---
title: Then, because he was an old man, and knew that he was soon to die, h… — The grateful elephant · tree and pragmatics
description: Then, because he was an old man, and knew that he was soon to die, he became sorrowful and wept tears. Who acts: man, old man. A sentence of «The grateful elephant» by Eugene Watson Burlingame, Opening, part 1, with its dependency tree and the pragmatics of every clause.
---

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# The grateful elephant, Opening, part 1, sentence 190

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Then, because he was an old man, and knew that he was soon to die, he became sorrowful and wept tears.

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**Who acts:** man, old man · **What happens:** be, know, become, weep · **To what, where:** old man, tears · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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This is a sentence of «The grateful elephant» by Eugene Watson Burlingame, Opening, part 1. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (man, old man), 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:pg74064:1:204
# text = Then, because he was an old man, and knew that he was soon to die, he became sorrowful and wept tears.
1	Then	then	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	20	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
2	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	1	punct	_	_
3	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	8	mark	_	_
4	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	8	nsubj	_	_
5	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	cop	_	_
6	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	8	det	_	_
7	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	8	amod	_	_
8	man	man	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
9	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	11	punct	_	_
10	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	11	cc	_	_
11	knew	know	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	8	acl:relcl	_	_
12	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	17	mark	_	_
13	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	17	nsubj	_	_
14	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	17	cop	_	_
15	soon	soon	ADV	RB	Degree=Pos	17	advmod	_	_
16	to	to	PART	TO	_	17	mark	_	_
17	die	die	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	11	ccomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
18	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	8	punct	_	_
19	he	he	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	20	nsubj	_	_
20	became	become	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
21	sorrowful	sorrowful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	20	xcomp	_	_
22	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	23	cc	_	_
23	wept	weep	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	20	conj	_	_
24	tears	tear	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	23	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	20	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | man | a old man |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 2 | **know** | past | a old man *not said here* |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1-1 «NP V how S\_INF»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 3 | **is** | past | man |  |  |  |  | die, soon *property* | tree rules |
| 4 | **become** | past | man |  |  |  | then | sorrowful *property* | vn become-109.1-1-1 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Patient |
| 5 | **weep** | past | man *not said here* | tears |  |  |  |  | vn breathe-40.1.2 «NP V NP.theme»: agent=Agent tear=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 grateful elephant» by Eugene Watson Burlingame, Project Gutenberg book 74064 (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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