---
title: As we listened to her modest story of her experience in the siege of… — Gleanings from Chinese folklore · tree and pragmatics
description: As we listened to her modest story of her experience in the siege of Peking, or heard her merry, ringing laugh whenever the ludicrous elements in social intercourse or surroundings appeared; when, in our little motor-boat, we saw her great eyes beam with delight at some fresh form of nature’s loveli
---

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# Gleanings from Chinese folklore, An Appreciation of Nellie N. Russell, sentence 17

<!-- .ven lang=en -->
As we listened to her modest story of her experience in the siege of Peking, or heard her merry, ringing laugh whenever the ludicrous elements in social intercourse or surroundings appeared; when, in our little motor-boat, we saw her great eyes beam with delight at some fresh form of nature’s loveliness and heard her exclaim with irrepressible enthusiasm as we floated here and there among the islands, “Oh, it is as beautiful as the Orient!” we seemed to be in contact with the very soul of the universe in some peculiar manner.

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**Who acts:** we, ludicrous elements, great eyes, Righteousness, laugh · **What happens:** listen, hear, ring, appear, see, beam · **To what, where:** little motor boat, merry, laugh, fresh form, Righteousness, islands · **Speech:** someone speaks here

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This is a sentence of «Gleanings from Chinese folklore» by Nellie Naomi Russell, An Appreciation of Nellie N. Russell. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (we, ludicrous elements, great eyes, Righteousness), 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:pg75089:2:17
# text = As we listened to her modest story of her experience in the siege of Peking, or heard her merry, ringing laugh whenever the ludicrous elements in social intercourse or surroundings appeared; when, in our little motor-boat, we saw her great eyes beam with delight at some fresh form of nature’s loveliness and heard her exclaim with irrepressible enthusiasm as we floated here and there among the islands, “Oh, it is as beautiful as the Orient!” we seemed to be in contact with the very soul of the universe in some peculiar manner.
1	As	as	SCONJ	IN	_	3	mark	_	_
2	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	3	nsubj	_	_
3	listened	listen	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	45	advcl	_	_
4	to	to	ADP	IN	_	7	case	_	_
5	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	7	nmod:poss	_	_
6	modest	modest	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	7	amod	_	_
7	story	story	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	_
8	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	10	nmod:poss	_	_
10	experience	experience	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	nmod	_	_
11	in	in	ADP	IN	_	13	case	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	siege	siege	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	10	nmod	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	15	case	_	_
15	Peking	Peking	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	18	punct	_	_
17	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
18	heard	hear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	3	conj	_	_
19	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	20	nmod:poss	_	_
20	merry	merry	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	18	obj	_	SpaceAfter=No
21	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	22	punct	_	_
22	ringing	ring	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	18	advcl	_	_
23	laugh	laugh	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	22	obj	_	_
24	whenever	whenever	ADV	WRB	PronType=Rel	33	advmod	_	_
25	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	27	det	_	_
26	ludicrous	ludicrous	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	27	amod	_	_
27	elements	element	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	33	nsubj	_	_
28	in	in	ADP	IN	_	30	case	_	_
29	social	social	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	30	amod	_	_
30	intercourse	intercourse	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	27	nmod	_	_
31	or	or	CCONJ	CC	_	32	cc	_	_
32	surroundings	surroundings	NOUN	NNS	Number=Ptan	30	conj	_	_
33	appeared	appear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	22	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
34	;	;	PUNCT	:	_	35	punct	_	_
35	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	3	advmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
36	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	42	punct	_	_
37	in	in	ADP	IN	_	42	case	_	_
38	our	our	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=1|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	42	nmod:poss	_	_
39	little	little	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	42	amod	_	_
40	motor	motor	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	42	compound	_	SpaceAfter=No
41	-	-	PUNCT	HYPH	_	40	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
42	boat	boat	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	3	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
43	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	3	punct	_	_
44	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	45	nsubj	_	_
45	saw	see	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	0	root	_	_
46	her	her	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	48	nmod:poss	_	_
47	great	great	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	48	amod	_	_
48	eyes	eye	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	49	nsubj	_	_
49	beam	beam	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	45	ccomp	_	_
50	with	with	ADP	IN	_	51	case	_	_
51	delight	delight	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	49	obl	_	_
52	at	at	ADP	IN	_	55	case	_	_
53	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	55	det	_	_
