 50 obl _ _ 52 as as ADP IN _ 54 case _ _ 53 little little ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 54 amod _ _ 54 consideration consideration NOUN NN Number=Sing 50 obl _ _ 55 as as ADP IN _ 57 case _ _ 56 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 57 det _ _ 57 dairymaid dairymaid NOUN NN Number=Sing 50 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 58 . . PUNCT . _ 7 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **is** | past | the King and Queen | | | | | embarrassed, somewhat *property* | tree rules | | 2 | **know** | to-infinitive | | what answer | | | | | tree rules | | 3 | **make** | to-infinitive | | | | | | to this terrible suitor | vn build-26.1-1 «NP.asset V NP»: agent=Asset | | 4 | **ask** *speech: ask* | past | King | | | last | time | | vn inquire-37.1.2 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | | 5 | **talk** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | | | | the matter | | | vn talk-37.5 «NP V»: agent=Agent | | 6 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | King | | | | | since *property* | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | | 7 | **think** *speech: other* | might | King's subjects | | | | | | vn consider-29.9-2 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent clause=Theme | | 8 | **not** **marry** | should · passive | | the heir to the throne | | | | as little consideration; as a dairymaid | vn amalgamate-22.2-3-1-1 «NP V NP»: subject=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 Green Fairy Book» by Andrew Lang, Project Gutenberg book 7277 (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 142](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7277/11/142/) - next →: [sentence 144](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7277/11/144/) - ↑ back to [Prince Narcissus and the Princess Potentilla](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg7277/11/)