--- title: In short, before he had time to think what a wonderful affair it was… — Tanglewood Tales · tree and pragmatics description: In short, before he had time to think what a wonderful affair it was, he beheld an abundant harvest of what looked like human beings, armed with helmets and breastplates, shields, swords, and spears; and before they were well out of the earth, they brandished their weapons, and clashed them one agai --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg976/13/38/) [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/) / [Tanglewood Tales](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg976/) / [The Dragon's Teeth., part 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg976/13/) / 38 # Tanglewood Tales, The Dragon's Teeth., part 4, sentence 38 In short, before he had time to think what a wonderful affair it was, he beheld an abundant harvest of what looked like human beings, armed with helmets and breastplates, shields, swords, and spears; and before they were well out of the earth, they brandished their weapons, and clashed them one against another, seeming to think, little while as they had yet lived, that they had wasted too much of life without a battle. **Who acts:** Cadmus, abundant harvest, helmets · **What happens:** have, think, behold, look, be, brandish · **To what, where:** abundant harvest, earth, weapons, helmets This is a sentence of «Tanglewood Tales» by Nathaniel Hawthorne, The Dragon's Teeth., part 4. The page gives its syntax tree — a dependency tree in the style of Universal Dependencies — and its pragmatics clause by clause: who acts (Cadmus, abundant harvest, helmets), what happens, when and where, as Mova's frames read it from the tree. **Parsed by Mova, not checked by a teacher.** This tree is Mova's own parse (the `en` model, on the CPU, when the site is built); it may be wrong. ## The tree {#tree} ```conllu # sent_id = book:pg976:13:38 # text = In short, before he had time to think what a wonderful affair it was, he beheld an abundant harvest of what looked like human beings, armed with helmets and breastplates, shields, swords, and spears; and before they were well out of the earth, they brandished their weapons, and clashed them one against another, seeming to think, little while as they had yet lived, that they had wasted too much of life without a battle. 1 In in ADP IN _ 2 case _ _ 2 short short ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 0 root _ SpaceAfter=No 3 , , PUNCT , _ 6 punct _ _ 4 before before SCONJ IN _ 6 mark _ _ 5 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 6 nsubj _ _ 6 had have VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 2 parataxis _ _ 7 time time NOUN NN Number=Sing 6 obj _ _ 8 to to PART TO _ 9 mark _ _ 9 think think VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 7 acl _ _ 10 what what PRON WP PronType=Int 9 ccomp _ _ 11 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 13 det _ _ 12 wonderful wonderful ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 13 amod _ _ 13 affair affair NOUN NN Number=Sing 10 nsubj _ _ 14 it it PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 15 nsubj _ _ 15 was be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 13 acl:relcl _ SpaceAfter=No 16 , , PUNCT , _ 18 punct _ _ 17 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 18 nsubj _ _ 18 beheld behold VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 2 conj _ _ 19 an a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 21 det _ _ 20 abundant abundant ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 21 amod _ _ 21 harvest harvest NOUN NN Number=Sing 18 obj _ _ 22 of of SCONJ IN _ 24 mark _ _ 23 what what PRON WP PronType=Int 24 nsubj _ _ 24 looked look VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 21 acl _ _ 25 like like ADP IN _ 27 case _ _ 26 human human ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 27 amod _ _ 27 beings being NOUN NNS Number=Plur 24 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 28 , , PUNCT , _ 29 punct _ _ 29 armed armed ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 21 conj _ _ 30 with with ADP IN _ 31 case _ _ 31 helmets helmet NOUN NNS Number=Plur 29 obl _ _ 32 and and CCONJ CC _ 33 cc _ _ 33 breastplates breastplate NOUN NNS Number=Plur 31 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 34 , , PUNCT , _ 35 punct _ _ 35 shields shield NOUN NNS Number=Plur 31 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 36 , , PUNCT , _ 37 punct _ _ 37 swords sword NOUN NNS Number=Plur 31 conj _ SpaceAfter=No 38 , , PUNCT , _ 40 punct _ _ 39 and and CCONJ CC _ 40 cc _ _ 40 spears spear NOUN NNS Number=Plur 18 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 41 ; ; PUNCT , _ 53 punct _ _ 42 and and CCONJ CC _ 53 cc _ _ 43 before before SCONJ IN _ 50 mark _ _ 44 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 50 nsubj _ _ 45 were be AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 50 cop _ _ 46 well well ADV RB Degree=Pos 50 advmod _ _ 47 out out ADP IN _ 50 case _ _ 48 of of ADP IN _ 50 case _ _ 49 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 50 det _ _ 50 earth earth NOUN NN Number=Sing 53 advcl _ SpaceAfter=No 51 , , PUNCT , _ 50 punct _ _ 52 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 53 nsubj _ _ 53 brandished brandish VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 2 parataxis _ _ 54 their their PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 55 nmod:poss _ _ 55 weapons weapon NOUN NNS Number=Plur 53 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 56 , , PUNCT , _ 58 punct _ _ 57 and and CCONJ CC _ 58 cc _ _ 58 clashed clash VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 53 conj _ _ 59 them they PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 58 obj _ _ 60 one one NUM CD NumForm=Word|NumType=Card 58 obj _ _ 61 against against ADP IN _ 62 case _ _ 62 another another DET DT PronType=Ind 60 nmod _ SpaceAfter=No 63 , , PUNCT , _ 64 punct _ _ 64 seeming seem VERB VBG Tense=Pres|VerbForm=Part 58 advcl _ _ 65 to to PART TO _ 66 mark _ _ 66 think think VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 64 xcomp _ SpaceAfter=No 67 , , PUNCT , _ 68 punct _ _ 68 little little ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 66 ccomp _ _ 69 while while SCONJ IN _ 74 mark _ _ 70 as as SCONJ IN _ 74 mark _ _ 71 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 74 nsubj _ _ 72 had have AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 74 aux _ _ 73 yet yet ADV RB _ 74 advmod _ _ 74 lived live VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part 66 advcl _ SpaceAfter=No 75 , , PUNCT , _ 79 punct _ _ 76 that that SCONJ IN _ 79 mark _ _ 77 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 79 nsubj:pass _ _ 78 had have AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Plur|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 79 aux _ _ 79 wasted waste VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 74 advcl _ _ 80 too too ADV RB _ 81 advmod _ _ 81 much much ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 79 obj _ _ 82 of of ADP IN _ 83 case _ _ 83 life life NOUN NN Number=Sing 81 nmod _ _ 84 without without ADP IN _ 86 case _ _ 85 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 86 det _ _ 86 battle battle NOUN NN Number=Sing 79 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 87 . . PUNCT . _ 2 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **have** | past | Cadmus | | | | time | | vn birth-28.2-1 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent | | 2 | **think** *speech: other* | to-infinitive | Cadmus *not said here* | | | | | | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent | | 3 | **behold** | past | Cadmus | a abundant harvest | | | | spears *obl* | vn sight-30.2 «NP V NP»: agent=Experiencer harvest=Stimulus | | 4 | **look** | past | a abundant harvest | | | | | like human beings | vn stimulus\_subject-30.4 «NP V PP.attribute»: agent=Stimulus | | 5 | **is** | past | helmets *= helmet* | | | the earth | | well *property* | tree rules | | 6 | **brandish** | past | helmets *= helmet* | helmets's weapons | | | | | tree rules | | 7 | **clash** | past | helmets *= helmet* *not said here* | helmets *= helmet* | | | | | tree rules | | 8 | **seem** | gerund | helmets *= helmet* *not said here* | | | | | | vn seem-109-1-1-1 «NP V S\_INF»: agent=Theme clause=Attribute | | 9 | **think** *speech: other* | to-infinitive | helmets *= helmet* *not said here* | | | | | | vn focus-87.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Agent | | 10 | **live** | past · perfect | helmets *= helmet* | | | | yet | | vn exist-47.1-1 «NP V»: agent=Theme | | 11 | **waste** | past · perfect · passive | | helmets *= helmet* | | | | without a battle | tree rules | 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:** «Tanglewood Tales» by Nathaniel Hawthorne, Project Gutenberg book 976 (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 37](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg976/13/37/) - next →: [sentence 39](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg976/13/39/) - ↑ back to [The Dragon's Teeth., part 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg976/13/)