---
title: The best of the Roman have perished, except those which Livy preserv… — The foray of Queen Meave, and other legends of I… · tree and pragmatics
description: The best of the Roman have perished, except those which Livy preserved by appropriating, and which, notwithstanding their large element of fiction, constitute perhaps the most true, because the most characteristic portion of the earlier Roman history. A sentence of «The foray of Queen Meave, and oth
---

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# The foray of Queen Meave, and other legends of Ireland's heroic age, Opening, part 2, sentence 27

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The best of the Roman have perished, except those which Livy preserved by appropriating, and which, notwithstanding their large element of fiction, constitute perhaps the most true, because the most characteristic portion of the earlier Roman history.

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**What happens:** perish, preserve, appropriate, notwithstand, constitute · **To what, where:** best, large element

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This is a sentence of «The foray of Queen Meave, and other legends of Ireland's heroic age» by Aubrey De Vere, Opening, part 2. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: 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:pg78491:2:27
# text = The best of the Roman have perished, except those which Livy preserved by appropriating, and which, notwithstanding their large element of fiction, constitute perhaps the most true, because the most characteristic portion of the earlier Roman history.
1	The	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	2	det	_	_
2	best	good	ADJ	JJS	Degree=Sup	7	nsubj:pass	_	_
3	of	of	ADP	IN	_	5	case	_	_
4	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	5	det	_	_
5	Roman	roman	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	2	obl	_	_
6	have	have	AUX	VBP	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Fin	7	aux	_	_
7	perished	perish	VERB	VBN	Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass	0	root	_	SpaceAfter=No
8	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	10	punct	_	_
9	except	except	ADP	IN	_	10	case	_	_
10	those	that	PRON	DT	Number=Plur|PronType=Dem	7	obl	_	_
11	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	13	nsubj	_	_
12	Livy	Livy	PROPN	NNP	Number=Sing	13	nsubj	_	_
13	preserved	preserve	VERB	VBD	Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin	10	acl:relcl	_	_
14	by	by	SCONJ	IN	_	15	mark	_	_
15	appropriating	appropriate	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	13	advcl	_	SpaceAfter=No
16	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
17	and	and	CCONJ	CC	_	20	cc	_	_
18	which	which	PRON	WDT	PronType=Rel	20	nsubj	_	SpaceAfter=No
19	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	20	punct	_	_
20	notwithstanding	notwithstand	VERB	VBG	Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part	7	advcl	_	_
21	their	their	PRON	PRP$	Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs	23	nmod:poss	_	_
22	large	large	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	23	amod	_	_
23	element	element	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	20	obj	_	_
24	of	of	ADP	IN	_	25	case	_	_
25	fiction	fiction	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	23	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
26	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	27	punct	_	_
27	constitute	constitute	VERB	VB	VerbForm=Inf	20	conj	_	_
28	perhaps	perhaps	ADV	RB	_	31	advmod	_	_
29	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	31	det	_	_
30	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	31	advmod	_	_
31	true	true	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	27	xcomp	_	SpaceAfter=No
32	,	,	PUNCT	,	_	37	punct	_	_
33	because	because	SCONJ	IN	_	37	mark	_	_
34	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	37	det	_	_
35	most	most	ADV	RBS	Degree=Sup	36	advmod	_	_
36	characteristic	characteristic	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	37	amod	_	_
37	portion	portion	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	7	parataxis	_	_
38	of	of	ADP	IN	_	42	case	_	_
39	the	the	DET	DT	Definite=Def|PronType=Art	42	det	_	_
40	earlier	early	ADJ	JJR	Degree=Cmp	42	amod	_	_
41	Roman	roman	ADJ	JJ	Degree=Pos	42	amod	_	_
42	history	history	NOUN	NN	Number=Sing	37	nmod	_	SpaceAfter=No
43	.	.	PUNCT	.	_	7	punct	_	_
```

## Pragmatics {#pragmatics}

<!-- .fr -->
| # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1 | **perish** | present · perfect · passive |  | the best |  |  |  | except those; the characteristic portion of the earlier Roman history *parataxis* | tree rules |
| 2 | **preserve** | past |  |  |  |  |  | which *nsubj*; Livy *nsubj* | vn defend-72.3 «NP V S\_ING»: agent=Agent |
| 3 | **appropriate** | gerund |  |  |  |  |  |  | vn obtain-13.5.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent |
| 4 | **notwithstand** | gerund |  | poems's large element of fiction |  |  |  | which *nsubj* | tree rules |
| 5 | **constitute** | infinitive |  |  |  |  |  | true *property* | vn comprise-107.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Theme |

<!-- .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:** «The foray of Queen Meave, and other legends of Ireland's heroic age» by Aubrey De Vere, Project Gutenberg book 78491 (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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