---
title: It was the belief of some of the African tribes that the power of a… — Negro myths from the Georgia coast, told in the… · tree and pragmatics
description: It was the belief of some of the African tribes that the power of a ghost bore some relation to that which the being possessed when alive, and it may be that an inherited thought affords at least a partial explanation of the ideas still entertained by their descendants upon the shores of this New Wo
---

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# Negro myths from the Georgia coast, told in the vernacular, Opening, part 14, sentence 68

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It was the belief of some of the African tribes that the power of a ghost bore some relation to that which the being possessed when alive, and it may be that an inherited thought affords at least a partial explanation of the ideas still entertained by their descendants upon the shores of this New World.

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**Who acts:** Many, power, ideas · **What happens:** be, bore, possess, inherit, explain · **To what, where:** belief, African tribes, that

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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 14. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (Many, power, ideas), 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:pg76586:14:68
# text = It was the belief of some of the African tribes that the power of a ghost bore some relation to that which the being possessed when alive, and it may be that an inherited thought affords at least a partial explanation of the ideas still entertained by their descendants upon the shores of this New World.
1	It	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	4	nsubj	_	_
2	was	be	AUX	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	4	cop	_	_
3	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	4	det	_	_
4	belief	belief	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	0	root	_	_
5	of	of	ADP	IN	_	6	case	_	_
6	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	4	nmod	_	_
7	of	of	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
8	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	10	det	_	_
9	African	African	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	10	amod	_	_
10	tribes	tribe	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	6	nmod	_	_
11	that	that	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	17	obj	_	_
12	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	13	det	_	_
13	power	power	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	nsubj	_	_
14	of	of	ADP	IN	_	16	case	_	_
15	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	16	det	_	_
16	ghost	ghost	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	13	nmod	_	_
17	bore	bore	VERB	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	10	acl:relcl	_	_
18	some	some	DET	DT	PronType=Ind	19	det	_	_
19	relation	relation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	17	obj	_	_
20	to	to	SCONJ	IN	_	25	mark	_	_
21	that	that	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	25	nsubj	_	_
22	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	25	nsubj:pass	_	_
23	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	25	det	_	_
24	being	be	AUX	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	25	aux:pass	_	_
25	possessed	possess	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	17	advcl	_	_
26	when	when	ADV	WRB	PronType=Int	27	advmod	_	_
27	alive	alive	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	25	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
28	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	37	punct	_	_
29	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	37	cc	_	_
30	it	it	PRON	PRP	Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs	37	nsubj	_	_
31	may	may	AUX	MD	VerbForm=Fin	37	aux	_	_
32	be	be	AUX	VB	VerbForm=Inf	37	cop	_	_
33	that	that	SCONJ	IN	_	37	mark	_	_
34	an	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	36	det	_	_
35	inherited	inherit	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	36	amod	_	_
36	thought	thought	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	37	nsubj	_	_
37	affords	afford	VERB	VBZ	Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	4	conj	_	_
38	at	at	ADP	IN	_	39	case	_	_
39	least	least	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	42	nmod	_	_
40	a	a	DET	DT	Definite=Ind|PronType=Art	42	det	_	_
41	partial	partial	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	42	amod	_	_
42	explanation	explanation	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	37	obj	_	_
43	of	of	ADP	IN	_	45	case	_	_
44	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	45	det	_	_
45	ideas	idea	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	42	nmod	_	_
46	still	still	ADV	RB	_	47	advmod	_	_
47	entertained	entertained	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	45	amod	_	_
48	by	by	ADP	IN	_	50	case	_	_
49	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	50	nmod:poss	_	_
50	descendants	descendant	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	47	obl	_	_
51	upon	upon	ADP	IN	_	53	case	_	_
52	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	53	det	_	_
53	shores	shore	NOUN	NNS	Number=Plur	50	nmod	_	_
54	of	of	ADP	IN	_	57	case	_	_
55	this	this	PRON	DT	Number=Sing|PronType=Dem	57	nsubj	_	_
56	New	New	ADJ	NNP	Degree=Pos	57	amod	_	_
57	World	World	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	53	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
58	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	4	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

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| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **is a** | past | Many | the belief |  |  |  | of some of the African tribes | tree rules |
| 2 | **bore** | present | the power of a ghost | the African tribes |  |  |  | some relation *obj* | vn amuse-31.1 «NP V NP ADJ»: agent=Stimulus that=Experiencer relation=Result |
| 3 | **possess** | gerund · passive |  | that |  |  |  | which *nsubj:pass*; alive *property* | vn own-100.1 «NP V NP»: subject=Theme |
| 4 | **inherit** | participle |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 5 | **is** | may | Many |  |  |  |  | a inherited thought *nsubj*; a partial explanation of the ideas *obj*; afford *property* | tree rules |
| 6 | **explain** |  | the ideas |  |  |  |  |  | nom explanation «communication intransitive»: of=agent |

<!-- .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:** «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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