---
title: The old memories are fast drifting away into the shadows, and the mo… — Negro myths from the Georgia coast, told in the… · tree and pragmatics
description: The old memories are fast drifting away into the shadows, and the modern negro and the alligator of the present are but partial types of things that were. Who acts: old memories, modern negro. A sentence of «Negro myths from the Georgia coast, told in the vernacular» by Charles C., Jr. Jones, Openin
---

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# Negro myths from the Georgia coast, told in the vernacular, Opening, part 13, sentence 86

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The old memories are fast drifting away into the shadows, and the modern negro and the alligator of the present are but partial types of things that were.

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**Who acts:** old memories, modern negro · **What happens:** be, drift away · **To what, where:** shadows, partial types

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This is a sentence of «Negro myths from the Georgia coast, told in the vernacular» by Charles C., Jr. Jones, Opening, part 13. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (old memories, modern negro), 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:pg76586:13:86
# text = The old memories are fast drifting away into the shadows, and the modern negro and the alligator of the present are but partial types of things that were.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	3	det	_	_
2	old	old	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	3	amod	_	_
3	memories	memory	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	nsubj	_	_
4	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	5	cop	_	_
5	fast	fast	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	0	root	_	_
6	drifting	drift	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	5	advcl	_	_
7	away	away	ADV	RB	_	6	advmod	_	_
8	into	into	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
9	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
10	shadows	shadow	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	obl	_	SpaceAfter=No
11	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	25	punct	_	_
12	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	25	cc	_	_
13	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	15	det	_	_
14	modern	modern	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	15	amod	_	_
15	negro	negro	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	25	nsubj	_	_
16	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	18	cc	_	_
17	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	18	det	_	_
18	alligator	alligator	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	15	conj	_	_
19	of	of	ADP	IN	_	21	case	_	_
20	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	21	det	_	_
21	present	present	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	18	nmod	_	_
22	are	be	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	25	cop	_	_
23	but	but	CCONJ	CC	_	25	cc	_	_
24	partial	partial	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	25	amod	_	_
25	types	type	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	5	conj	_	_
26	of	of	ADP	IN	_	27	case	_	_
27	things	thing	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	25	nmod	_	_
28	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	29	nsubj	_	_
29	were	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	27	acl:relcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
30	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	5	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is** | present | the old memories |  |  |  |  | fast *property* | tree rules |
| 2 | **drift away** | gerund | the old memories *not said here* |  |  | the shadows |  | away *property* | vn run-51.3.2-2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme into shadow=Destination |
| 3 | **is a** | present | the modern negro and the alligator of the present | partial types |  |  |  | of things | tree rules |

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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:** «Negro myths from the Georgia coast, told in the vernacular» by Charles C., Jr. Jones, Project Gutenberg book 76586 (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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