--- title: Like savage beasts, they would doubtless have done one another a mis… — Tanglewood Tales · tree and pragmatics description: Like savage beasts, they would doubtless have done one another a mischief, if Cadmus had not kept watch over them, and quelled the fierce old serpent that lurked in their hearts, when he saw it gleaming out of their wild eyes. Who acts: Cadmus, fierce old serpent, mischief. A sentence of «Tanglewood --- [Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/) · [this page in HTML](https://mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg976/13/75/) [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/) / 75 # Tanglewood Tales, The Dragon's Teeth., part 4, sentence 75 Like savage beasts, they would doubtless have done one another a mischief, if Cadmus had not kept watch over them, and quelled the fierce old serpent that lurked in their hearts, when he saw it gleaming out of their wild eyes. **Who acts:** Cadmus, fierce old serpent, mischief · **What happens:** do, not keep, watch, quell, lurk, see · **To what, where:** workmen, Cadmus, fierce old serpent, hearts, mischief, wild eyes 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, fierce old serpent, mischief), 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:pg976:13:75 # text = Like savage beasts, they would doubtless have done one another a mischief, if Cadmus had not kept watch over them, and quelled the fierce old serpent that lurked in their hearts, when he saw it gleaming out of their wild eyes. 1 Like like ADP IN _ 3 case _ _ 2 savage savage ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 3 amod _ _ 3 beasts beast NOUN NNS Number=Plur 9 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 4 , , PUNCT , _ 3 punct _ _ 5 they they PRON PRP Case=Nom|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 9 nsubj _ _ 6 would would AUX MD VerbForm=Fin 9 aux _ _ 7 doubtless doubtless ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 9 nsubj:pass _ _ 8 have have AUX VB VerbForm=Inf 9 aux _ _ 9 done do VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 0 root _ _ 10 one one NUM CD NumForm=Word|NumType=Card 9 obj _ _ 11 another another DET DT PronType=Ind 10 nmod _ _ 12 a a DET DT Definite=Ind|PronType=Art 13 det _ _ 13 mischief mischief NOUN NN Number=Sing 11 obj _ SpaceAfter=No 14 , , PUNCT , _ 19 punct _ _ 15 if if SCONJ IN _ 19 mark _ _ 16 Cadmus Cadmus PROPN NNP Number=Sing 19 nsubj:pass _ _ 17 had have AUX VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 19 aux _ _ 18 not not PART RB Polarity=Neg 19 advmod _ _ 19 kept keep VERB VBN Tense=Past|VerbForm=Part|Voice=Pass 9 parataxis _ _ 20 watch watch VERB VB VerbForm=Inf 19 xcomp _ _ 21 over over ADP IN _ 22 case _ _ 22 them they PRON PRP Case=Acc|Number=Plur|Person=3|PronType=Prs 20 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 23 , , PUNCT , _ 25 punct _ _ 24 and and CCONJ CC _ 25 cc _ _ 25 quelled quell VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 9 parataxis _ _ 26 the the DET DT Definite=Def|PronType=Art 29 det _ _ 27 fierce fierce ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 29 amod _ _ 28 old old ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 29 amod _ _ 29 serpent serpent NOUN NN Number=Sing 25 obj _ _ 30 that that PRON WDT PronType=Rel 31 nsubj _ _ 31 lurked lurk VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 29 acl:relcl _ _ 32 in in ADP IN _ 34 case _ _ 33 their their PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 34 nmod:poss _ _ 34 hearts heart NOUN NNS Number=Plur 31 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 35 , , PUNCT , _ 38 punct _ _ 36 when when ADV WRB PronType=Int 38 advmod _ _ 37 he he PRON PRP Case=Nom|Gender=Masc|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 38 nsubj _ _ 38 saw see VERB VBD Mood=Ind|Number=Sing|Person=3|Tense=Past|VerbForm=Fin 25 conj _ _ 39 it it PRON PRP Case=Acc|Gender=Neut|Number=Sing|Person=3|PronType=Prs 38 obj _ _ 40 gleaming gleam VERB VBG VerbForm=Ger 38 xcomp _ _ 41 out out ADP IN _ 45 case _ _ 42 of of ADP IN _ 45 case _ _ 43 their their PRON PRP$ Case=Gen|Number=Plur|Person=3|Poss=Yes|PronType=Prs 45 nmod:poss _ _ 44 wild wild ADJ JJ Degree=Pos 45 amod _ _ 45 eyes eye NOUN NNS Number=Plur 40 obl _ SpaceAfter=No 46 . . PUNCT . _ 9 punct _ _ ``` ## Pragmatics {#pragmatics} | # | verb | tense, mood | who | what, whom | to whom | where | when | other | roles by | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | 1 | **do** | would · perfect · passive | | workmen *= workman* | | | | like savage beasts | tree rules | | 2 | **not** **keep** *a condition, not said to happen* | past · perfect · passive | | Cadmus | | | | | tree rules | | 3 | **watch** | infinitive | Cadmus *not said here* | | | | | over workmen *= workman* | vn search-35.2 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Agent over they=Location | | 4 | **quell** | past | | the fierce old serpent | | | | | vn subjugate-42.3 «NP V NP»: agent=Agent serpent=Patient | | 5 | **lurk** | past | the fierce old serpent | | | workmen's hearts | | | vn exist-47.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme in heart=Location | | 6 | **see** | past | Cadmus | mischief | | | | | tree rules | | 7 | **gleam** | gerund | mischief *not said here* | | | workmen's wild eyes | | | vn light\_emission-43.1 «NP V PP.location»: agent=Theme out eye=Location | 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 74](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg976/13/74/) - next →: [sentence 76](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg976/13/76/) - ↑ back to [The Dragon's Teeth., part 4](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/tales/pg976/13/)