---
title: A syllable is said to be long if it contains either a long vowel, or… — The grateful elephant · tree and pragmatics
description: A syllable is said to be long if it contains either a long vowel, or a short vowel followed by two consonants (except a consonant followed by _h_). Who acts: syllable. A sentence of «The grateful elephant» by Eugene Watson Burlingame, Opening, part 1, with its dependency tree and the pragmatics of e
---

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# The grateful elephant, Opening, part 1, sentence 41

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A syllable is said to be long if it contains either a long vowel, or a short vowel followed by two consonants (except a consonant followed by \_h\_).

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**Who acts:** syllable · **What happens:** say, be, contain, follow · **To what, where:** syllable, long vowel, short vowel, consonant · **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 (syllable), 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:pg74064:1:46
# text = A syllable is said to be long if it contains either a long vowel, or a short vowel followed by two consonants (except a consonant followed by _h_).
1	A	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	syllable	syllable	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	4	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	aux:pass	_	_
4	said	say	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	_
5	to	to	PART	TO	_	7	mark	_	_
6	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	7	cop	_	_
7	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	4	xcomp	_	_
8	if	if	SCONJ	IN	_	10	mark	_	_
9	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	10	nsubj	_	_
10	contains	contain	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	advcl	_	_
11	either	either	CCONJ	CC	_	14	cc:preconj	_	_
12	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	14	det	_	_
13	long	long	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	14	amod	_	_
14	vowel	vowel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
15	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	19	punct	_	_
16	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	19	cc	_	_
17	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	19	det	_	_
18	short	short	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	19	amod	_	_
19	vowel	vowel	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	nmod	_	_
20	followed	follow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	19	acl	_	_
21	by	by	ADP	IN	_	23	case	_	_
22	two	two	NUM	CD	NumForm=Word|NumType=Card	23	nummod	_	_
23	consonants	consonant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	20	obl:agent	_	_
24	(	(	PUNCT	-LRB-	_	27	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
25	except	except	ADP	IN	_	27	case	_	_
26	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	27	det	_	_
27	consonant	consonant	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	14	appos	_	_
28	followed	follow	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	27	acl	_	_
29	by	by	ADP	IN	_	31	case	_	_
30	_	_	PUNCT	NFP	_	29	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
31	h	H	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	28	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
32	_	_	PUNCT	NFP	_	27	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
33	)	)	PUNCT	-RRB-	_	27	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
34	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **say** *speech: assert* | present · passive |  | a syllable |  |  |  |  | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V NP.topic»: subject=Topic |
| 2 | **is** | to-infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | long *property* | tree rules |
| 3 | **contain** *a condition, not said to happen* | present | syllable | a long vowel  a short vowel |  |  |  |  | vn comprise-107.2-2 «NP V NP»: agent=Pivot vowel=Theme |
| 4 | **follow** | participle |  | a short vowel *not said here* |  |  |  | two consonants *obl:agent* | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 5 | **follow** | participle |  | a consonant *not said here* |  |  |  | by h | vn occur-48.3-1 «NP V PP»: agent=Theme by h=Location |

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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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