54	fresh	fresh	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	55	amod	_	_
55	form	form	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	49	obl	_	_
56	of	of	ADP	IN	_	59	case	_	_
57	nature	nature	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	59	nmod:poss	_	SpaceAfter=No
58	’s	's	PART	POS	_	57	case	_	_
59	loveliness	loveliness	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	55	nmod	_	_
60	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	61	cc	_	_
61	heard	hear	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	45	conj	_	_
62	her	she	PRON	PRP	Case=Acc|Gender=Fem|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	61	obj	_	_
63	exclaim	exclaim	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	61	xcomp	_	_
64	with	with	ADP	IN	_	66	case	_	_
65	irrepressible	irrepressible	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	66	amod	_	_
66	enthusiasm	enthusiasm	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	63	obl	_	_
67	as	as	SCONJ	IN	_	69	mark	_	_
68	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	69	nsubj	_	_
69	floated	float	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	63	advcl	_	_
70	here	here	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	69	advmod	_	_
71	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	72	cc	_	_
72	there	there	ADV	RB	PronType=Dem	70	conj	_	_
73	among	among	ADP	IN	_	75	case	_	_
74	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	75	det	_	_
75	islands	island	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	69	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
76	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	83	punct	_	_
77	“	"	PUNCT	``	_	83	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
78	Oh	oh	INTJ	UH	_	83	discourse	_	SpaceAfter=No
79	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	78	punct	_	_
80	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	83	nsubj	_	_
81	is	be	AUX	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	83	cop	_	_
82	as	as	ADV	RB	_	83	advmod	_	_
83	beautiful	beautiful	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	69	conj	_	_
84	as	as	ADP	IN	_	86	case	_	_
85	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	86	det	_	_
86	Orient	orient	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	83	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
87	!	!	PUNCT	.	_	86	punct	_	SpaceAfter=No
88	”	"	PUNCT	''	_	86	punct	_	_
89	we	we	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=1|PronType=Prs	90	nsubj	_	_
90	seemed	seem	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=1|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	86	acl:relcl	_	_
91	to	to	PART	TO	_	94	mark	_	_
92	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	94	cop	_	_
93	in	in	ADP	IN	_	94	case	_	_
94	contact	contact	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	90	xcomp	_	_
95	with	with	ADP	IN	_	98	case	_	_
96	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	98	det	_	_
97	very	very	ADV	RB	_	98	advmod	_	_
98	soul	soul	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	94	nmod	_	_
99	of	of	ADP	IN	_	101	case	_	_
100	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	101	det	_	_
101	universe	universe	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	98	nmod	_	_
102	in	in	ADP	IN	_	105	case	_	_
103	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	105	det	_	_
104	peculiar	peculiar	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	105	compound	_	_
105	manner	manner	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	101	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
106	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	45	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **listen** | past | we |  |  | our little motor boat |  | to Righteousness's modest story of Righteousness's experience in the siege of Peking | vn peer-30.3 «NP V PP.theme»: agent=Agent to story=Theme |
| 2 | **hear** | past | we *not said here* | Righteousness's merry |  |  |  |  | vn see-30.1-1-1 «NP V S»: agent=Experiencer merry=Stimulus |
| 3 | **ring** | gerund | we *not said here* | laugh |  |  |  |  | vn sound\_emission-43.2 «PP.location V NP»: agent=Location laugh=Theme |
| 4 | **appear** | past | the ludicrous elements in social intercourse or surroundings |  |  |  |  | whenever *property* | vn appear-48.1.1 «NP V»: agent=Theme |
| 5 | **see** | past | we |  |  |  |  |  | vn comprehend-87.2-1-1 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Experiencer clause=Stimulus |
| 6 | **beam** | present | Righteousness's great eyes |  |  | some fresh form of nature's loveliness |  | with delight | vn light\_emission-43.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme at form=Location |
| 7 | **hear** | past | we *not said here* | Righteousness |  |  |  |  | tree rules |
| 8 | **exclaim** *speech: express* | infinitive | Righteousness *not said here* |  |  |  |  | with irrepressible enthusiasm | vn say-37.7-1 «NP V how S»: agent=Agent |
| 9 | **float** | past | we |  |  | the islands; here; there |  |  | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme among island=Trajectory |
| 10 | **is** *in a quote* | present | laugh |  |  |  |  | as the Orient; beautiful *property* | tree rules |
| 11 | **seem** | past | we | the Orient *not said here* |  |  |  |  | vn seem-109-1-1-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme orient=Attribute |
| 12 | **is** | to-infinitive | we *not said here* |  |  | contact |  | with the soul of the universe in some peculiar manner | tree rules |
| 13 | **experience** |  | Righteousness |  |  | the siege of Peking |  |  | nom experience «cognition transitive»: poss=agent in=place |
| 14 | **form** |  |  | nature's loveliness |  |  |  |  | nom form «communication transitive»: of=patient |

<!-- .note -->
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:** «Gleanings from Chinese folklore» by Nellie Naomi Russell, Project Gutenberg book 75089 (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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