--- title: The _Maeroero_ are described as having very long and sharp finger-na… — Maori folk-tales of the Port Hills, Canterbury,… · tree and pragmatics description: The _Maeroero_ are described as having very long and sharp finger-nails, so long that they were great claws, and it was with these long talons that they speared the flatfish and caught the birds in the forests. Who acts: nails, settlement. A sentence of «Maori folk-tales of the Port Hills, Canterbur --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73766/14/68/) [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/) / [Maori folk-tales of the Port Hills, Ca…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73766/) / [The Little People of the Mist.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73766/14/) / 68 # Maori folk-tales of the Port Hills, Canterbury, New Zealand, The Little People of the Mist., sentence 68 The \_Maeroero\_ are described as having very long and sharp finger-nails, so long that they were great claws, and it was with these long talons that they speared the flatfish and caught the birds in the forests. **Who acts:** nails, settlement · **What happens:** describe, have, be, spear, catch · **To what, where:** Maeroero, great claws, long talons, birds, forests This is a sentence of «Maori folk-tales of the Port Hills, Canterbury, New Zealand» by James Cowan, The Little People of the Mist.. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (nails, settlement), 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:pg73766:14:68 # text = The _Maeroero_ are described as having very long and sharp finger-nails, so long that they were great claws, and it was with these long talons that they speared the flatfish and caught the birds in the forests. 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 3 det _ _ 2 _ _ PUNCT `` _ 3 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 3 Maeroero Maeroero PROPN NNP Number=Sing 6 nsubj:pass _ SpaceAfter=No 4 _ _ PUNCT NFP _ 3 punct _ _ 5 are be AUX VBP Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 6 aux:pass _ _ 6 described describe VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 0 root _ _ 7 as as SCONJ IN _ 8 mark _ _ 8 having have VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 6 advcl _ _ 9 very very ADV RB _ 10 advmod _ _ 10 long long ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 8 xcomp _ _ 11 and and CCONJ CC _ 15 cc _ _ 12 sharp sharp ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 15 amod _ _ 13 finger finger NOUN NN Number=Sing 15 compound _ SpaceAfter=No 14 - - PUNCT HYPH _ 13 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 15 nails nail NOUN NNS Number=Plur 10 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 16 , , PUNCT , _ 18 punct _ _ 17 so so ADV RB _ 18 advmod _ _ 18 long long ADV RB Degree=Pos 6 advmod _ _ 19 that that SCONJ IN _ 23 mark _ _ 20 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 23 nsubj _ _ 21 were be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 23 cop _ _ 22 great great ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 23 amod _ _ 23 claws claw NOUN NNS Number=Plur 18 advcl _ SpaceAfter=No 24 , , PUNCT , _ 31 punct _ _ 25 and and CCONJ CC _ 31 cc _ _ 26 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 31 nsubj _ _ 27 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 31 cop _ _ 28 with with ADP IN _ 31 case _ _ 29 these this DET DT Number=Plur|PronType=Dem 31 det _ _ 30 long long ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 31 amod _ _ 31 talons talon NOUN NNS Number=Plur 6 obl _ _ 32 that that PRON WDT PronType=Rel 34 obj _ _ 33 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 34 nsubj _ _ 34 speared spear VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 31 acl:relcl _ _ 35 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 36 det _ _ 36 flatfish flatfish NOUN NNS Number=Plur 34 obj _ _ 37 and and CCONJ CC _ 38 cc _ _ 38 caught catch VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 34 conj _ _ 39 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 40 det _ _ 40 birds bird NOUN NNS Number=Plur 38 obj _ _ 41 in in ADP IN _ 43 case _ _ 42 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 43 det _ _ 43 forests forest NOUN NNS Number=Plur 38 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 44 . . PUNCT . _ 6 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **describe** | present · passive | | the Maeroero | | | | long *property* | vn characterize-29.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_ING»: subject=Theme | | 2 | **have** | gerund | | | | | | long *property* | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent | | 3 | **is a** | past | nails *= nail* | great claws | | | | | tree rules | | 4 | **is** | past | settlement | | | | | with this long talons | tree rules | | 5 | **spear** | past | nails *= nail* | this long talons | | | | the flatfish *obj* | tree rules | | 6 | **catch** | past | nails *= nail* *not said here* | the birds | | the forests | | | vn get-13.5.1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent bird=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:** «Maori folk-tales of the Port Hills, Canterbury, New Zealand» by James Cowan, Project Gutenberg book 73766 (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 67](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73766/14/67/) - next →: [sentence 69](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73766/14/69/) - ↑ back to [The Little People of the Mist.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg73766/14/)