--- title: The fact is that last spring, as I and my Lamb were coming up this v… — Folk tales from Tibet · tree and pragmatics description: The fact is that last spring, as I and my Lamb were coming up this very road, we met an ugly-looking Wolf, who said he was going to eat us; but I begged him to spare our lives, explaining to him that we should both be much larger and fatter in the autumn, and that he would get much better value from --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg75000/11/20/) [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/) / [Folk tales from Tibet](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg75000/) / [The Sheep, the Lamb, the Wolf and the…](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg75000/11/) / 20 # Folk tales from Tibet, The Sheep, the Lamb, the Wolf and the Hare., sentence 20 The fact is that last spring, as I and my Lamb were coming up this very road, we met an ugly-looking Wolf, who said he was going to eat us; but I begged him to spare our lives, explaining to him that we should both be much larger and fatter in the autumn, and that he would get much better value from us if he waited till then. **Who acts:** fact, I, we, looking Wolf, Wolf · **What happens:** be, come up, meet, look, say, go · **To what, where:** last spring, road, looking Wolf, us, Wolf, lives · **Speech:** someone speaks here This is a sentence of «Folk tales from Tibet» by William Frederick Travers, Sir O'Connor, The Sheep, the Lamb, the Wolf and the Hare.. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (fact, I, we, looking Wolf), 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:pg75000:11:20 # text = The fact is that last spring, as I and my Lamb were coming up this very road, we met an ugly-looking Wolf, who said he was going to eat us; but I begged him to spare our lives, explaining to him that we should both be much larger and fatter in the autumn, and that he would get much better value from us if he waited till then. 1 The the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 2 det _ _ 2 fact fact NOUN NN Number=Sing 6 nsubj _ _ 3 is be AUX VBZ Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin 6 cop _ _ 4 that that SCONJ IN _ 6 mark _ _ 5 last last ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 6 amod _ _ 6 spring spring NOUN NN Number=Sing 0 root _ SpaceAfter=No 7 , , PUNCT , _ 14 punct _ _ 8 as as SCONJ IN _ 14 mark _ _ 9 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 14 nsubj _ _ 10 and and CCONJ CC _ 12 cc _ _ 11 my my PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Sing|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 12 nmod:poss _ _ 12 Lamb lamb NOUN NN Number=Sing 9 conj _ _ 13 were be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 14 aux _ _ 14 coming come VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 6 conj _ _ 15 up up ADV RB _ 14 advmod _ _ 16 this this DET DT Number=Sing|PronType=Dem 18 det _ _ 17 very very ADV RB _ 18 advmod _ _ 18 road road NOUN NN Number=Sing 14 obl:unmarked _ SpaceAfter=No 19 , , PUNCT , _ 21 punct _ _ 20 we we PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs 21 nsubj _ _ 21 met meet VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 18 acl:relcl _ _ 22 an a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 26 det _ _ 23 ugly ugly ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 25 compound _ SpaceAfter=No 24 - - PUNCT HYPH _ 23 punct _ SpaceAfter=No 25 looking look VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 26 amod _ _ 26 Wolf Wolf PROPN NNP Number=Sing 21 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 27 , , PUNCT , _ 29 punct _ _ 28 who who PRON WP PronType=Rel 29 nsubj _ _ 29 said say VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 26 advcl:relcl _ _ 30 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 32 nsubj _ _ 31 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 32 aux _ _ 32 going go VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 29 ccomp _ _ 33 to to PART TO _ 34 mark _ _ 34 eat eat VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 32 xcomp _ _ 35 us we PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs 34 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 36 ; ; PUNCT , _ 39 punct _ _ 37 but but CCONJ CC _ 39 cc _ _ 38 I I PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Sing|Person=1|PronType=Prs 39 nsubj _ _ 39 begged beg VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 6 conj _ _ 40 him he PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 39 obj _ _ 41 to to PART TO _ 42 mark _ _ 42 spare spare VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 39 xcomp _ _ 43 our our PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 44 nmod:poss _ _ 44 lives life NOUN NNS Number=Plur 42 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 45 , , PUNCT , _ 46 punct _ _ 46 explaining explain VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 42 advcl _ _ 47 to to ADP IN _ 48 case _ _ 48 him he PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 46 obl _ _ 49 that that SCONJ IN _ 55 mark _ _ 50 we we PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs 55 nsubj _ _ 51 should should AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 55 aux _ _ 52 both both ADV RB _ 55 advmod _ _ 53 be be AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 55 cop _ _ 54 much much ADV RB _ 55 advmod _ _ 55 larger large ADJ JJR Degree=Cmp 46 advcl _ _ 56 and and CCONJ CC _ 57 cc _ _ 57 fatter fat ADJ JJR Degree=Cmp 55 conj _ _ 58 in in ADP IN _ 60 case _ _ 59 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 60 det _ _ 60 autumn autumn NOUN NN Number=Sing 57 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 61 , , PUNCT , _ 66 punct _ _ 62 and and CCONJ CC _ 66 cc _ _ 63 that that SCONJ IN _ 66 mark _ _ 64 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 66 nsubj _ _ 65 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 66 aux _ _ 66 get get VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 39 conj _ _ 67 much much ADV RB _ 68 advmod _ _ 68 better good ADJ JJR Degree=Cmp 69 amod _ _ 69 value value NOUN NN Number=Sing 66 obj _ _ 70 from from ADP IN _ 71 case _ _ 71 us we PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs 66 obl _ _ 72 if if SCONJ IN _ 74 mark _ _ 73 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 74 nsubj _ _ 74 waited wait VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 66 advcl _ _ 75 till till ADP IN _ 76 case _ _ 76 then then ADV RB PronType=Dem 74 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 77 . . PUNCT . _ 6 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **is a** | present | the fact | last spring | | | | | tree rules | | 2 | **come up** | past · progressive | I | this road | | | | | vn escape-51.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 3 | **meet** | past | we | a looking Wolf | | | | | vn meet-36.3-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent wolf=Co-Agent | | 4 | **look** | gerund | | | | | | | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus | | 5 | **say** *speech: assert* | past | a looking Wolf | | | | | | vn say-37.7-1-1 «NP V that S»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | | 6 | **go** | past · progressive | Wolf | | | | | | vn say-37.7 «NP V S-Quote»: agent=Agent clause=Topic | | 7 | **eat** | to-infinitive | Wolf *not said here* | us | | | | | vn eat-39.1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent we=Patient | | 8 | **beg** *speech: request* | past | I | | Wolf | | | | vn beg-58.2-1-1 «NP V NP S\_INF»: agent=Agent he=Recipient clause=Topic | | 9 | **spare** *not said to happen* | to-infinitive | I *not said here* | our lives | | | | | vn bill-54.5 «NP V NP NP.asset»: agent=Agent life=Asset | | 10 | **explain** *speech: assert* | gerund | I *not said here* | | Wolf | | | | vn transfer\_mesg-37.1.1 «NP V PP.recipient how S»: agent=Agent to he=Recipient | | 11 | **is** | should | we | | | | | both, large *property* | tree rules | | 12 | **be** | | we *not said here* | | | | autumn | | tree rules | | 13 | **get** | would | Wolf | better value | | | | from us | vn get-13.5.1-1 «NP V NP PP.source»: agent=Agent value=Theme from we=Source | | 14 | **wait** *a condition, not said to happen* | past | Wolf | | | | | | vn exist-47.1 «NP V»: agent=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:** «Folk tales from Tibet» by William Frederick Travers, Sir O'Connor, Project Gutenberg book 75000 (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 19](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg75000/11/19/) - next →: [sentence 21](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg75000/11/21/) - ↑ back to [The Sheep, the Lamb, the Wolf and the Hare.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg75000/11/)